Summary

In January 2002, the Mayor of Quito named a woman as Metropolitan Director of Urban Safety as well as increased the number of women occupying decision-making and higher-responsibility posts. This nomination challenged the patriarchal conception that women's safety could only be directed by men, more specifically by police officers. The population of Quito believes that having a woman at the direction of urban security will lead to the development of social policies that will contribute to counteracting the causes of social violence.

A project has been created based on prevention and adequate reaction to delinquency. The municipality is playing a coordinating role and created a private non-profit organization (Corporación de Seguridad) that will be responsible for managing an integrated security system and financial resources that will include funds specifically designated for improving safety. This way, the state, the local government, the women's movement, non-governmental organizations, as well as the private sector will form a strategic prevention partnership united against family and gender-based violence.

Negotiations are presently being undertaken with the Inter-American Development Bank in order to obtain a loan for 6 million dollars to construct an 'Observatory of citizen's security' responsible for compiling data and statistics on safety, and for the training of a special community police unit to support and guide the community.

For the past four months already, the Director of Citizen's Security has been working on developing a general strategy that includes social equity, social participation and dialogue, and urban culture. Objectives for prevention and control have been set, for example:

• Organizing and educating citizens of Quito on protecting life and public and private property;
• Working with educational centres to share and inform local actors on methods of protection and prevention in order to reduce risks of violence and victimization;
• Identifying and defining alternative security services;
• Creating and improving access to adequate services in new neighbourhoods;
• Fighting against poverty and developing education and violence prevention efforts in order to attack the root causes of insecurity;
• Working with the National police to coordinate the implementation of security planning that respects human rights.

This strategy will be implemented as quickly as possible and will evolve based on a permanent dialogue process involving all concerned actors as well as citizen participation strategies. This is the structural and institutional response to citizens' demands to live in a city that is safe for all.