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New research from Mitie and personal safety app, Walksafe, shows that almost half of women (44 per cent) and a fifth of men (21 per cent) feel unsafe when walking in the dark, even when making every day journeys, including commuting to work. As a result, almost three quarters of people (69 per cent) change their route home during winter to avoid walking in the dark, spending an average of £100 extra per month on taxis and public transport.
In response, Mitie has partnered with personal safety app, WalkSafe, to develop an enhanced service for organisations that want to offer additional personal safety support for their colleagues through a specialist 24/7 contact centre. The partnership aims to support safer communities, particularly for people travelling alone.
The threat awareness when walking in the dark differs between men and women. Over half of women (51 per cent) cite being followed by a stranger at the top of their list of fears, with awareness of the threat of sexual assault also running high for over a third (34 per cent). In contrast, just under a fifth (17 per cent) of men fear being followed by a stranger and less than one in 20 (4 per cent) list sexual assault as a concern. Meanwhile, being mugged or becoming a victim of knife crime concern two fifths (40 per cent) and over a quarter (28 per cent) of men respectively.
Two thirds (65 per cent) of people say they don’t change the timings of their routine, leaving the house and returning home at the same time all year round. However, for many people, when the clocks go back this means leaving the house or returning home in the dark, so, almost three quarters (69 per cent) of people say they have made changes to feel safer or avoid walking in the dark. The most common changes made are walking a different route (34 per cent), taking a taxi or public transport (28 per cent), and driving a short distance to avoid walking (24 per cent), with people spending on average an extra £100 extra a month. More than double the number of women (15 per cent) are prepared to go even further and miss social events to avoid walking in the dark compared to their male counterparts (7 per cent).
Seven in 10 (71 per cent) people are calling for more to be done to improve safety on the streets. Two-thirds (65 per cent) believe that the government and local authorities can do more to protect people or better publicise their existing street safety initiatives. A further fifth (19 per cent) think employers could do more to improve safety for their colleagues and this figure rises to over a third (36 per cent) for people who leave the house or return home in darkness. With the Workers’ Protection Act introduced in October, organisations are looking for additional ways to prevent harassment and create environments where people feel safe.
WalkSafe partnership
In a commitment to create safer communities, Mitie and Walksafe have entered into a partnership, designed to enhance personal safety. WalkSafe’s award-winning technology combines journey-sharing features and a national Safe Space map providing information based on both police data and data from other app users to help people plan their route and seek support at designated safe havens in their local area should they need it.
The partnership will see Mitie develop enhanced services for the WalkSafe Pro version of the app which organisations can provide to their colleagues. This is designed to provide additional support to app users through Mitie’s 24/7 specialist security control centre. Colleagues will have the option to speak with trained operatives who can provide reassurance, give immediate advice and, where appropriate, call the emergency services.
Emma Kay, Founder of WalkSafe said: “I started WalkSafe to empower people to take precautionary measures to protect their own safety, something I feel strongly about after experiencing harassment in the street. With Mitie, we will take WalkSafe one step further with the support of their connected control centre.
“With app users surging since the clocks changed, we want to do everything we can to ensure people can get home safely in the dark. Mitie is bringing its security intelligence services so together, we can add a layer of protection that has not been available before. With this new partnership, we hope to revolutionise the way that employers can take care of their colleagues, ultimately making them safer.”
Jason Towse, Managing Director, Business Services, Mitie, said: “Our friends, families and colleagues should all be able to travel safely, whether on transport networks or simply walking home, yet violence against women and girls and minority groups is increasingly prevalent across the UK.
“A fifth of the UK’s workforce expect their employer to help get them to and from work safely and we want to help organisations protect their people. In developing this support in partnership with WalkSafe, we want to help tackle this epidemic and enable safer communities where we can all live and work.”
