A Suffolk criminology lecturer has spoken of her "surprise" at research which found only 11% of women in the East of England were put off visiting parks because of safety fears.
The polling company YouGov found 11% of women in the East of England - covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk - disagreed with the statement that they felt safe in their local park.
Laura Polley, a lecturer at the University of Suffolk, said she would have "put the figure higher," especially as a survey by gender equality organisation UN Women UK found that 97% of women aged 18-24 had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces.
READ MORE: 'Sexual harassment needs to be stopped' - Charity launches Ipswich campaign
She is also the organiser of Suffolk's Reclaim the Streets movement, which was set up in the aftermath of the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 to fight for safer public spaces for women.
"I am pleasantly surprised. I thought more women would feel unsafe. That figure is quite low considering where I would have put it.
"Even at 11%, it is telling that women and girls don't feel safe at all.
"Locally and nationally, we are taking the issue more seriously, but it is not enough for women to access public spaces," Laura said.
Figures from official police logs have shown that in the 12 months to May 2023, there were 91 violent or sexual offences in the areas around Suffolk parks.
By far the most offences - 58 - were reported around Christchurch Park in Ipswich, while the area around Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds was second with 11 offences.
READ MORE: Ipswich news
Two other Ipswich parks - Gippeswyk and Holywells - had 13 offences between them, while there were eight reported offences at Kirkley Fen Park in Lowestoft.
There were also 21 reports of anti-social behaviour around Suffolk parks, including 13 at Christchurch Park.
Laura said improved street lighting, CCTV and visible police patrols were part of the solution, but the main change needed to come in the attitude of men towards women.
She added: "It is about a culture change. We should not have to ask women to adjust their routines to feel safe. We should ask men not to attack women and make them feel unsafe."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here