“Designing Safe Cities for Women: how inclusive public infrastructure can support women's safety and mobility needs in new city developments.”
Jackie will share insights from her work on women’s safety and sexual violence prevention in cities, including how to collaborate with city leaders and community organizations to address inequities embedded in the design of urban infrastructure.
This talk will examine how, and for whom, we are designing urban infrastructure. As well, it will explore opportunities for new city developments to utilize lessons learned through the implementation of global ‘Safe City’ programs to inform the design of future cities, and better support women’s freedom of movement, access to opportunities, and overall safety.
About the Speaker:
Jackie Genova is the President of the United Nations Association of Chicago and a former Director with the Chicago chapter of UN Women USA. She has worked extensively on issues related to women’s safety and sexual violence prevention in cities, including leading the grassroots effort to launch UN Women’s Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces initiative to Chicago. Her research interests include how inclusive public transit infrastructure may support women's safety needs in new city developments and special economic zones.
She holds a Master of Public Administration in Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy from the University College of London, and dual degrees in Psychology and the study of Systemic Oppression and Social Mobility from UIUC.
Since graduating from UIUC in 2016, she has served as a delegate at UN Women’s most recent Safe Cities Global Leaders’ Forum and authored policy proposals for leadership at the Greater London Authority, the European Commission in Brussels, and the United Nations in New York.
Prior to this, she was a member of Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) and the Co-President of Beyond Coal. She remains dedicated to inclusive approaches to public safety and is a committed proponent of individuals’ right to urban spaces free from sexual harassment and violence.
This lecture is part of the Spring 2022 DISH IT UP series, "Everyday Equity". Issues of gender equity emerge in our lives every day in almost every space and intersect with other social and environmental issues. Gendered scripts and expectations impact our economic security, health, safety, education, experiences with criminal justice and immigration, human rights, humanitarian aid, climate resilience, and participation in democracy. This spring, the Women’s Resources Center is taking a look at gender equity its many forms as well as how women-identified leaders are working to flip those scripts, challenge norms, and fight for equality and justice. Funded by the Student Cultural Programming Fee. FREE LUNCH will be available at this talk.
Alternating Mondays from Noon – 1pm (with free lunch) at the Women’s Resources Center, 616 E. Green Street, Suite 202 (Next to McDonalds), Champaign, IL 61820 For more information: visit: https://oiir.illinois.edu/womens-center
