Leeds Night Safe Space Bus offers ‘calm space’ for women

The safety of women has been gaining more attention in recent years following a number of high-profile murders like that of Sarah Everard, Zara Aleena and Kulsuma Akter.

In Leeds, a “safe space bus” was launched in 2022 to help support women on nights out, but its future is uncertain due to a lack of funding. To find out more about its work BBC News spent a Saturday night with staff on board the bus.

“We’ve probably stopped so many assaults happening without even knowing, just by providing a safe place for women to wait for taxis,” Emily Taylor tells me.

She is one of the support workers on the Women’s Night Safe Space Bus that is parked next to the Corn Exchange, close to the bars and clubs in Leeds city centre, every Saturday night.

The vehicle is stocked with medical equipment, drinks, snacks and essentials like tampons, mobile phone chargers, fluffy socks and flip flops for aching feet.

“We have everything,” Ms Taylor tells me.

“We have women who come here who’ve been assaulted, we have women who may feel vulnerable and unsafe, they might have lost their phone and friends, they might have been spiked.”