I HAVE lived in Glasgow my whole life. I truly believe, as I’ve said in past columns, that it is one of the greatest cities in the world, if not the greatest.

We are praised by those who visit us as being friendly and welcoming. We are known globally for our music scene and our growing food scene is garnering a brilliant reputation.

But, as proud Glaswegians, we often forget the darker, more sinister side of our city in which many, especially women, still do not feel safe walking home after a certain time or decide to take a different route simply to avoid an area. 

I recently discovered an initiative which has been set up by the Wise Women organisation in partnership with Glasgow Girls Club, Commonplace and Glasgow Violence Against Women’s Partnership.

It is an interactive survey with the aim to find out more about women’s experiences of harassment and abuse in public places within the city.

Through an interactive map women can highlight areas of the city where they do not feel safe, why they don’t and crucially, point out what could be done to make things better.

Reading the contributions was eye opening.

For some, it was the underpasses or tunnels, with the lack of lighting and no mirrors to see who may be walking behind you.

They were seen as high up on the list, with one woman even sharing her story of being assaulted in the North West of the city.

There were also contributions from workers at our city’s hospitals commenting that the poor lighting, violent crimes and infrequent public transport connections make staff feel vulnerable, especially when it is late.

Another consistent red flag is Glasgow’s parks, in recent years they have been the sites of horrific murders and sexual assaults, these were the points raised by contributors with a number feeling unable to walk or jog through them when it became dark.

The common issues which reappear across the map are that of poor lighting, lack of reliable public transport and of the need to educate men about gender-based violence.

Glasgow Labour have a track record of leading on and supporting this type of work. Whether it was in December where my colleague councillor Jill Brown successfully gained cross-party support for her Light The Way motion which aims to better light our parks; our continuous campaigning for a public transport network that is run in the interest of people, not profit; or the work we have been proud to achieve when it comes to tackling gender-based violence.

We are moving in the right direction but the initiative by Wise Women should refocus our minds and remind us of the work we still have to do, and the need for it to be achieved as soon as possible.