Is This Women-Only Parking Garage Making Women Safer Or Enabling Creeps?

A women-only parking garage in Australia has gone viral after being highlighted on TikTok by a female driver. Natasha Gallier (@natashagallier) shared a video of the multi-story parking garage in Perth and captioned the clip: “Don’t know if we should be happy or scared there’s a female-only parking with security.” However, many users pointed out just how sketchy this is.

@natashageorgeee

🤯 did not expect that haha

♬ original sound – Caramel Express

  1. This place couldn’t be more of a cliche. The women-only parking garage features bright pink painted walls and signs letting everyone know where the “female parking” is, while other bays ask drivers to “kindly reserve this bay for female drivers.” Because, you know, all women just love pink!
  2. The City of Perth first trialed female-only parking all the way back in 2016. WAToday says that the concept was piloted for about a month to “determine demand.” While the city insisted men wouldn’t be penalized for parking in the bays, they were “encouraged to support” the program.
  3. Many commenters were worried about the safety implications. As many commenters mentioned, it seems like advertising “female-only” parking is one way to highlight where women are and make them easier for rapists and criminals to target them. “I would not use this,” one person wrote. “It just tells creeps where to creep.”
  4. Some women said they’d purposely park elsewhere. A few users said they would be “scared” to use a women-only parking garage and said they’d feel “safer in the normal one.” Another person understood what the city was trying to do but said, “Intentions are there, but I feel like this almost makes it worse.”
  5. Is security really monitoring this garage? And how frequently, if so? And how on earth can they ensure that no one unsavory is getting into the car park? “I sincerely hope no one can get in or out without being seen and approved by a security guard,” one person commented. The original poster responded: “They can, it’s a multi-story car park.”
@natashageorgeee

C cure raty

♬ original sound – Ian Asher

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience. The managing editor of Bolde, she has bylines in Vanity Fair, Business Insider, The New York Times, Glamour, Bon Appetit, and many more. You can follow her on Twitter @jenniferlstill
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