Why women and girls safe spaces?

In most societies, women have limited space to meet, and public spaces are often inhabited largely by men5. Traditionally, women’s responsibilities include taking care of children, cooking, carrying out household chores, and generally looking after the family. While these roles may change during crisis, where women may find themselves working or becoming the breadwinner, they remain responsible for the household nevertheless.

“For many girls in the developing world, the opportunity to move freely in the community becomes limited at the onset of puberty”6. Parents often keep their daughters inside the house, protected from any contact with males. “This unofficial restriction on female mobility tends to persist throughout life. While not necessarily codified in a specific way, there are functional curfews for women in many parts of the world—be it in an urban park in a Western country, or in an impoverished community in the developing world”.

In the Syrian context, women have become more isolated as a consequence of the crisis. Their mobility has been curbed significantly. Women and their family members reported having limited movement of women and girls outside the home due to fear of sexual violence, harassment, and indiscriminate attacks.

http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/woman%20space%20E.pdf