Women are avoiding parks at night in Offaly town

June 24th was Offaly Safe Day and community representatives across Birr, Edenderry and Tullamore conducted surveys with many people on the risk of Gender Based Violence.

Cllrs John Carroll and Clare Claffey joined some local volunteers in Birr and put five questions to about a hundred people going in and out of the main supermarkets and on Main Street. Their survey is part of the work of a new Subgroup of Offaly Joint Policing Committee looking at gender based violence and harassment in public amenities in the county.

Cllr Claffey told the Tribune after the survey that a number of points came up again and again in the questionnaires which the public were asked to fill out. She said that based on these points she and Cllr Carroll will submit a report to to An Garda Síochána and Offaly County Council. Their report will be considered when planning future public space service delivery and design.

“Both men and women filled out the questionnaire,” said Cllr Claffey. “All the men said there was nowhere in Birr town where they felt unsafe, day or night. They said that sometimes the women in their lives will ask the men to escort them through the areas in which they feel unsafe.”

A number of the women who filled out the questionnaires said they feel safe in Birr during the day, but during the night they avoid the town's parks, Mill Island and Camcor Park. They also avoid the riverside walk from Oxmantown Bridge on Wilmer Road to Elmgrove Bridge, at night.

Other areas the women don't like walking in at night include Connaught Street and Keel's Archway. They would like to see more Gardai on foot patrol in all of these places.

A number of women also said they take different routes home from work in the evening, as they wouldn't feel safe on the route they took in the morning. They like to walk along routes which are more likely to have fellow pedestrians, where there's more life going on.

None of the respondents singled out any housing estate as making them feel unsafe at night.

Inadequate street lighting was frequently mentioned. “At the moment,” said Cllr Claffey, “it's taking forever to fix the broken lights. This is the fault of the contractor, not the County Council.”

A number of respondents said youths being intimidating on the streets is a significent issue.

Some called for more CCTV cameras.

One respondent wrote, “We need to stop men attacking women on the streets at night.”

An online survey on the same subject is running until this Friday July 8th. Log on to http://ow.ly9VXK50JA7rK to have your say.