Visiting parks is an integral part of everyday life, reflecting the vital social, health and recreational role parks play in towns and cities. Parks have numerous benefits for health and wellbeing yet concerns about safety can constrain women and girls’ use and experience of them.
In October 2021, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, working with the five West Yorkshire district community safety partnerships and Third Sector partners, was awarded Home Office ‘Safer Streets’ funding to support the safety of women and girls in West Yorkshire’s parks, including research led by Dr Anna Barker and Professor George Holmes at the University of Leeds on women and girls’ perceptions of safety.
