Being included in the community is important for belonging, health and wellbeing. Women and girls are able to participate and contribute to our community when they feel safe at home, in the workplace and in public spaces.

There are many barriers that make it difficult for women and girls to feel safe, participate and be included in our community. We know women feel less safe at home and in public spaces than men, and exclusion and violence against women occurs across cultures and communities at higher prevalence than men. Women also take on more caring and domestic responsibilities than men, leaving them with less time to participate.

We need to reduce gender discrimination and stereotypes, which will reduce gendered violence and harassment and more workplace equality. Change needs to start from an early age.

The ACT Government is committed to addressing domestic, family and sexual violence through investments in programs to meet the needs of women who are experiencing violence at home and in public spaces.

Canberra Safety Map The ACT Government provided funding to Women’s Health Matters to create the Canberra Safety Map. You can use the map to identify safe and unsafe spots across Canberra. When you use the Canberra Safety Map it can assist in identifying what makes women feel safe or unsafe in public spaces.	Education campaign to promote women’s safety The ACT Government is working with Women’s Health Matters to run an education campaign to promote the Canberra Safety Map. The campaign also aims to help people in Canberra to identify inappropriate behaviour when they see it, and challenge it in a safe way.
Gender Sensitive Urban Design Principles The ACT Government is working with the community to understand how public spaces can be designed to better consider gender. Feedback from the community will support the government’s development of gender sensitive urban design principles to assist with design and development of public-urban spaces and infrastructure and transport infrastructure.	ACT Women’s Safety Grants The ACT Women’s Safety Grants support innovative projects that advance the priorities of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010‑2022. The Women’s Safety Grants have recently supported projects to prevent workplace sexual harassment and help parents speak to their children about relationships, gender and respect.
Safer Families and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Key ACT Government actions that address domestic, family and sexual violence include the Safer Families reforms and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program. The gendered nature of women’s safety is complex and cannot be fixed through local work alone. The ACT Government supports the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, released in October 2022.	Women’s Safety Audits The ACT Government has been working hard to make sure women and girls are safe when attending major events in the ACT. The ACT Government does Women’s Safety Audits for all major events and works with other large events (like Summernats) to do Women’s Safety Audits.