More than half of women in Brussels avoid using e-scooters and e-bikes out of fears for their safety, according to a survey. A feminist bike ride on 6 July is setting out to reclaim public spaces.
53% of women feel unsafe using e-scooters and e-bikes, especially in quiet areas or at night-time, according to an IPSOS survey commissioned by the scooter company Lime and the gender equality organisation ZIJkant.
30% of respondents were critical of poorly-lit bike lanes and shelters in Brussels. 20% do not scoot or cycle at night due to separated bike lanes and six in ten said they felt afraid cycling at night-time.
ZIJkant campaigns for gender-conscious mobility policies and will hold a free feminist bicycle tour on Sunday 6 July to take back public space and encourage more women to get on their bike despite safety concerns.
Restricted movement
"When we saw these results, we thought, 'We really have to do something about this'", ZIJkant director Julie Van Garsse told The Brussels Times. "We have to show that the city is a place for women too."
The tour is a "symbolic way of saying, 'Don't forget the women'. We are here too, and it's our place too," she said, encouraging policymakers to join the initiative and hear what people had to say.
80% of respondents to the ZIJkant-Lime survey said they were unable to move freely around the city.
ZIJkant connects this issue to widespread gender-based harassment in Belgian public spaces, where nine in ten Belgian girls and women have been harassed according to the non-governmental organisation Plan International.
Since 2010, the number of morning cyclists in Brussels has grown by around 12% each year. Despite the uptake, fewer women than men opt for this popular mode of transport (40% of cyclists are women).
'Women Ride The City'
On 6 July, ZIJkant's 'Women Ride The City' bicycle tour will cruise through streets named after women and stop by feminist murals that aim to remind the public that women have their place in history too.
For instance, passing by Rue Yvonne Nèvejean, bikers will learn about the Belgian resistance fighter who saved the lives of more than 4,000 Jewish children during the Second World War.
Participants will begin peddling at Place de Brouckère at 14:00. The route, more or less five kilometres long, will last around 1.5 hours and will conclude with icecream and a drink at the Léopold I nursery in Laeken, where Anthea Missy's 'Women Bike the City' mural is painted.
The tour is free but registration is required. Lime will provide free e-bikes and helmets for those who don't have their own wheels.
It is also possible to walk the route, and anyone can take part.
"We want an inclusive city where everyone feels safe and welcome, not just women," says Van Garsse.
