Women avoid after-hours gatherings, among other measures, to ensure their safety
Nearly nine in 10 Australian women revealed that they are taking precautions to ensure their safety while travelling for work, according to a new report.
The report, commissioned by World Travel Protection, polled 500 Australian business travellers to identify the following precautions women take while travelling:
- Informing family or work of their whereabouts (39%)
- Avoiding after-hours events or gatherings (25%)
- Placing obstacles against the hotel door to deter intruders (14%)
- Carrying a weapon, such as pepper spray or keys (10%)
These measures come as 63% of the respondents believe that travelling as a woman is less safe compared to men, with more women (44%) expressing concerns about the risk of sexual assault.
The safety of women is one of the 10 indicators in a World Bank report that underscores the massive global gender gap in the workforce.
According to the report, over 150 economies have laws barring sexual harassment at work, but only 39 have legislations barring such behaviour in public spaces.
"Women do, then, face perils in using public transportation to travel to work," the report read.
Keeping women safe
Kate Fitzpatrick, Regional Security Director, EMEA at World Travel Protection, said it is important to think about social rules and safety when making plans for female travellers.
"Factors such as cultural norms, gender-based discrimination and safety concerns can significantly impact women's experiences while travelling," Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
According to the report, 58% of women agree that their employer expresses concern about their wellbeing and takes steps to ensure that they're travelling safely.
"This entails arranging timely flights, avoiding late-night airport-to-hotel journeys, and equipping all business travellers with a travel assistance app to share their location with the employer's risk management provider and receive crucial alerts," Fitzpatrick said.
The findings were released ahead of International Women's Day on Friday, with the 2024 campaign theme being "Inspire Inclusion."
