Along with their global report, Plan International has launched this more localised report. Like their peers in Madrid, Delhi, Kampala and Lima, girls in Sydney reported that sexual harassment was prevalent in the city.

Free to Be is a crowd-mapping website that enables young women to identify and share the location of public spaces that make them feel uneasy and scared or happy and safe, implemented in Sydney in April/May 2018. It was designed in collaboration with Crowdspot, Monash University XYX Lab and young women within the city. Based on Plan International’s extensive experience of working with girls and young women in cities through our Safer Cities programme, the research sought to understand more about the experiences of girls and young women. As well as Sydney, Free to Be has been implemented in Delhi, Kampala, Lima, Madrid and Melbourne.

The Free to Be tool comprised an interactive map of the city and a survey which allowed girls and young women to drop ‘pins’ on the map – good or bad - and answer questions about their experiences there, as well as leave comments. A group of young women in Sydney were involved in the design and promotion of the tool, as well as having an opportunity to reflect on the findings to support analysis.

In total, 2,083 pins were dropped on spots of the Sydney map, of which 25% denoted good experiences (516) and 75% bad (1,567).