Safe Places

More safe places across the community where people can go if they are unsure when out in the community.

As a female myself, I can often feel vulnerable when out at night, even though I have never been a victim of crime.  I sometimes feel scared or apprehensive when I am passing a group of young people or there is a man walking behind me.  This is not because of anything they have done, but more a feeling of unease within myself. I know that I have used a Keep Safe place before as a place just to pop into until the man has passed and I can continue with my journey.  It is all very low key and is enough to give me a safe space, if needed.

More Keep Safe places and for the initiative to be better publicised would let people know that they have this option, if they feel they need it.  

For me, it saved being embarrased about feeling nervous, without any real reason, but also meant I could keep myself safe.

I think many females, like myself, will often feel unsafe in the community, but also will be too embarrassed to seek help without any solid reason to do this.  We should be encouraging people to trust their instinct and Keep Safe places are a way that they can do this without being embarrased (have they blown it our proportion? Does the group or person they feel intimited by have any wrong intentions or are they just innocently going about their own business)?  It doesn't matter, the most important thing is that the individual can find a safe place to go until they feel ready to continue their journey.

Keep Safe places also help communities to be part of the solution and this in turn raises awareness and enables people to feel a sense of duty to make their communities safe places to be.