A pilot program launched in Australia known as Victoria aims at tracking the diverse gender issues through crowd mapping.
You might experience multiple issues such as the lack of female restrooms, common room or powder room, etc. You may also notice the lack of facilities for Trans at hospitals, bus stops or other areas within your city. Majority of the times these things are overlooked and not addressed. These issues need attention for the well-being of the community.
Crowd-Spot and Monash University have come up with an initiative that would keep track of all such issues so that they can be addressed by the concerned departments. The two, in collaboration, have launched a Gender Diverse Map. This Map will allow you to play your part in improving the community services concerning gender equality. You can register your negative and positive comments by pinpointing a location where you have had such experience. It would highlight the area for town councils and local communities to have a look at.
“In isolation, individual experiences of gender inequality, like a lack of changing rooms for women in sports grounds may not seem significant. However, when we view them collectively, we see the very real impact inequity has on daily life for women, men, Trans, and other gender-diverse people. This valuable information will help councils, town planners, architects, policy-makers and the communities rethink how we care for all people in public places, and to identify design changes that improve public spaces, services and facilities to make our community a better place for everyone,”
-Anthony Aisenberg, CrowdSpot’s director.
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The process to mark your experience is quite simple. All you have to do is drop a pin on the map, state your experience, give it a description and save it. However, you can add your views on an already marked area to just second someone’s opinion about that place or disagree for that matter.
This Gender Diverse Map is initially available in the city of Darebin and city of Melton. However, it would later be introduced to other areas as well.
This smart initiative seems a like a good step towards the delivery of better community services. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Dr. Hafsa Akbar Ali
Amnah Fawad
