Social Democrats councillor Gary Gannon will host two public information sessions this week about how to best spend funds allocated by Dublin City Council to make the city safer for women and girls.
The events will take place in the Third Space café in Smithfield at 6.30p.m. on Wednesday 28th June and in the Sean O’Casey Community Centre in St Mary’s Road, Eastwall at 7p.m. on Thursday 29th June 2017.
The special guest at Wednesday night’s event will be Anna Cosgrave, the founder of the Repeal Project. The homeless campaigner Erica Fleming will attend Thursday night’s event.
Cllr Gannon, along with council colleagues, recently allocated €50,000 from the Councillors’ Discretionary Fund to help implement some recommendations of the UN’s Safe Cities for Women and Girls Initiative. The fund allows councillors to approve sums for the 2017 budget for particular projects.
Cllr Gannon said:
“Everyone has the right to enjoy our capital city without harassment irrespective of their gender. These meetings are about finding out what issues women and girls face in the city and generating ideas about the kinds of changes that would it make it a safer place.
“The aim is to prevent and reduce gender-based sexual harassment and violence in the city – and that could be anything from new street lighting to the use of technology or public awareness campaigns. We will take the findings from the two public sessions and report back to the city council with suggestions on how the money could be spent.”
A study completed for Dublin City Council in September 2015 found that sexual harassment was a “frequent and distressing occurrence for women and girls” in Dublin City. The research focused on the corridor stretching along the Luas line, from Heuston Station in the west to Abbey Street in the north inner city.
ENDS
27 June 2017