The platform records women’s everyday experiences of insecurity in public spaces in Serbia
Changing the route home, avoiding a poorly lit street, asking someone to walk you home, or sending a message saying “I arrived safely” are everyday habits for many women and girls in Serbia. These experiences often remain invisible because they are rarely officially reported. SafeSteps was created to change that: turning individual stories into collective knowledge that can help communities understand safety challenges and create better public spaces for everyone.
When fear becomes part of everyday movement
For many women and girls, safety is not only a question of physical protection. It influences their freedom of movement, their choices, and their ability to participate equally in public life.
In Serbia, this issue cannot be viewed separately from the broader social position of women and young people. Reports by the Youth Umbrella Organization of Serbia (KOMS) show that many young people experience feelings of insecurity, declining trust in institutions, and limited opportunities for meaningful participation in decisions that affect their lives. The reports also document concerning cases of pressure, threats, and security risks faced by young activists who publicly advocate for social change.
At the same time, reports of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality highlight that gender-based discrimination and unequal treatment remain persistent challenges in Serbian society, affecting women and girls in various aspects of their everyday lives.
Many incidents of harassment, intimidation, or discomfort in public spaces never become official complaints. Some women do not believe reporting will lead to change. Others fear judgment, social stigma, or consider their experience too minor to be important.
But no experience is too small when it concerns the right to dignity, freedom of movement, and equal access to public spaces.
The inability to measure a problem does not mean that the problem does not exist. Sometimes, it means that we have not yet created enough safe spaces for people to speak about it.
From individual stories to collective evidence
SafeSteps was developed as a civic technology platform where women can anonymously share their experiences of insecurity in public spaces.
Through a simple and secure digital tool, users can identify locations where they felt unsafe, describe what happened, and contribute to a collective map of safety concerns. The idea behind SafeSteps is simple: one story may remain unheard, but hundreds of stories can reveal a pattern.
When anonymous experiences are gathered together, they become community-generated data that can help civil society organizations, local authorities, and decision-makers better understand the challenges women face in everyday life and develop responses based on real experiences.
SafeSteps does not ask women to adapt more carefully to unsafe environments. Instead, it asks a different question: how can our cities, institutions, and communities become more responsible and safer for everyone?
The platform is built according to a privacy-by-design approach. Privacy protection is not an additional feature; it is the foundation of the technology. SafeSteps collects only necessary information, enables anonymous participation, and protects the identity of its users.
From street activism to civic technology
SafeSteps is not an isolated technological innovation. It represents the continuation of nearly three decades of work by Youth of JAZAS Novi Sad, a youth organization founded in 1996 and formally registered in 1999.
Since its beginnings, the organization has worked to improve the lives of young people by promoting the idea that youth are not only beneficiaries of social change, but active creators of it.
Through peer education, youth activism, advocacy, and participation in the development of Serbia’s youth sector, Youth of JAZAS Novi Sad contributed to creating spaces where young people can organize, express their concerns, and influence decisions that affect them.
Its members have participated in the development of youth participation mechanisms, from student organizing and student parliaments to youth networks and structures such as KOMS, NAPOR, and OPENS, helping establish a stronger environment for youth engagement and civic participation.
Today, the tools have changed. Three decades ago, there were street campaigns, peer-to-peer workshops, and face-to-face conversations. Now, they include digital tools and civic technologies.
However, the mission remains the same: ensuring that voices that have long remained unheard can shape the social changes they need.
Listening as the first step toward safer cities
Every point placed on the SafeSteps map represents more than a location. It represents a person’s experience, a moment of fear or discomfort, and a voice that deserves to be heard. Technology alone cannot transform cities, but people can.
When technology creates a safe space where people can share experiences, recognize common challenges, and demand change together, it becomes a powerful tool for democracy and participation. SafeSteps begins with a single step: the decision to listen. Because every safer city starts with someone finally being heard.
- Author information, for example:
- Varvara Lazarević
- Former journalist, media educator and youth empowerment advocate, founder of New Generation Studio at Youth of JAZAS Novi Sad, the first youth podcast and video studio and media education center in Serbia.
- Organization: Youth of JAZAS Novi Sad
- Email: varvara_ns@yahoo.com
