By George Arkley
A new initiative to make Leeds a Women Friendly City has received a mixed response from feminists.
The Women Friendly City initiative aims to make Leeds a place where the rights of women and girls are protected and promoted, with decisions being made taking into consideration the impact on women – including relating to employment, economic development, health, wellbeing, education and safety.
The initiative is being launched by Women’s Lives Leeds (WLL), which received £50,000 funding from Comic Relief’s Power Up campaign earlier this October.
It will make Leeds the first such Women Friendly City in the country.
However, feminists across the UK continue to question the initiative.
Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of the women’s support charity, nia, and who is from Yorkshire, branded the campaign a “joke” on Twitter.
Leeds to be the UK’s first ‘Women Friendly City’?! What a joke. https://t.co/IuJMXW5FKR
— Karen Ingala Smith (@K_IngalaSmith) October 1, 2019
Nik Peasgood, the chief executive of WLL, told Yorkshire Voice: “It is easy to be offensive on social media and to listen to those with loud views.”
She added: “We want to get gender back on the agenda. Women are disadvantaged in many ways to men, including mental health, self-harm and domestic violence.”
Women’s Lives Leeds hopes women and girls will be empowered to lead safer and healthier lives.
Ms Peasgood added: “It’s unrealistic to say no woman will never be hurt again. However, we can put structures in place to support them.”
Over 700 campaigns worldwide bid for Comic Relief’s funding, and WLL is one of seven that received it.
A local feminist, Tilly Brogan, and writer for Leeds’ Human Rights Journal, described the campaign as “Utopian.”
She said: “I don’t think you can ever have a Women Friendly City because bad things are always going to happen. However, if you don’t take this step, then what else are you going to do?”
The new initiative attracted criticism particularly in relation to Leeds’ legalised red-light zone.
Karen Ingala Smith tweeted: “You cannot have sex equality where you have prostitution.”
You cannot have sex equality where you have prostitution.Saying that the focuses is specifically on how you can make Leeds a safer and better place for women to live is an insult to the memory of Daria Pionko and to every woman abused in Holbeck.
— Karen Ingala Smith (@K_IngalaSmith) October 1, 2019
Many Twitter users agreed with Smith’s opposition to the campaign.
How much of that funding is going to be used to help women and girls in Holbeck safely exit prostitution if they want to? I think we can guess the answer. Woman-friendly city my a*se!
— kirstwrites (@kirstwrites) October 1, 2019
Across Leeds in 2018, there were 2,204 serious sexual offences, and 485 other sexual offences, of which there were 954 sexual assaults and 953 rapes, with the majority having a female victim. Also Leeds denies women the right to gather and march peacefully ….
— Richard Clark (@Richard47004736) October 1, 2019
I genuinely thought there would be mention of how they plan to make it safer to walk home at night, educating men about not catcalling in the street, maybe training police and EMT staff of how to respond better to DV and assault calls but nope, we’re “mobilising women” OK
— Kandice Kitten (@KandiceKitten) October 1, 2019
Cerys Bell, a member of Leeds University Feminist Society, said: “While Leeds still has the red-light district, it cannot be a woman friendly city.”
She added: “The initiative does not address the structures in place that prevent Leeds, and other UK cities, from being ‘woman-friendly.’”
The Women Friendly City initiative will be officially launched on International Women’s Day, March 8, next year.
The initiative is still in the early stages and more information will be released this December.