A women's group wants to help create a safer Canberra for women walking home at night by learning more about how locals get around the city.
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The Women's Centre for Health Matters will survey men and women about what routes they take around the ACT during the day, and whether that changes at night.
The analysed data will finally be presented on a website, allowing Canberrans to see what routes their fellow ACT residents consider safe.
The centre's acting executive director Angela Carnovale said using the accumulated data they will be able to advise town planners on Canberra's future development.
''We're interested in looking at the routes men and women take to conduct their daily business, like school drop-offs or shopping or socialising, and whether that changes from daytime to nighttime,'' she said.
''What are the factors that change people's perceptions of safety?''
Giving an example, Ms Carnovale said some conditions which had already come up were lighting and crowds, which were automatically associated with safety.
She said the website has been planned as an informational resource, rather than a source of advice on safe routes home.
''It's not about identifying that particular streets are safe and particular ones are unsafe,'' she said.
''What we're trying to get a good idea of is the factors that influence men and women when they travel through the city, to see if there's anything we can learn from that to inform urban planning.''
Ms Carnovale said statistically men were more likely to be the victims of violence on the street, contradicting stereotypes of women being unsafe at night.
''There's this perception that goes along with being a woman that you are vulnerable and unsafe if you are out alone at night and those stereotypes make us moderate our behaviour,'' she said.
The centre received $25,000 from the ACT government to support its work.
