Metropolitan Policies to Implement the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda: Safe Cities for Women and Girls

The networking event is an opportunity to launch the first results of a research initiative carried out by Metropolis Network and Women in Cities International (WICI) to map existing policies, programmes, and strategies being carried out by metropolitan governments, members of the association, around women's safety in urban public spaces, a priority in both the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and SDGs 5 and 11.

Panelists will share experiences and lessons on metropolitan policies targeted at ending sexual violence against women in urban spaces. They will reflect on how to overcome challenges and gaps in achieving gender equality and women's and girls' empowerment in relation to safer and more inclusive metropolis.

The focus of the session will be specifically on implementing SDG 11, sub-target 7 which calls on members to 'provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities'. The session will focus on implementing SDG 11.7 and the NUA, which itself has a focus on participation, inclusion and a special recognition of the safety as a necessary condition for sustainable urban development.

Drawing on lessons from metropolises around the world, the session will showcase policies that aim to end sexual violence against women in cities and can be used to successfully implement both Agendas, drawing on specific examples from the ground to illustrate impact. There will be a dynamic panel, with diverse perspectives from cities such as Bogotá, Dakar, and Barcelona, as well as academics, NGOs, etc. organized following the peer-to- peer method, where each panelist will give a presentation and showcase research, data, tools, and resources but, in addition, they must give their opinion about the knowledge presented by other panelists. A short Q&A; will follow for the audience to engage with the discussion.