Shedding more light on safety for women in Cork
As protests highlight safety on the streets for women, one Cork businessman has pointed out the importance of street lighting in making a welcoming city-scape for all.
Uproar in the UK in the aftermath of the murder of Londoner Sarah Everard, who was abducted while walking home to Brixton from a friend’s house in Clapham Junction in early March, has sparked a fresh wave of concern about the safety of women on city streets around the world.
ROSA Cork Socialist Feminist Network are planning a protest on Grand Parade on Thursday, 18 March at 4 p.m. to highlight the issue.
In the meantime, one Cork businessman has pointed out a way that people in the city can ensure the streets are a safer and less intimidating place for everyone: by reporting faulty streetlights and ensuring the city is well-lit.
Cork City Council’s street lighting app allows anyone to log a faulty light, Ger Kiely, the owner of The Old Oak on Oliver Plunkett Street has pointed out.
“It only takes a second to stop under a street light and register it on the app,” Mr Kiely said.
“Of course there are all sorts of other issues there,” he said. “The bullying, intimidation and endangerment of women on their way home can no longer be tolerated in any proper society, and we are all part of the solution.”
“But people rarely get attacked in broad daylight, so it might actually deter someone from attacking a woman on her way home if the whole place is lit and the city feels like a safe city.”