Students call for more streetlights after ‘horrific’ spate of sexual assaults in Leeds

Rosie, a fourth year student, told The Leeds Tab she would never walk through the park at night. Whilst at university, she says there have only been a handful of occasions when she’s been travelling in a big enough group to feel safe making the shortcut.

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“It sounds bad but there’s been like two times when we’ve taken the shortcut through the park because it’s way quicker on a night out. And both of those times it’s been when I’ve been with a few guys because even with a big group of women I wouldn’t feel safe,” she added.

Another second year student, Danielle, said she wishes there were more streetlights, but that “this wouldn’t tackle the root of the problem”.

She said: “In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need more lights on to put people off attacking women. It would be better if we just didn’t have to be worried about being attacked”.

Danielle said she always walks the longer way around the park, or takes a taxi if it’s nighttime. The student explained she doesn’t feel unsafe in Hyde Park generally, but late at night, or in the early hours of the morning, she would “never” travel alone.

Calls for streetlights to be installed in Woodhouse Moor are not new, with the recent attacks having reignited a long-standing debate about student safety concerns in the area.

However, proposals have been rejected in the past due to fears that lighting the area would encourage people to walk through the park, drawing further attention to themselves. The lack of light is thought to discourage individuals from passing through after sunset, thus keeping them safer.

Hyde Park, a popular student suburb where Woodhouse Moor is located

Hope, a third year student, says women’s safety in Hyde Park is discussed a lot between her and her friends.

Speaking about the recent spate of sexual assaults in Leeds, she told The Leeds Tab she doesn’t know why more hasn’t been done sooner, and feels like this conversation resurfaces every year “when a new cohort of freshers arrives”.

Hope continued: “The attacks are honestly horrific, but sometimes it feels like Groundhog Day with women’s safety.

“It would be nice to not have to plan routes home so thoroughly, or finish a day at the library in winter and be concerned about making sure I’m only on well lit roads.”

Last year, park workers and volunteers in West Yorkshire were among the first in the UK to receive specialist training aimed at addressing the harassment of women.

That initiative followed a University of Leeds study, which called for improvements in how parks are designed and managed, to make sure women and girls can feel safe at all times.