Making Edmonton Safer For Women And Girls

Today, Councillor Bev Esslinger and I put forward a motion based on our learnings from the UN Women’s Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls International Conference.

I’ve been reflecting on something Aristotle said, “the city came into being to preserve life. It exists for the good life”. This inspires me in just about every aspect of city building and I’ve used it as a lens to think about quality public spaces, efficient, reliable transit and programs that support the wellbeing of Edmontonians. But as the conversations unfolded around the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces conference, I realized I hadn’t given enough thought to the role the City plays – as a space AND a place – in reducing sexual violence against women and girls.

My learning is just beginning. And I know for my City Council colleagues, and City of Edmonton staff, we have a renewed sense of purpose to making this a safer city for women and girls each and every day. When the headlines fade, it’s up to each of us to keep the momentum going. Personally, I’m eager to re-commit to our Safe Cities work.

The motion directs City Administration to:

• Work with EPS, Hollaback and all available City sources, to implement formal data sharing agreements related to safety-related incidents, including but not limited to sexual harassment, verbal harassment and sexual assault;
• Establish guidelines for how the data in part 1 can be included in a revised GBA+ process going forward to inform future policy and program decisions;
• Provide an update on the City’s incorporation of GBA+ process in the development of all new programs and policies including program and service evaluations and all City decision making processes; and
• Integrate existing technology such as 311 and other City apps or utilize new technologies to gather data on where Edmontonians feel unsafe in public places.

With this work, we will be able to better allocate budget dollars to improving safety in areas with high rates of incident reporting. We’ll ensure that everything the City does is done within the GBA+ processes (so we’re not retrofitting buildings or community design plans AFTER the fact). And, we’ll make it easier for all Edmontonians to report safety concerns on their phone just like they can with vandalism or potholes.

One Mayor cannot single-handedly make a city safer. One government, one agency, one citizen, one community, one workplace can’t either. BUT we can make a collective impact and make systemic change if we set our sights on radical collaboration and commit to these big, transformational goals together. I’m confident if we take steps to name it, know it, lead by example and undertake radical collaboration, we can finally deliver on Aristotle’s vision from 2,300 years ago.

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