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Women's only parking zone sparks heated debate

Would you feel safer in a single-sex carpark?

A TikTok showing a 'female friendly' parking zone in Perth's CBD has sparked a heated debate online, with people questioning its safety.

User Natasha Gallier shared the video of the City of Perth car bays, showing part of the floor of the multi-storey car park with hot pink walls and signs asking drivers to reserve it for female drivers only.

There are 28 bays reserved for females in the CBD car park. Source: TikTok
There are 28 bays reserved for females in the CBD car park. Source: TikTok

Ms Gallier captioned the clip: “Don’t know if we should be happy or scared there’s a female-only parking with security.”

Makes women a target

The clip — which has over 580,000 views on the platform — has users concerned that rather than providing security to women who may be nervous about being in a car park by themselves, it's instead highlighting it as an area where vulnerable women may be.

"It just tells the creeps where to lurk," one user commented.

"It scares me," confessed another. "I’d feel safer in the normal one so they don’t know where I am.”

"As a feminist, I like the safe space but at the same time isn't it a huge green light for creeps?" one person questioned.

Many women agreed they'd be more scared to use the allocated "female-friendly" bays, worried it makes them a target to be attacked or followed to their car.

Many users also commented on the need to create a dedicated car space for women anyway.

“The fact this even is a thing says a lot,” one TikToker pointed out.

“It’s honestly crazy it’s come to this,” another agreed.

Introduced in 2016

Female-only parking spaces were first introduced in 2016. Of the 700 bays in the multi-level car park, 28 are reserved for women, providing "female-friendly service with added safety and security".

"Pier Street was identified as a key facility due to the anti-social behaviour in and around the surrounding area which was impacting our customer's experience and safety," a City of Perth spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.

"We received positive feedback following the 2016 trial, with patrons highlighting they felt safer and more secure. As a result of the successful trial, CPP has continued the operation of female parking bays at Pier Street Carpark.

"The carpark is staffed seven days a week by a City of Perth Parking Officer, 24/7 CCTV and the female-only bays are situated near to the carpark office.

"No complaints have been received since the launch of the female-friendly parking bays in 2016."

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