(VNF) - On June 8^th, Plan International Vietnam collaborated with the University of Transport and Communications (UTCC) and Hanoi Transport Management and Operation Center (TRAMOC) to organise a public cycling event to promote girls’ safety in public spaces and when using public transportation in the city.

Pamphlets with messages " Safer cities for girls", "Girls speak up when facing violence!" will travel throughout Hanoi, reaching girls, women and males.

The active cyclist group of UTCC Youth Union members traveled through Hanoi and stopped in more than 15 locations to hand out pamphlets to bus passengers and traffic participants, spreading inspirational messages and encouraging the community to stand up for safety for girls.

These messages aim to raise awareness of the community on Gender-Based Violence and encourage positive behaviors from male passengers on buses and at bus ticket vendors.

This activity is expected to inspire more than 15,000 adolescent girls and young women; 200,000 male passengers and 3.000 bus passengers in Hanoi as well as over 1,000 bus drivers and assistant drivers in Hanoi with the aim of making positive changes for girls’ safety in public.

The event is part of the major campaign initiated by the project since April, aimed to reach over 15,000 university students in three universities and 3,000 bus passengers in Hanoi.

This is a cooperative activity between Plan International Vietnam, Hanoi Public Transport Management and Operation Center, and Department of Gender Equality under the Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs within the framework of “Safer Cities for Girls” project initiated by Plan in Hanoi since 2014.

Creating safe cities for girls creates long-term economic and social change that will benefit everyone. Safe cities are crucial to achieving gender equality because they will allow the girls who live in them to access all the opportunities they offer./.

Minh Chau