Toplu Taşıma Sistemlerinde Kadınların Güvenlik Algıları ve Stratejileri: Feminist Bir Yaklaşım

Abstract

Toplu taşıma sistemleri, modern kent yaşamının ayrılmaz bir parçasıdır ve her gün milyonlarca insanın bu sistemleri kullanarak şehir içinde hareket etmesine olanak tanımaktadır. Ancak bu sistemler, özellikle kadınlar için karmaşık ve güvenlik açısından hassas bir deneyim sunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, İstanbul’daki toplu taşıma sistemlerinde kadınların güvenlik algılarını ve bu algılara yönelik geliştirdikleri stratejileri feminist bir yaklaşımla incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Kadınların toplu taşıma araçlarında karşılaştıkları güvenlik sorunlarının toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğinin bir yansıması olduğu savunulmakta ve feminist teori çerçevesinde bu sorunların nasıl şekillendiği ele alınmaktadır. Çalışmada, nitel bir araştırma yöntemi olarak katılımcı gözlem kullanılmıştır. Kadınların toplu taşıma araçlarındaki gerçek zamanlı davranışları gözlemlenmiş ve 45 gözlem sonucunda elde edilen veriler tematik analiz yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Tematik analiz sonucunda kadınların güvenlik algılarıyla ilgili beş ana tema belirlenmiştir: Kişisel alanın korunması, güvenlik donanımlarına yönelik algılar, sosyal etkileşimden kaçınma, kalabalık ve savunmasızlık ve gece yolculuğu ve güvenlik endişeleri. Araştırma bulguları, kadınların toplu taşıma araçlarında güvenlik kaygılarını hafifletmek için çeşitli stratejiler geliştirdiğini ve bu stratejilerin toplu taşıma deneyimlerini doğrudan etkilediğini ortaya koymaktadır. Kadınların gerçek zamanlı deneyimlerini gözlemleyerek, bireysel stratejilerinin ve bu stratejilerin toplu taşıma deneyimlerine etkisinin detaylı bir şekilde ortaya konulması çalışmayı literatürdeki benzerlerinden farklı kılmaktadır.

Keywords

• Feminist Teori
• Feminist Coğrafya
• İstanbul
• Katılımcı Gözlem
• Cinsiyet Eşitsizliği.

Women’s Perceptions of Safety And Strategies In Public Transportation Systems: A Feminist Approach

Abstract

Public transportation systems are integral to modern urban life, enabling millions of people to move within cities daily. However, these systems present a complex and safety-sensitive experience, especially for women. This study examines women's perceptions of safety and the strategies they develop in response to these perceptions in Istanbul's public transportation systems through a feminist approach. It argues that the safety issues women face in public transportation reflect gender inequality and explores how these issues are shaped within the framework of feminist theory. A qualitative research method, participant observation, was employed in this study. Women’s real-time behaviors on public vehicles were observed, and the data obtained from 45 observations were analyzed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis identified five main themes regarding women’s perceptions of safety: preserving personal space, perceptions of safety equipment, avoiding social interactions, crowding and vulnerability, and nighttime travel and safety concerns. The findings reveal that women develop various strategies to mitigate safety concerns in public transportation, which directly influence their transportation experiences. Observing women’s real-time experiences uniquely details individual strategies and their impact on public transportation experiences, distinguishing this study from similar ones in the literature.

Keywords

• Feminist Theory
• Feminist Geography
• İstanbul
• Participant Observation
• Gender Inequality.

References

1. Acker, J. (1990). Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender & Society, 4(2), 139-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124390004002002
2. Agrawal, A. (2024). Gender-separate/segregated public transport: a critical overview of practices and policies. Handbook of Gender And Mobilities, 388-399. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035300860.00039
3. Akgün, E., Yarar, M. ve Dinçer, Ç. (2011). Okul öncesi öğretmenlerin sınıf içi etkinliklerde kullandıkları sınıf yönetimi stratejilerinin incelenmesi. Pegem Eğitim ve Öğretim Dergisi, 1(3), 1-9.
4. Albal, H. (2020). Kamu hizmetlerinden yararlanmada kadın-erkek eşitliği. İnönü Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 11(1), 213-227. https://doi.org/10.21492/inuhfd.716066
5. Alkalay, G., Kıral, B. ve Erdem, A. R. (2021). İlkokul yönetici ve sınıf öğretmenlerine göre Suriyeli sığınmacı öğrencilerin yaşadıkları sorunlar ve çözüm önerileri. Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 8(1), 231-249. https://doi.org/10.21666/muefd.809182
6. Angrosino, M. (2007). Doing ethnographic and observational research. Sage.
7. Bakker, I. ve Gill, S. (2003). Power, production and social reproduction: human ın/security in the global political economy. Palgrave Macmillan.
8. Beebeejaun, Y. (2017). Gender, urban space, and the right to everyday life. Journal of Urban Affairs, 39(3), 323-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2016.1255526

9. Bernard, H. R. (2006). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
10. Birkenkötter, H. (2018). Ensuring access to public space as a dimension of “safe cities”. H. P. Aust ve A. du Plessis (Eds.), The globalisation of urban governance (pp. 127-150). Routledge.
11. Borker, G. (2024). Understanding the constraints to women’s use of urban public transport in developing countries. World Development, 180, 106589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106589
12. Braun, V. ve Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
13. Brown, W. (1992). Finding the man in the state. Feminist Studies, 18(1), 7-34. https://doi.org/10.2307/3178212
14. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Çakmak, E. K., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş. ve Demirel, F. (2014). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri. Pegem.
15. Ceccato, V. (2017). Women’s transit safety: Making connections and defining future directions in research and practice. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 19(3), 276-294. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-017-0032-5
16. Ceccato, V. ve Paz, Y. (2017). Crime in São Paulo’s metro system: Sexual crimes against women. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 19(3), 211-226. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-017-0027-2
17. Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities. University of California Press.
18. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
19. de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life. University of California Press.
20. del Mar Rodas-Zuleta, M., Cardona, S. ve Escobar, D. A. (2022). Gender-based violence and Women’s mobility, findings from a medium-sized Colombian city: A quantitative approach. Journal of Transport & Health, 25, 101376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2022.101376
21. Dunckel-Graglia, A. (2013). Women-only transportation: How “pink” public transportation changes public perception of women’s mobility. Journal of Public Transportation, 16(2), 85-105. https://doi.org/10.5038/2375-0901.16.2.5
22. Fenster, T. (2005). The right to the gendered city: Different formations of belonging in everyday life. Journal of Gender Studies, 14(3), 217-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589230500264109
23. Fraser, N. (1990). Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing democracy. Social Text, 25(26), 56-80. https://doi.org/10.2307/466240
24. García-Jiménez, E., Poveda-Reyes, S., Molero, G. D., Santarremigia, F. E., Gorrini, A., Hail, Y., … ve Mauriello, F. (2020). Methodology for gender analysis in transport: Factors with influence in women’s inclusion as professionals and users of transport infrastructures. Sustainability, 12(9), 3656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093656
25. Gardner, N., Cui, J. ve Coiacetto, E. (2017). Harassment on public transport and its impacts on women’s travel behavior. Australian Planner, 54(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2017.1299189
26. Gekoski, A., Gray, J. M., Horvath, M. A. H., Edwards, S., Emirali, A. ve Adler, J. R. (2015). ‘What Works’ in Reducing Sexual Harassment and Sexual Offences on Public Transport Nationally and Internationally: A Rapid Evidence Assessment. British Transport Police and Department for Transport.
27. Greed, C. (2008). Are we there yet? Women and transport revisited. In T. Priay Uteng & T. Cresswell (Eds.), Gendered mobilities (ss. 245–255). Ashgate.
28. Guest, G., Bunce, A. ve Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
29. Hamilton, K., Jenkins, L., Hodgson, F. ve Turner, J. (2005). Promoting gender equality in transport (Vol. 34). Manchester: Equal Opportunities Commission.
30. Hanson, S. (2010). Gender and mobility: new approaches for informing sustainability. Gender, Place & Culture, 17(1), 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09663690903498225
31. Hanson, S. ve Pratt, G. (1995). Gender, work, and space. Routledge.
32. Hsu, H.-P. (2011). How does fear of sexual harassment on transit affect women’s use of transit? In Women’s issues in transportation: Summary of the 4th International Conference (Conference Proceedings 46, Vol. 2, pp. 85–94). Transportation Research Board.
33. Johnson, L. (1985). Gender, genetics and the possibility of feminist geography. Australian Geographical Studies, 23(1), 161-171. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8470.1985.tb00488.x
34. Kaygan, P., Kaygan, H. ve Özgür Keysan, A. (2023). Gendered interactions mediated by design: Sexual harassment on public transport. Design and Culture, 15(3), 345-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/17547075.2022.2141159
35. Koca, T. ve Çolpan Erkan, N. (2022). Kentsel güvenliğin sağlanmasında tasarım rehberleri. Planlama, 34(1), 162-173. doi:10.14744/planlama.2021.36036
36. Korkut, M. (2022). Kentsel açık yeşil alanların kadınlar tarafından kullanımı üzerine bir değerlendirme: Şanlıurfa, Birecik örneği. (Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi). Kapadokya Üniversitesi, Lisansüstü Eğitim, Öğretim ve Araştırma Enstitüsü, Nevşehir.
37. Koskela, H. (1997). 'Bold walk and breakings': Women's spatial confidence versus fear of violence. Gender, Place & Culture, 4(3), 301-320. https://doi.org/10.1080/09663699725369
38. Koskela, H. ve Pain, R. (2000). Revisiting fear and place: Women’s fear of attack and the built environment. Geoforum, 31(2), 269-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7185(99)00033-0
39. Köklü, E. (2016). Kent merkezlerinde suç korkusunun incelenmesi: Beşiktaş örneği. (Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi). İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, İstanbul.
40. Law, R. (1999). Beyond 'women and transport': Towards new geographies of gender and daily mobility. Progress in Human Geography, 23(4), 567-588. https://doi.org/10.1191/030913299666161864
41. Levy, C. (2013). Travel choice reframed: "Deep distribution" and gender in urban transport. Environment and Urbanization, 25(1), 47-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247813477810
42. Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (2014). Fear and safety in transit environments from the women’s perspective. Security Journal, 27(2), 242-256. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2014.9
43. Loukaitou-Sideris, A. ve Fink, C. (2009). Addressing women's fear of victimization in transportation settings: A survey of US transit agencies. Urban Affairs Review, 44(4), 554-587. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087408322874
44. MacKinnon, C. A. (1989). Toward a feminist theory of the state. Harvard University Press.
45. Massey, D. (1994). Space, place and gender. Polity Press.
46. McDowell, L. (1999). Gender, identity and place: Understanding feminist geographies. University of Minnesota Press.
47. Önder, H. G. (2020). Kadın duyarlı ulaşım önceliklerinin belirlenmesi ve politika üretimi: Ankara örneği. OPUS International Journal of Society Researches, 15(23), 1993-2010. https://doi.org/10.26466/opus.632122
48. Pain, R. (1991). Space, sexual violence and social control: Integrating geographical and feminist analyses of women's fear of crime. Progress in Human Geography, 15(4), 415-431. https://doi.org/10.1177/030913259101500403
49. Parnell, K. J., Pope, K. A., Hart, S., Sturgess, E., Hayward, R., Leonard, P. ve Madeira-Revell, K. (2022). ‘It’s a man’s world’: a gender-equitable scoping review of gender, transportation, and work. Ergonomics, 65(11), 1537-1553. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2022.2070662
50. Rose, G. (1993). Feminism and geography: the limits of geographical knowledge. University of Minnesota Press.
51. Sheller, M. (2018). Mobility justice: the politics of movement in an age of extremes. Verso Books.
52. Soja, E. W. (1998). Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Capital & Class, 22(1), 137-139. https://doi.org/10.1177/030981689806400112
53. Spain, D. (1992). Gendered spaces. University of North Carolina Press.
54. Sprague, J. (2005). Feminist methodologies for critical researchers: Bridging differences. Rowman & Littlefield.
55. Thaher, M. (2024). Promoting women's well-being through socially sustainable urban transport: A developing country study. Journal of Advanced Research in Women’s Studies, 2(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.33422/jarws.v2i1.496
56. Tiznado-Aitken, I., Guerrero, B. ve Sagaris, L. (2024). Uncovering gender-based violence and harassment in public transport: Lessons for spatial and transport justice. Journal of Transport Geography, 114, 103766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103766
57. Uteng, T. P. ve Cresswell, T. (2008). Gendered mobilities. Ashgate.
58. Valentine, G. (1989). The geography of women's fear. Area, 21(4), 385-390. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20000063
59. Valentine, G. (2007). Theorizing and researching intersectionality: A challenge for feminist geography. The Professional Geographer, 59(1), 10-21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9272.2007.00587.x
60. Whitzman, C. (2013). Women’s safety and everyday mobility. In C. Whitzman, C. Legacy, C. Andrew, F. Klodawsky, M. Shaw ve K. Viswanath (Eds.), Building inclusive cities (pp. 35-52). Routledge.
61. Yavuz, N. ve Welch, E. W. (2010). Addressing fear of crime in public space: Gender differences in reaction to safety measures in train transit. Urban Studies, 47(12), 2491-2515. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098009359033
62. Yuval-Davis, N. (1997). Gender and nation. SAGE Publications.