A Walk in the Park Is Not a Strategy…

I am an infrequent contributor to Slugger, and my contributions would largely fall into the ‘stray insights’ category. What caught my eye this week was Ards and North Down Borough Council launching their Spark Her Series: Ignite, Inspire, Empower. This is a free programme of outdoor activities and workshops for Women and Girls from March to June 2026;

“This spring and summer, we’re creating more opportunities for women and girls to get active, feel safe, build confidence and connect with each other in our parks and shared spaces”

From March to June, come along and try something new, meet new people and be part of a supportive, welcoming atmosphere.

All events are free and funded by the NI Executive Office.”

Now, when the Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) was created “to address a whole range of gender-based violence, abuse and harm which is disproportionately experienced by women and girls”, I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park to effect change, but a walk in the park is literally what is being proposed here.

I am not an expert on much (anything actually), but as a woman for some 40 years, I feel that I can speak for at least one woman when I say, “Are you kidding me?” (my first draft was a profanity, but then I remembered that I am lady and as such, should not swear like a sailor in public).

I find it unintelligible, that in 2026, initiatives are still being aimed at Women and Girls, to find ways to make the world safer for Women and Girls and yet, Ards and North Down Borough Council – Parks are doing just that by inviting us to join them, for a chill Twilight Walk with Community PSNI to talk about women’s safety on local walking routes.

This screams of the same logic used by flood prevention schemes; we can’t stop the rain coming and the infrastructure is what it is, but we have given you a sandbag locker near at hand to use, so that you can ineffectively protect your home during such times when the rain comes. In other words, we can’t fight nature and infrastructure.

I know this might not be the right forum for this rant _ have things changed much here since 2005 when Mick asked the question _ “is there a gender divide on Slugger?”

But you, dear readers, are the people debating the matters of regional, national and international concern, so, with International Women’s Day approaching on 8 March 2026, please take five minutes to debate how we could move towards ending violence against Women and Girls.

I propose an experiment, similar to the thought exercise at the end of the movie, A Time to Kill (1996) _ if you haven’t seen it go and watch it, or for the purposes of my example here, watch the closing argument on YouTube_ where the lawyer asks the jury to look at the case through a different lens. I am going to borrow the tactic and challenge you, my predominantly male readership, to imagine the gender-based violence, abuse and harm which is disproportionately experienced by women and girls is being experienced by men. Then I would ask you, what you would do to end it. I am pretty sure it wouldn’t be to offer a walk in the park with the PSNI, to talk about safety on walking routes.

There is of course another lens to view this. Perhaps the thinking is, if we_ women_ are in better shape, we can run away more easily? or perhaps, it is to prevent us taking revenge because, as Elle Woods explained in Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t”.