Safe Routes

Good Practice

Sustainability

Preventing sexual violence in nightlife areas in the city of Barcelona.

Barcelona City Council

Spain

Local policy

POLICY OBJECTIVE

Analyse natural routes between nightlife spaces and public transport and risks related to surroundings.
Prevent, detect and intervene in cases of sexual violence by improving surrounding areas and heightening surveillance along routes.
Design a cross-cutting strategic intervention plan to make individuals trained to intervene in public and private spaces as efficient and effective as possible.
Keep women in the city’s leisure areas as safe as possible and ensure that they can enjoy public spaces freely and without fear of sexual violence.
Benefit the population at large by reducing criminal acts and making people feel safer on routes and in adjacent areas.

CONTEXT

Potentially vulnerable individuals are placed at risk by voluntarily consuming alcohol and/or narcotic substances or being forcefully intoxicated through “chemical submission”.

Police operations must enable us to detect women who are in vulnerable situations, have been taken advantage of or whose integrity is violated by sexual aggressors.

POLICY DESCRIPTION

To prevent and detect situations of sexual violence, Barcelona Local Police have introduced four permanent safe routes from nightlife areas in the neighbourhoods of Front Marítim, Poblenou, Paral·lel and Gràcia/Sarrià/Sant Gervasi to nearest public transport stops. Police work to ensure that all of Barcelona’s nightlife areas have these safe routes. This initiative reinforces safe routes in place during major events like popular festivities, music festivals, New Year’s Eve and Sant Joan festivities since 2020.

Agents conduct proactive, dynamic patrols focused on situations of sexual assault and harassment and maintain contact with security officers at nightlife establishments.

Routes are part of a co-responsibility project to mainstream a gender perspective among nightlife operators. To that end, Barcelona Local Police and the Department of Feminisms train professionals employed in the nightlife sector to prevent and detect situations of sexual violence.

KEY ASPECTS

Analysis of urban area layout (lighting, street furniture, etc.) and the natural routes people take from leisure areas to nearby public transport stops.

Innovative policy addresses problem by engaging various operators (i.e. Department of Mobility, Department of Feminisms, Barcelona Local Police, etc.) in a cross-cutting approach.

RESULTS

Four safe routes have been established to date in the neighbourhoods of Front Marítim, Poblenou, Paral·lel, and Gràcia/Sarrià/Sant Gervasi, with the goal being to extend routes to the rest of the city. Demands can also be voiced with the hashtag #bcnantimasclista (“anti-sexist Barcelona”) displayed on illuminated panels on Barcelona Local Police cars.

Nearly 90 professionals have been specially trained to detect possible assaults, act when these occur, and care for victims, as well as in other issues related to current laws. This ongoing training will be extended to other services operating in public spaces at night.

Policy's Website

Sonia

Ruiz García

Director for Gender and Time Policies

sruiz@bcn.cat

Good Practice

Safe Routes

Barcelona City Council

POLICY OBJECTIVE

CONTEXT

POLICY DESCRIPTION

KEY ASPECTS

RESULTS

Policy's Website

Sonia

Ruiz García

Director for Gender and Time Policies

The Time Use Initiative has been awarded by

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