Cities and Gender

Women’s safety in public space is very complex. Women’s perception of safety – as opposed to their risk of experiencing gendered violence or crime – very much determines how they interact with public space. This issue of perception makes measuring and evaluating women’s experiences difficult.

Nicole Kalms | The Conversation

Read What does the ‘new normal’ look like for women’s safety in cities?

In the past decade, much work has begun around gender and how it intersects with class, race, ethnicity and sexuality. But as we attempt to eliminate spatial inequities, there is still much more to be examined in the complex relationship between architecture, gender and sex.

Timothy Moore & Nicole Kalms | Architecture Australia

Read Exploring gender-sensitive design

Nothing can protect women from the random acts of violence committed by some men but engaging with the stories of women and girls is crucial for making cities safer. Planners, architects, the police and politicians need to put aside the traditional expert perspective to learn from – and design for – women’s experiences.

Nicole Kalms | The Conversation

Read To design safer parks for women, city planners must listen to their stories

Increasingly liberal attitudes to sex have allowed for greater public celebration of sexual diversity, but the desires of heterosexual men still dominate urban environments. Neighbourhoods where brothels, peep shows, strip clubs and sex shops cluster, dubbed “sexual entertainment districts”, have become common in neoliberal cities. A closer look at these areas, which concentrate in the CBD of older cities and the outer suburbs of younger cities, reveals how entrenched gender inequalities materialise in urban spaces.

Nicole Kalms | The Conversation

Read No harm done? ‘Sexual entertainment districts’ make the city a more threatening place for women

When authorities decide that an area of the city is “not safe”, the usual response is more lighting, CCTV cameras, and police. But what if there are more subtle indicators of safety in the environment that they are missing?

Nicole Kalms, Gill Matthewson & Pamela Salen | The Conversation

Read Safe in the City? Girls tell it like it is

XYX Lab

Gender + Place

XYX Lab is a team of experienced design researchers exploring gender-sensitive design practices and theory. Our work operates at the intersection of gender, identity, urban space and advocacy. Through our research, we bring together planners, policy makers, local government and stakeholders to make tangible the experiences of underrepresented communities in urban space and planning.

XYX Lab is grounded in feminist and queer theory and activated through real-world projects. Our approach is inclusive of all gender and sexual identities. Building equity into urban life requires long-term vision and a strategic - often radical - approach to the design process. We do not seek quick-fix design solutions, but rather seek to offer insights and create moments that contribute towards a larger movement for change.

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Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre

The Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre is at the forefront of research and education aimed at preventing family violence. The centre is contributing to transformative social change aimed at ending family violence by providing an evidence base for policy change that better supports and protects those experiencing family violence and addresses the cultural and economic drivers that underpin it.

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Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre

Monash Gender, Peace & Security Centre is a research centre focused on issues of gender, peace and security. Our vision is to build globally-recognised, gender-inclusive research evidence to deliver peace and security globally. We seek to use our research to inform scholarly debate, policy development and implementation, and public understanding about the gendered nature of insecurity and the search for peace.

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Global and Women's Health

Global and Women's Health seeks to promote health for all and to reduce health inequalities. In our Women’s Health research, we aim to understand the effects of gender on health and to reduce the health inequalities experienced by women and girls. We encourage and participate in research with other countries and with non-university groups and organisations. With our partners and collaborators we develop ways of using the results of research to inform policy and practice. Our research methods include those that encompass whole populations and those designed to understand the perspectives and experiences of individual people.

We collaborate with partners in universities, research institutes, government, the private sector, civil society, health services, and health professionals in Australia and globally. These partnerships enable our research to be informed by community perspectives, translated to inform policy and practice, and accessible to individuals, their families, and their healthcare providers.

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