Beyond Vigilance: What Canberra Is (and Isn’t Yet) Doing to Keep Women Safe
In early June, we published a piece titled When Our Running Trails Stop Feeling Safe, prompted by the attack of a woman in Canberra. A young man was charged with the assault. For many, it was a distressing reminder that even in a city often celebrated for its quality of life, safety in public spaces remains deeply unequal, especially for women.
That article asked not just what happened, but what we need to know and where our energy should go. Rather than publishing another crime report, we focused on prevention, systems, and what a community-led response could look like.
But we knew it couldn’t end there. So we wrote to the ACT Minister for Women, Dr Marisa Paterson with four clear questions that our community had raised:
What funding is allocated to respectful relationships and consent education in ACT schools?
Are youth workers embedded in communities where disengagement and risk are high?
Is gender-based violence prevention included in urban planning?
Are safety audits conducted with people who have lived experience and if so, how are their insights used?
We were able to sit down with the Minister to get some answers. And what follows is both encouraging and confronting, a look at the structures in place, the programs underway, and the very real gaps still to be addressed. Most important of all, there is work for everyone to do.
Education: Building Respect Early
At the heart of long-term prevention is education. The Minister confirmed that the ACT Government has committed over $3 million toward Respectful Relationships Education (RRE) across local schools, $2.1 million from the Territory Budget and $1.09 million in federal funding over five years.
RRE is embedded in the health curriculum and delivered across all year levels. It teaches young people about equality, boundaries, non-violence, and healthy masculinity. These are the social and emotional building blocks that, if delivered effectively, can reduce harm before it ever begins.
However, what remains unclear is how consistently RRE is delivered across schools, how teachers are trained to deliver such sensitive content, and how outcomes are measured. Funding is a good start, but without visibility into the program’s implementation, the community is left unsure whether this vital education is reaching all students with the impact intended. What we know is this is a National program by Our Watch that brings together rigorous research, pilot evaluations, and national summative reviews. The evidence supports the effectiveness of RRE and whole-of-system approaches to shift attitudes, challenge stereotypes, and build gender equity. While changes in violent behaviour take time to measure, long-term data collection and ongoing evaluation frameworks show promise and reveal areas needing more investment and advocacy.
So you tell us. Is this working in your school community?
Youth Work: Reaching Boys Before the Headlines
One of the most confronting facts of recent incidents has been the age of the alleged perpetrator, just 15. This raised urgent questions about how we support boys in distress or at risk of harming others. In our initial article we highlighted the work of Menslink and Everyman Australia, both critical organisations in our community working in this space.
In response, the Minister detailed a broad therapeutic strategy for working with vulnerable young people. This includes the newly formed Therapeutic Support Panel, a multidisciplinary team including experts in psychology, paediatrics, disability, social work, and education. The panel supports children and teens referred by police or community services for concerning behaviour.
In addition, the Solid Ground program delivered by Canberra PCYC has received $2.065 million over four years. It offers a 20-week intervention program for young people aged 11–18 who have been affected by or are at risk of using domestic, family, or sexual violence. The program provides a safe space for building relationships, healing from trauma, and developing non-violent pathways forward.
As of November 2024, 63 referrals had been made, an indication of both demand and effectiveness.
Complementing this, YWCA Canberra has received $1.261 million over four years to employ two specialist children’s workers as part of their Domestic Violence Support Service. These roles aim to assess the developmental impact of domestic violence on children and help disrupt intergenerational cycles of harm.
While these investments are promising, the community is right to ask: are these services embedded enough? Are we reaching boys early enough? And most importantly, are the right people aware of and able to refer into them?
Urban Design: Building Safety Into Place
Canberra’s parks, shops, and public trails are loved for their calm and connectivity, but not all spaces feel safe, especially after dark. That’s why we asked whether gender-based violence prevention is embedded in how our city is physically designed.
The answer? Yes and there’s a clear framework.
In 2023, the ACT Government launched a Gender Sensitive Urban Design (GSUD) Framework and Toolkit. Developed by Transport Canberra and City Services as part of the ACT Women’s Plan 2016–26, the GSUD aims to embed women’s safety in every stage of public space planning, from shopping centre upgrades to land development projects.
The Framework has already been applied to the upgrades of shopping centres in Monash, Calwell, Lanyon, Macquarie, Evatt and Narrabundah, with Evatt’s work to be completed in mid-2025. The Suburban Land Agency also uses the GSUD to inform land development and activation projects.
In addition, the ACT Urban Design Guide includes guidance on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and gender-sensitive design principles. Proposals that require Development Applications must also undergo consultation with the National Capital Design Review Panel, which considers safety and accessibility as core priorities.
While these are welcome steps, the question of pace remains. Are these principles being applied fast enough and consistently enough across all development, especially in vulnerable or underserved suburbs? Community visibility into what’s been adopted and where remains low.
Safety Audits: Listening to Lived Experience
Lastly, we asked: are the people who have lived wisdom helping shape public safety audits?
The answer was nuanced.
The ACT Government regularly conducts Women’s Safety Audits at large-scale events like Summernats, Floriade, and Enlighten. These audits use a checklist to evaluate safety from a woman’s perspective and include walk-throughs of the space.
While some members of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Women have participated in these audits, and many people involved may have lived experience of gender-based violence, the government does not formally require or record disclosures. Understandably, asking for such personal information can be inappropriate or unsafe.
However, a broader initiative is underway. Women’s Health Matters has received funding to implement the Victim Survivor Voices Pilot, an engagement model supporting adults with lived experience of domestic, family, and sexual violence to contribute to system reform. While this pilot does not directly feed into safety audits, it is helping embed victim-survivor insights into the ACT’s wider approach to policy.
This is a critical step. Still, greater transparency and collaboration in the use of audits would help bridge the gap between systems and lived experience.
So, Where Does This Leave Us?
The responses from the Minister reveal a government that is taking steps, real ones, toward prevention, trauma-informed care, and safer design. But they also confirm what many community members feel: the work is not yet complete and honestly it can often feel like it is barely breaking ground.
Safety is not something women should have to earn through caution. It should be a public good, delivered by strong policy, equitable design, and systems that act before harm occurs.
We must continue to ask questions, not because we want to criticise, but because we believe this city can do better and it must do better.
What You Can Do
This conversation doesn’t end here. If you care about building a safer Canberra for everyone, here are ways to stay engaged:
Share this article with your networks.
Encourage local schools to prioritise respectful relationships education and transparency.
Talk to young people in your life about consent, respect, and emotional wellbeing.
Support organisations like Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Menslink, EveryMan and PCYC.
Ask your local MLAs how Gender Sensitive Urban Design is being applied in your area.
Support Women’s Health Matters and their push to elevate victim-survivor voices.
We’ll Keep Asking
Purpose Media CBR is committed to sharing the stories and systems that shape Canberra, not just when they’re comfortable, but especially when they’re hard.
We believe news should serve wellbeing, not just report on harm. So we’ll continue to follow this issue and report back on progress. Because safety isn’t a side issue. It’s the foundation of a thriving community.
Do you have further comments or questions on this topic? Get in touch hello@purposemediacbr.au
