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Our review highlights the lack of urban green and blue spaces interventions to prevent violence against women and girls. We look also at how interventions could prevent violence against women and girls, reduce inequalities, and reshape social, cultural, and societal norms; promoting use of urban green and blue space for women and girls.
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Target audience
Urban designers/planners; City councils; Public health researchers, policy makers and practitioners
The problem
Violence against women and girls (e.g., rape, stalking) often takes place in urban green and blue spaces, resulting in non-use and consequently a lack of potential health benefits for women and girls. Consequently, it is important to identify effective urban green and blue spaces interventions to prevent violence against women and girls, and to provide guidance to support the design, and implementation of future strategies.
What we did and why
We performed a scoping review of the literature (2012-2024, four databases) and identified eight urban green and blue space interventions aimed at preventing violence. Taking the findings of this review and previously published literature, we were able to develop an evidence-based conceptual model to guide future decision making in regard to violence against women and girls and urban green and blue spaces interventions.
Our study’s contribution
Our review highlights the lack of urban green and blue spaces interventions to prevent violence against women and girls; and the limited novelty and innovation regarding type and geographical location of urban green and blue spaces interventions. This enabled us to develop a conceptual model to guide and facilitate future research, policy and practice when developing innovative urban green and blue spaces interventions to prevent violence against women and girls. These interventions could prevent violence against women and girls, reduce inequalities, and inequities, and reshape social, cultural, and societal norms, through domains of pathways: surveillance; regeneration and reallocation of urban green and blue spaces; building community capacity; and promoting use of urban green and blue space for women and girls.
Impacts for city policy and practice
Policy makers and practitioners should authentically engage with women and girls to determine:
1) their vision for safe, accessible and inclusive urban green and blue spaces; and
2) the local context with reference to intersectionality.
This ensures women and girls have power in decision-making processes from the outset. Involving women and girls has the capacity to operate as a mechanism to prevent violence against women and girls, reduce inequalities, and inequities, reshape social, cultural, and societal norms, and positively influence a range of public health outcomes.
Further information
Full research article:
Urban green and blue space interventions to prevent violence against women and girls: a systematic scoping review with guidance for future research by Claire L. Cleland, Caitlin Coney, Niamh O’Kane & Ruth F. Hunter.
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