More holistic approach needed to make the streets safe for women

WITHIN our local park is a dog park — a large fenced off area where one can bring one’s dog to ‘run wild and free’ or, in other words, off the lead. It’s a good idea as it allows dogs to do their thing without compromising the safety or enjoyment of the main park for non-dog lovers. Dogs, after all, are.... well, dogs, and even though I am a dog lover and owner, I think that this is exactly how it should be.

So why then was I immediately reminded of our local dog park when I heard the mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, telling us, rather proudly, that Melbourne was hoping to introduce designated ‘safe havens’ for women in his city? Mr Doyle was speaking on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One.

It was almost a year ago that Irish woman Jill Meagher suffered an appalling attack on the street after a night out in Melbourne which resulted in her death. There was huge worldwide publicity around this crime and the subsequent charging of her killer.