Area of Inquiry 4: Access to Public Spaces and Services

Fulfilling basic rights like health, education, security and citizenship, all hinge on an individual’s ability to enter public spaces and access the services he/she requires. This means that all individuals in a community should have the mobility to access public spaces safely. Further, services - including justice, administration, financial services, education, health and other social development sectors– should not only be accessible, but also accountable to all members of the community that they serve.

To ensure that program initiatives are inclusive and accountable, it will be critical to understand barriers and opportunities in relation to mobility as well as access to services.

One part of this is to understand what risks women and men, girls and boys take when entering public spaces and accessing services. What are barriers they face in accessing quality services that are accountable, transparent and responsive to their needs and interests? And how can individuals ensure services are accountable to their needs and interests?

Agency	Structures	Relations	Related Tools
How do men and women, boys and girls navigate public spaces? What are reasons for this? What strategies do women employ to gain access to services and rights? Who do they negotiate with? What personal skills, abilities, information, knowledge or attitudes will a man or woman need to be able to access services and rights? What have women done collectively to promote equality in access to services and rights?	Do women and girls have the autonomy to move freely within and beyond the community alone? How is this different for men and boys? What happens to women or girls who are seen in public spaces? What are the consequences for safety and security or reputation? What norms shape women’s and girls’ access to and role in the public sphere? What are policies, programs or strategies that promote women’s and children’s access to services, public services and spaces? How is it budgeted, staffed, funded or advertised? Are adequate services equally accessible to women, men, girls and boys? (types of services may include health, financial, legal)	Do family members or neighbors encourage or support women’s and girls’ access to services and rights? What kinds of services/rights? What key relationships control women’s and girl’s ability to move within and beyond the community? What are conditions surrounding their mobility? How do power dynamics in the household or community prevent or facilitate space for women to access services/rights? Do women support one another across classes or caste or ethnicity? Which social support networks facilitate access to gender- and age-responsive services to members of marginalized groups (women/girls/other)? Collectively – how do women, men, girls and boys mobilize or advocate around this issue and with whom? How are CARE’s programs relating to groups’ goals and actions? How are these groups related to other key stakeholders/institutions (private enterprise, government, religious institutions, etc.)?	Higher Level Conditions Macro-Secondary Analysis Policy Analysis Governance Analysis Mapping Institutions/ Stakeholders Key Informant Interviews Gender Norms and Trends Community Dynamics Measuring Attitudes toward Women and Gender Equality Power Mapping Community, Social and Resource Mapping Network Analysis Exploitation Analysis Dependency/Influence Mapping Key Informant Interviews Mobility Analysis Decision-making Exercises Field Observation Class/Mobility Matrix Household Dynamics Intra-Household Decision-Making

 

Special Consideration for Children and Adolescents

• What public spaces are available for girls and boys within the community? What are risks they face in accessing these spaces? How are risks different between (and among) girls and boys?
• What services are available for girls and boys in the community? How can services be adapted to be more child-friendly?
• What role do children or adolescents play in reinforcing child/adolescent accountability in services and rights?
• How do girls and boys differ in this regard in this context?

 

Reminder: Remain sensitive to the diverse and changing roles and relationships

• Trends and changes across time– how values, norms and expectations around gender have changed over the decades (positively and negatively) and what influences led to these changes.
• How different age groups(younger children, adolescents, adults and elderly) as well as marital status (unmarried, married, widowed, divorced) can make a difference to people’s lived experiences.
• The multiple roles and relationships both women and men maintain(for example, as sexual partners, household and clan members, citizens of a broader community, economic actors, etc.).