Abstract
The history of women’s exclusion and invisibility in cities is well charted, yet young women’s experience of sexual harassment and assault has been difficult to quantify. This article discusses the Free to Be project initiated by Plan International in 2018. In partnership with Monash University’s XYX Lab and CrowdSpot, the crowdmapping web app enabled young women in Delhi, Kampala, Lima, Madrid, and Sydney to identify and share their experiences of public spaces. It is believed to be the most ambitious global crowdsourced data collection project on street harassment ever undertaken. By using coding and visual data techniques, the data demonstrated the scale of the problem and the urgent need for city-level decision makers, as well as other members of society, to take action. This article outlines the findings from Free to Be, and explores the ways data and activism led by girls and young women are a powerful method for creating change.
Highlights
There is a lengthy history of female exclusion and invisibility in cities, and girls’ and young women’s experience of sexual harassment and assault is difficult to chart
Across the complex and often conflicting cultures of this diverse set of cities, the platform allowed girls and young women to share stories, generating a vast bank of data that can hold stakeholders to account for their inaction and acceptance of harassment of girls and young women, which has a direct negative effect on their freedom of movement and ability to participate in city life
This article outlines the findings from Free to Be, and explores the ways data and activism led by girls and young women are a powerful method for creating change
Summary
There is a lengthy history of female exclusion and invisibility in cities, and girls’ and young women’s experience of sexual harassment and assault is difficult to chart. This article examines the findings of the Free to Be project initiated by Plan International (Goulds 2018) and its importance as a tool for holding public bodies and individuals in society to account. The data and the stories from the girls and young women challenge the perspectives of the police, public transport operators, and local government authorities, as well as generating awareness about the levels of harassment and violence that go unnoticed, in order to initiate behaviour change. This article outlines the findings from Free to Be, and explores the ways data and activism led by girls and young women are a powerful method for creating change
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