Safe City for Women, Seoul | use: urban sustainability exchange

© Seoul Metropolitan Government, Women & Family Policy Affairs Office

Safe City for Women 3.0

Status

ongoing

City

Seoul

Main actors

City Government, Community / Citizen Group

Project area

Metropolitan Area

Duration

Ongoing since 2016

Fostering safe environments for women

Since 2013, Seoul Metropolitan Government has been fostering safe environments for women throughout the city with programs for women’s safety, specifically with the rollout of Safe City for Women initiatives (Version 1.0 to 3.0) and the launch of the Ansimi mobile app in 2016.

Building upon the Women’s Safety Metropolitan City 1.0 and 2.0 programs, Seoul Metropolitan Government launched the 3.0 program in 2017 with its key focus to shift from “hardware” (infrastructure) to “software” (values) and to further ensure safety in all aspects of daily life.

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Sustainable Development Goals

City information

City

Seoul , South Korea

Size and population development

The city of Seoul covers a total surface area of 605.21 square kilometres. In 2016, the population was recorded at 10.29 million, with a density of approximately 17,000 people per square kilometre. The sprawling metropolitan area boasts a much larger population at 25.6 million. The population of the city has been decreasing since the early 1990s, due to the high cost of living, urban sprawl to satellite cities and an aging population. (source: world population view)

Population composition

Seoul has a homogenous population, as the majority of residents are Korean. There are, however, small minorities of expatriates, Japanese, Americans and Chinese living in Seoul. The two major religions in Seoul are Christianity and Buddhism. Other religions include Muism (indigenous religion) and Confucianism.

Main functions

Seoul, officially Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. The city is located on the Han River in the north-western part of the country, 60 km inland from the Yellow Sea and is surrounded by a mountainous and hilly landscape. The city contains five UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the cultural, economic, and political centre of South Korea.

Main industries / business

Seoul is the business and financial hub of South Korea and is ranked as one of the largest metropolitan economies in the world. The traditional, labour-intensive manufacturing industries have been continuously replaced by information technology, electronics and assembly-type of industries, however, food and beverage production, as well as printing and publishing remained among the core industries. Seoul hosts large concentration of headquarters of International companies and banks, including 15 companies on the fortune 500 list such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Seoul is among the world leaders in internet connectivity, and has the world's highest fibre-optic broadband penetration and highest global average internet speeds of 26.1 Mbit/s.

Sources for city budget

Seoul draws its budget for public expenditure largely from taxes, fees, fines and operating revenues.

Administrative structure

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is the executive branch of government and the Seoul Metropolitan Council is the legislative body. The administrative structure contains three tiers: city (si), district (gu), and village (dong). The mayor of the metropolitan government and the mayors of the districts are elected to four-year terms. Serving under the mayors at both levels are vice mayors and directors of bureaus, offices, and divisions. The villages into which each district is divided provide services to the residents within their administrative areas. The Seoul Metropolitan Council is headed by a chairman and two vice chairmen and includes standing committees, special committees, and a secretariat; it has more than 100 members, who serve four-year terms. Most council members are elected to represent their respective district; 10 other members are elected on the basis of proportional representation.

Website

http://seoul.go.kr

Background and objectives

The murder of 23year-old woman in the public toilet of a karaoke bar in Seocho-gu, in May 2016 is the motivation behind the Safe City for Women 3.0 program. The victim was unknown to the assailant who claimed he committed the crime out of his hatred for women. At the suggestion of a citizen, a memorial site was established at exit 10 of Gangnam Station, close to the scene of the incident. Social concern grew around the issue of misogyny, with thousands of positive notes and flowers expressing their condolences for the victim and all victims of male violence.

In this context, the Safe City for Women 3.0 project was launched and embraced the following objectives:

“Equal Seoul”

Gender equality at school: Provide education, textbooks, and teacher training courses to ensure that gender equality becomes the norm in each grade.
Foster gender equality at work.
Encourage citizen-led monitoring of ads and public materials that convey gender stereotypes/inequality.

“Respectful Seoul”

Conduct fact-finding survey on dating violence and digital sex crimes to establish a mid- to long-term roadmap
Support victims: There is currently no established system of legal and medical aid for victims of dating violence and digital sex crimes. Seoul Metropolitan Government is therefore considering creating an expert support agency.
Raise public awareness.

“Safe Seoul”

Establish, expand, and strengthen networks that promote safe environments for women.
Encourage wider use of Ansimi mobile app (to transmit the user’s location via a smartphone).
Conduct a gender-perspective analysis of disasters and provide classes and other types of training to strengthen women’s capacity to cope with various disasters.
Develop and distribute a gender sensitive disaster management manual among disaster-prone groups, including pregnant women.

Implementation

The following programs have been implemented in the framework of Safe City for Women 3.0:

Safe Return Scouts

A program that helps women get home safely at night by arranging escorts for them.

Safe Delivery Service

Installing of Safe Delivery Boxes in neighborhoods with high populations of women to response to the public alarm at the growing number of crimes committed by offenders disguised as deliveryman.

Safe Neighborhoods for Women

Supporting local communities in making their own neighborhoods safer for women by providing necessary spaces, expertise, and funding to launch community-led safety initiatives and training local citizens to be safety leaders.

Safety House for Women

Convenience stores and other public places throughout the city were designated as Safety House for Women, which are places where women in danger can get help.

Brighter Streets and Parking Lots

Increased lights in streets, parking lots and other public places.

Home Patrol Service for women Living Alone

This program includes automated patrol system and installation of emergency alarms and wireless detectors on doors.

Ansimi, a mobile application linked to a 24/7 network dedicated to women’s safety, was launched in 2016.

Women Safety Sheriffs were appointed and organized to search 26,549 locations for video cameras filming women illegally and conduct 185 public campaigns.

The Gender Sensitive Disaster Management Manual and gender safety indicators were developed to ensure women’s safety in disaster situations.

Financing and resources

The lead agencies for the project are Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family (SFWF).

Results and impacts

As the Safe City for Women 3.0 program is focusing on social values, results are difficult to measure.

Barriers and challenges

A gender-equal city is a city safe for women, and a city safe for women is a city safe for everyone. A more difficult and important task than changing the physical environment is establishing a culture of gender equality. Seoul Metropolitan Government set out to educate the public on women’s issues through public campaigns, social media, and public contests. Such efforts made a considerable and noticeable difference, and the city continues to reinforce and expand their contents.

Lessons learned and transferability

The power of collective intelligence and civic participation: measures based upon direct proposals from citizens and over 30 discussions held by a taskforce consisting of experts, activists, government officials and citizens.

Major cities in Korea have begun to benchmark and adopt Seoul’s preventive approach to sexual violence. The Safe Company Service, for instance, is at work in 10 other major cities in Korea at present, including Busan and Daegu. The Women’s Safety Patrol Houses program will soon be extended to six other cities, including Incheon and Yeosu whose officials are currently consulting their counterparts in Seoul on the matter. The central government has also begun to promote the Safer Neighborhoods for Women and the Home Patrol Service programs based on national directives. These programs have attracted attention from news outlets around the world as well, including NHK of Japan and ABC of Australia.

References

Women’s Safety Metropolitan City 2.0 (Presentation from Seoul Metropolitan Government)

Safe City for Women 3.0 (Presentation from Seoul Metropolitan Government)

https://www.seoulsolution.kr/en/content/fighting-violence-against-women-making-seoul-safer-city-women-project