Free to Be: Madrid

Cat-calling, stalking, groping and worse – it doesn’t matter where they live, girls face harassment and abuse on a daily basis all around the world, simply because of their gender.

The magnitude of this global issue is the basis of recent research by Plan International where over 21,000 girls across Delhi, Kampala, Lima, Madrid and Sydney reported the areas in their city where they feel safe and unsafe, using our digital mapping tool developed in partnership with Monash University.

Now, we’re launching the findings in our Free to Be: Madrid. Overall, more than four out of five of the young women and girls who participated in Madrid experienced many forms of sexual harassment, but particularly verbal harassment. This was spread across the city, concentrated in public transport hubs, and consequently affected the freedom of girls and young women to move around the city and take part in activities. There was also a strong theme of public masturbation, with 11% of all bad comments noting this. In 78% of all bad pins, participants identified gender discrimination as a factor.