Brisbane initiative strives to make streets safer for women and girls
By Amity Lang
Brisbane, May 23, 2025
A Brisbane initiative is pushing for safer public spaces for women and girls, with the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games providing a timely opportunity for change.
According to a recent DemosAu poll, 84 per cent of Queensland women don’t feel safe walking or running alone at night — a statistic that is driving the Safe Cities | Safe Streets for Women and Girls project.
Led by Queensland Walks, in partnership with the Zonta Club of Brisbane and the University of Queensland, the project focuses on improving walking and commuter safety through simple, community-driven design solutions.
Queensland Walks executive officer Anna Campbell said the idea emerged while considering how people would travel to and from Olympic venues.
“We started realising we’re not doing enough advocacy around night-time safety,” she said.
The project has already held “walkshops” in suburbs like Zillmere and South Bank, where women highlighted poor lighting, hidden corners, and isolated pathways as key concerns.
Campbell said safety solutions to combat these concerns don’t have to be complex or costly, with even small changes making big impacts.
This sentiment was echoed by Sandra McLean from the Zonta Club of Brisbane, who said the project complements Zonta’s broader mission to reduce gender-based violence and empower women.
“A lack of safety outside the home can affect a woman’s access to employment, education and recreation,” she said. “It is a basic human right to walk, run or stroll without fear wherever you want, whenever you want.”
The toolkit developed for the project encourages women to host a night walk in their area, share their experiences and advocate for changes in their neighbourhoods.
McLean said some women have been so affected by safety concerns that they’ve changed their entire lives.
She cited a Queensland woman who used to enjoy walking at night felt so unsettled by recent events — including the murder of Crystal Beale — that she moved to a different suburb.
With the 2032 Olympics approaching, Queensland Walks hopes this project influences how Brisbane designs public spaces for the future.
“If you design for women,” Campbell said, “you make cities better for everyone” — a message that resonates strongly in 2025, as public concern over women’s safety continues to grow across Australia.
