John Maynard was one of 24 speakers at a Crime Prevention and Safety Conference in Gunnedah, talking about how to make our cities safer, especially for women.
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"If you look at the history of urban environments, we know that many of these [spaces] have been decided by men," Mr Maynard told a room full of about 100 people.
"And subconsciously, or consciously, it's hard to know how many of those decisions have impacted women and girls in particular."
The Sydney-based crime prevention and community safety specialist was invited by the Gunnedah Shire Council to speak on day one of the two-day crime prevention event that kicked off on Thursday November 23.
He said more needs to be done to ensure women and girls are consulted and elevated to senior positions when planning towns and cities.
"We need to get more women in those senior roles, who understand how public spaces are used by women and girls," Mr Maynard said.
"So they can actually take on that agenda, so that we actually look at these spaces through the gender lens."
Mr Maynard gave the example of how a traditional outdoor public toilet block is designed, which often has a longer queue of women lined-up outside than what the men's side has.
"That happens probably in Gunnedah, Sydney and in cities and towns all over [the world]," Mr Maynard said.
He said those toilet blocks are designed by men who allocate half of the space to women and the other 50 per cent to men, thinking "that's fair, right? That's equality".
However, Mr Maynard said, what they don't understand are the "equity issues".
He said women spend longer on the toilet than men, they're often carrying shopping, assisting children or elderly, and thus need more space.
"But if you look at that block that is divided 50-50, you'll often find that women end up with two cubicles and men have two cubicles and four urinals," Mr Maynard said. "So they'll have more than double the number of facilities."
The expert crime prevention and community safety specialist said neighbourhoods can be made safer by "opening up" the landscape, with well-trimmed lawns and windows and a clear fence to give good sight lines out onto the street.
"And if we get to know and look out for the people we live amongst, then that gives us that reassuring sense of safety and security," Mr Maynard said.
"So, if you're having a conversation with your neighbour over the side fence, then that is going to increase the conspicuousness of somebody in that area with the wrong intention.
"And that's the last thing an offender wants, is to be witnessed in the course of committing a crime."
The Crime Prevention and Safety Conference will wrap up on Friday, November 24, with a range of speakers, from police, government, and not-for-profit groups speaking on a range of crime-related topics, including domestic violence, sexual assault, car thefts, and property break-and-enters.
