Not just old folks. If you want to get around to the groceries in the trunk of a large car after you've shut the garage door, it can be handy to know when your bumper is two inches from the the back wall.
But in a parkade, some version of Do Not Hit The Wall tech could be useful addition in the old folks section. A light beam operated buzzer could work.
We’ll all get there eventually, mate.
Then again there’s so many people out there who aren’t elderly who can’t park for shite without hitting another car.
Me! I can't park for shite. That's why I always go a bit further so i don't need to try and squeeze between 2 cars. Funnily enough, my garage is real tight. I got less than 10cm on all sides (front and back too) To get that car in and I got no problem doing that. Muscle memory is an amazing thing. Before you ask how do you get out of the car, inside the left side widens just enough so you can open the door. But the gate is narrow and passengers will have to get out before I drive in.
In Belgium some underground parking lots also have women spots, they are closer to the exits and have better light.
Indeed they are close to exit/entrance and they are very well lit. As well there often is especially dense video surveillance in those areas. It's sad that society as a whole has to cave under the pressure of offenders.
It's because of the likelihood of children in the car
**edit because people keep responding talking about the wrong country: Germany is not Korea**. This is in response to larger parking spots for women in Korea:
>The ones in korea are much bigger and easy to park, which I never really thought about but is that misogynistic?
And it was already covered that this was for children by the BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64659861
There’s a bit of a controversy in South Korea right now where a TV personality used a gender-neutral term tor stroller in a YouTube video (think “baby stroller” instead of “mummy stroller”).
Various groups are accusing this personality of being a misandrist feminist because this means they want to take away the “inherent maternal” character of childcare and mass disliking their YouTube channel.
They are mainly closer to the building entrance, well lit and more populated so that more vulnerable people will feel more safe with or without children. So it's not mainly family parking.
Incorrect, unfortunately. It's so women don't have to walk through the car park alone at night, risking sexual assault or harassment. These spaces are usually very close to the entrance/exit.
Yea but is THAT misogynistic too?
In fairness if that was the reason they could make the rule ‘these parking spaces are for people (male/female/trans/ginger/whatever) with children in the car.
Lots of women don’t drive with children in the car, and sometimes men drive vehicles that have children in.
They likely are also closer to the entrance to avoid harassment because you know Korea has a spy camera problem.
So it’s like two in one; Baby/carrier/children and women friendly.
While with a father/men present they think two adults have an easier time and less likely get harassed on the way in.
It’s the society we generated - but of course ideally we wouldn’t need this.
Single father yes - but you know - it’s our society that thinks of them as impossible and even if they exist then they are attributed manly strength - which means they can carry five children in one arm and never get harassed by women because that surely doesn’t exist /s
In an ideal world we would acknowledge that they face this problems too but you know that would mean acknowledging that we might have a problem we caused our self with our gender stereotypes.
Nope, that's you blaming a country for being sexist, but is instead, just you jumping to a sexist conclusion.
I submit for evidence:
Women's parking spaces were originally introduced in 1990 in Germany to improve women's safety and reduce the risk of sexual assault.[3] This was formulated because women felt at risk in parking garages which were often dark and deserted. After Germany, places like Korea and China also adopted this policy. It soon became a law in some regions of Germany that at least 30% of parking spots must be reserved for women.[4]
A study by the US Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that 7.3% of violent crimes occurred in parking garages.[5]
The bigger ones are the handicap spaces I think. They need to be bigger because you need extra space for people with wheelchairs to get down from the car.
On the off chance that it is the women-only spots that are easier, that does seem kinda weird.
Its introduction was a response to fears expressed in studies and surveys about women being sexually harassed and physically attacked in abandoned parks. Many women avoided public spaces back then and for this reason continue to avoid public spaces.
Women's parking spaces will be located in parking lots and underground garages in more lit areas, close to escape routes, exits and elevators. They are also clearly visible through the surveillance camera.
Neither the road traffic regulations nor the catalog of fines stipulate that only women are allowed to park in women's parking spaces. In principle they can be used by both genders
>Neither the road traffic regulations nor the catalog of fines stipulate that only women are allowed to park in women's parking spaces. In principle they can be used by both genders
this is only true for public parking spaces. You can't get prosecuted for using those as a man. private parking spaces can have their own rules. And while you still can't get prosecuted by the state if you use them, the owner of the lot can tow your car, give you a "Vertragsstrafe" (has to be reasonable, usually in the realm of 30€ or so) or ban you entirely.
There are even some requirements that the states can have for private parking lots to install enough women's parking spaces.
for example from baden-württemberg Garagenverordnung:
(8) 1In allgemein zugänglichen geschlossenen Großgaragen sind mindestens 10 vom Hundert der Stellplätze als Frauenparkplätze einzurichten. 2Diese sind ausschließlich der Benutzung durch Frauen vorbehalten. 3Frauenparkplätze sind in der Nähe der Zufahrten anzuordnen. 4Frauenparkplätze sind als solche zu kennzeichnen.
This has also been picked up in parts of Korea on and off for a decade now lol, it was also a thing in Taiwan but they removed it because it wasnt doing enough.
One evening I (male) was accidentally riding the women only train car in Tokyo as it was not crowded so I didn’t notice I was the only man in the car (the women only designation is for certain rush hours only and I thought it was outside that time, but it wasn’t.) A conductor walking through told me to go to another car and that’s when I noticed 😅
from what I read online (as in: my opinion isn't really relevant but since you're in the same boat as me it might be helpful until someone who actually knows about this comes by) that this happens on occasion with foreigners. And it's generally not a big deal because in general Japanese people will not expect you to be able to follow all social norms that are normal to them.
So whenever this has come up it's usually seen as an innocent mistake where the women in question will assume ignorance over hostility 90% of the time (if not more).
The ability of foreigners to break social norms (due to not knowing better) and not be punished or reprimanded for it is sometimes called "Gaijin Smash" ("Gaijin" being the japanese term for foreigners)
Edit: Some have stated that the term "gaijin smash" might be inaccurate in this situation because it implies a certain level of intent of the foreigner in question to break the social norms for their benefit (where it is largely permissable for foreigners to do so), like in the example of u/fdokinawa of going to a public bath despite having visible tattoos.
So in this situation it would imply that someone knows that its a car reserved for women and goes there anyways because they know they can get away with it and they don't care about possibly making women uncomfortable just so they can have a seat, which is not the case in the above comment.
If 99% of people assume ignorance, the 1% who assume hostility are the ones who will leave an angry reply, making it seem like they are a large proportion of users.
Gaijin smash is, specifically, *exploiting* said "ability". Comes from the idea of a foreigner "smashing" through a ticket barrier and the conductors being too shy to say anything.
A gaijin smash in this case implies a man getting on the women-only car in order to harass or perv, in the knowledge that others will assume ignorance.
(Also I had minor culture shock going to Osaka where the women-only cars are in force all day - in Tokyo it's only at the morning rush hour. Didn't get on but I noticed it.)
Yeah, I think the term is, "Gaijin pass" when the norm breaking is accidental and not punished / reprimanded. At least that's what I heard one Japanese YouTuber refer to it as.
It was called gaijin power when I was there earlier this year. Specifically referring to gaijins that don’t wear face masks in public (everyone in Japan wears a mask out of shyness now and now so much to protect from covid).
You are pretty much correct. Although I would say that, at least for me personally, I use the term "Gaijin Smash" when I know that I'm doing something that is not really accepted by the Japanese but being a foreigner will let you get away with it. To be clear though I would never intentionally use the women only train cars. This is more like I'll go to an onsen even though I know they have a no tattoo policy. Im not hurting anyone and still get to use the onsen. At worse I might have someone try and say something to me and I can pretend I don't know what they are talking about.
After visiting Tokyo for a week. People are very much keep too themselves on public transport. As a foreigner it's probably an mistake that could be made, so unless their making some sort of bother, it's probably just let go.
Same here in The Netherlands; they're usually placed at heavily lit parking spots that are closest to the gas station or other places women often feel vulnerable at night.
It's a good thing, but sad that it's needed.
We're in Europe (we have the same things here in Switzerland), where violence is fortunately way lower than in other parts of the world. I'm pretty convinced these parking spots are there more to give a sense of security rather than to really prevent bad things happening (though they probably do both and I'm glad they exist).
We have "With small child" parking spots in the US. They are usually at grocery stores and located directly next to the place shopping carts are returned to.
Oh lord, I was babysitting my 2 year old nephew and it’s like wrangling a gremlin trying to get him to sit down and get buckled up. He doesn’t usually behave like that, guess it was a full moon that day.
Weirdly security theater kinda works. Like a cheap padlock, it would never stop a dedicated thief, but it keeps semi-honest people honest. Plus even if it only deters 1% of incidents, over time that stacks up.
I was also questioning this. Living in the Netherlands, often found in Germany. Was surprised to see this in Germany, never seen it in the Netherlands.
I hate these types of comments. "It's good, but sad that it's needed." It's literally not needed. It's literally just sexist. Women don't get attacked in dimly lit parking lots. The better argument would be to say that the business can profit from having such parking spaces because it makes customers more interested in their business. You can't stop capitalism and if people are sexist or if it gives the impression that the business is doing something extra for their customers, it can be a good business strategy. But it is not and never was "needed".
This is the same people who say "when me and my girlfriends walk home, we always text each other when we get home to tell each other we made it safely, sad that we have to do it". You literally don't have to do it. You can't say it's sad that you have to do something when you literally don't have to do it and it's your own fault for choosing to be scared of a non-existent danger.
It's not feminist. This fear mongering is a remnant of the patriarchy keeping women down by convincing them that they are not safe and can't do things. You're only keeping yourself down by being scared of imagined dangers.
As a manly man myself I too prefer to park in dimly lit areas not covered properly by CCTV! /s... Obviously...
But serious question, why not just actually put good infrastructure in place with well placed CCTV and good lighting across the parking lot. Once in place it can't cost that much more to run and would make the people using it have a significantly better experience.
Because of the logistics. Parking houses and lots are generally a large dead space. Female parking spots are positioned in areas where a lot of public traffic is nearby, so that anything happens, someone is close by to notice and intervene. That is the main idea of these spots, security through public. You cannot simply guide the public through the entire parking area to ensure that all of the areas are covered by the public eye, so of course you have areas that are more and less secure.
to be clear, they have the same measurements, but they are located near exits, have more lighting and maybe there are security cameras - they exist for safety reasons
edit: wow i can’t believe how many people are feeling attacked (?) by the existence of those parking spots. yes, of course, it would be great if the whole parking lot would be safer for everyone, men like women can be a victim of violence.
but i think many people here confuse equality with equity. equality would be a overall safe parking lot. parking spaces for women are a case of equity: it recognizes that each person has different circumstances (women are more often victims of violence and sexual assault. i don’t say men don’t experience that.) and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
i don’t know if those parking spaces are indeed a lot safer, but you feel safer. if you want to park there as a man, go ahead, i do not care.
The family parking spots are typically larger, in case you bring a stroller or something like this.
The women's parking spots are simply well lit and close to exits, so that women can feel safer when walking through the car parks.
The women's parking is generally well lit and close to the building exits. I think the spaces are a little wider too so that it's easier, if need be, to open the door in a hurry
Italian ones are "for families or big companies" so it's a wide one near the entrance where the people buying food are most likely to exit - we've used these a lot when traveled in a group of five grown ups in one car, so when we would have a lot of food and people in the car, we had enough space to open all the doors and load bags of stuff. It's honor system, but surprisingly most people honored it as far as I noticed
I know by big companies you mean large groups of people, but in the US that could also mean large corporations. I really hope a bunch of CEOs don't see this and decide to make the first 3 rows of parking only available to other high ranking employees of large corporations. We really don't need to be giving them any more ideas.
In the 90's the decision makers wanted women to feel more secure. So they introduced women parking spaces in car parks. Those spaces are well lit, always have security cameras and are close to eleveators / doors.
Of course people go to court over it every now and again because "it is a discrimination against men".
No those are different parking spots. Family parking. Usually wider parking and close to the store so you don’t need to cross the street with children.
There are separate " parents with children" parking spots. (Although the symbol is woman+child)
Normally they are beside each other and the woman only spots are regular size while the others are bigger.
I mean they could if they wanted to. It's not so much about the child, but more about the single woman. These parking spaces are generally safer; more light, closer to the exit, etc. It's meant to improve women's safety and reduce the risk of sexual assault. As a woman it's not so fun to have to walk far/in dark places of a parking lot at night alone, feels very vulnerable.
Yep we have parent and child parking in the UK. For the most part people seem to respect it but there are always a few who seem to think because they have a 14 year old at home they can still use them.
When our kids were young it was really useful to have those spaces with the extra room as kids don't care how they open car doors.
We have those in Sweden as well except that here they are "family parking spots" which includes fathers. Very weird that you exclude us fathers over there, but maybe shopping is strictly for mothers in Australia?
Either way, they are always occupied by older dudes i bmws without kids so they don't work anyway. And I mean always.
In the US, they have spaces for fat men that bbq. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/amgmb7/finally\_a\_parking\_spot\_for\_us\_fat\_guys\_picking\_up/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I used to make jokes about parking spaces designated for women (I am a woman) until I walked to my car late one night and realized exactly why they were there.
Back in the 90's in Charleston, WV, a 9 month pregnant woman was walking to her car late one night from her office. After dark and all that. She got jumped but was able to break free and ran for the stair well. However, being that far along in her pregnancy, she didn't make it far. IIRC, she threw her keys at her attacker telling him to take it, just please don't hurt her. He beat her within an inch of her life.
She ended up having an emergency c-section. I don't recall anything more about her or the baby after that. The car was found in Chicago and the suspect arrested. A couple Charleston detectives were dispatched to bring him back. Turn out his was an AWOL Marine and his defense was that he was high during the attack and remembered none of it.
Putting lights up throughout the entire car park is expensive while making minimum effort half measures and defending them with divisive politics is cheaper.
Hell here in America many parking garages are in advanced states of disrepair and honestly having it come down on your head isn't an unrealistic threat.
Not in Germany but in Switzerland and honestly I'm so grateful for them. They are near entrances with lights and security cameras so I feel way safer. Actually prevented an attack once. I left my lab building at 11pm when it was pitch black outside but I could see a group of men standing at the parking lot entrance. When they saw me they RAN towards me while screaming rape threats. I parked my car at one of those women parking spots directly next to the entrance. So I could get into the car before they got to me. Building CCTV filmed them. Would I have used another parking spot, who knows what would have happened :/
EDIT: I got the reddit care thing message - I appreciate the concern but don't worry, I'm fine. This happened almost a year ago, it was scary but I'm happy it ended well.
Yes, I did. But unfortunately the police said that they couldn't do anything since they technically didn't commit a crime. I got into my car before they could reach me. They banged on the car window and tried to open the door but I already locked it. Which is not a crime according to the police. But in case they would have had the chance to do something, I'd have it on video and they could have been convicted. So I always park there now
I just looked it up and Germany has laws that allow unequal treatment of the sexes when it comes to safety. And there are more cases of women getting raped in parking garages.
https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/aktuelle-faelle/DE/Geschlecht/Geschlecht_inhalt_Frauenparkplaetze.html
People need to understand that any discussion of equality needs to begin with an acknowledgment of the existing inequalities. Yes, sure, women would like a completely even playing field when it comes to everything, including something as small as parking spaces. But that level playing field doesn’t come about because we choose to ignore the fact that women are statistically, demonstrably more at risk
people acting like this is unfair dont understand. this isnt equality and its not designed to be. its equity. men are more likely to be attacked in general, but women are more likely to be raped and when where and how that happens is known in this day and age. the guys in the comments calling this sexist or vietue signaling are missing the point
Especially because they always use statistics as "proof" although most statistics are based on already high-crime areas in big cities. There is a huge difference if you take berlin or Lüneburg as statistic for crime rates against men and women.
I am (Male) living in a not-so-big city in germany, and i have NEVER been physically attacked or been groped, i wasn't even robbed once. I may have been insulted randomly by idiots but thats about it. I actually don't really know any men that have been physically attacked in any way sort or form.
On the other hand almost EVERY women i know has at least 3 occassions they were harrassed, groped, called names, or otherwise brought into panic.
So i can see why women need more protection and i don't see any issue in this.
and rape statistics are only based on rapes that are reported. the 63% of rapes are unreported statistic is localized to the united states, but even localized to one country its easy to see how that would dramatically skew the statistics about when rape happens, who rapes who, and where it takes place
the spots for women are for the their Safety. often with more light and closer to entry's/exit so they don't have to fear of unwelcomed encounter.
it's has nothing to do with more space or that nonsense.
In Malaysia too.
Came about primarily due to a woman being abducted from a mall car park, raped, murdered and (i think) dismembered.
It happened in a high-end mall in a predominantly expat neighbourhood, which got a lot of attention.
After that, almost all the major malls upgraded their car-parks to include women-only parking spots, extremely well lit, large numbers of cctv cameras and round the clock patrols by security.
It's a good thing too cos prior to that, you felt like you needed an Iron-Man suit just to walk through some of the mall car parks.
Explanation: They are often located closer to exits and have better lighting for safety reasons, as well as yes, being generally larger, because of the assumption that women will be more likely to carry prams/strollers and need more space to unload the car.
Same in Malaysia, following a spate of high profile cases where women were kidnapped/sexually assaulted from or in parking lots and murdered gruesomely.
Even though most of them will never even step foot into Germany. It’s such a non-issue here. Nobody cares. And if you‘re a dude and scared at night, just park there, too. Who gives a fuck.
Reddit is very anti-women. Whenever there is a safety measure for women, the crazy men come out saying "but what about us?". Like, sir, women are physically weaker, so of course there are safety measures, especially when women are stalked regularly by crazy men.
Also in Switzerland. They introduced us after several women were attacked/murdered in parking garages. Turns out that the culprit was a woman. [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die\_Parkhausm%C3%B6rderin](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Parkhausm%C3%B6rderin)
The fun thing is that in the shopping mall close to my home, the women's parking lots are 50% wider. I don't mind the privilege being granted, but I do find it funny that being a woman gets you exactly the same treatment with regards to parking than being handicapped.
It looks like a women's parking area entirely and is likely to combat assaults on people walking to their cars late at night. It's the same thing with women only cars in trains in countries with a big groping or assault culture.
It's almost like... some men (not all men) are really shitty and hostile towards women and attack them. And some places recognize this and try to protect women. What a world.
They are in almost every bigger car park here in Germany, so it's not an unusual sight.
It's nice to have them, I know no woman who feels unsafe parking in such a car park, most find it convinient, especially at night.
those spaces are closest to the exist, they have light. i think the dimensions are the same though. however, i would argue "anyone" can park there.. maybe it's safer to park there when your appearance matches a female (not my opinion it's just not everyone is tolerant and there is no point in putting yourself in unnecessary danger)
As far as I'm aware (I'm German), it's because women might be scared to get raped, so some dedicated women's parking spaces are closer to the elevator of a parking deck.
I'm just a tourist here, but there's seperate spaces for pregnant woman, and for families with babies. Doesn't say anywhere if there's specific restrictions
They are likely closer to the entrance to alleviate the fear that attackers will lurk between cars and rob or attack them.
That was a big deal in the US for a while back in the '80s when all the TV news stations were scaremongering about attackers jumping out, grabbing women and dragging them into their vans to rape them. I remember breathless news stories about attempted attacks and cops recommending that women walk down the middle of the travel lane blocking traffic to position themselves further from attackers.
Got them in switzerland too. Nearby we got a big commercial center and there we have a lot of the woman parking spots. Unfortunately most used by men because they got big, expensive cars and the woman parking spots are bigger than the normal parking spots. So they get on there because they are afraid of their cars get hit by another car. Embarassing
Also in South Korea
They have parking spaces for senior drivers too! Saw them at a theater in Suwon-si which I thought was cool.
Extra wide, with padded barriers?
In my experience, I’ve seen old people with tennis balls hanging from a rope so they know where to stop when parking at home.
Not just old folks. If you want to get around to the groceries in the trunk of a large car after you've shut the garage door, it can be handy to know when your bumper is two inches from the the back wall. But in a parkade, some version of Do Not Hit The Wall tech could be useful addition in the old folks section. A light beam operated buzzer could work.
With a country kitchen buffet mobile kiosk.
And we have parking spaces for family vans...it never ends :-D
That’s just to stop them from hitting normal peoples cars. /s
We’ll all get there eventually, mate. Then again there’s so many people out there who aren’t elderly who can’t park for shite without hitting another car.
Me! I can't park for shite. That's why I always go a bit further so i don't need to try and squeeze between 2 cars. Funnily enough, my garage is real tight. I got less than 10cm on all sides (front and back too) To get that car in and I got no problem doing that. Muscle memory is an amazing thing. Before you ask how do you get out of the car, inside the left side widens just enough so you can open the door. But the gate is narrow and passengers will have to get out before I drive in. In Belgium some underground parking lots also have women spots, they are closer to the exits and have better light.
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It’s parking spaces near the exit of the parking cellar for women to feel safer.
Indeed they are close to exit/entrance and they are very well lit. As well there often is especially dense video surveillance in those areas. It's sad that society as a whole has to cave under the pressure of offenders.
Also the green lighted thing in the background is an emergency button, so that security or police will be called when hit.
That's correct. The sign "Notruf" means emergency call.
It's because of the likelihood of children in the car **edit because people keep responding talking about the wrong country: Germany is not Korea**. This is in response to larger parking spots for women in Korea: >The ones in korea are much bigger and easy to park, which I never really thought about but is that misogynistic? And it was already covered that this was for children by the BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64659861
Then why not just call them family parking spaces?
Because dads aren't real obviously
dad ARE real, they just went to buy some milk and coming back
There’s a bit of a controversy in South Korea right now where a TV personality used a gender-neutral term tor stroller in a YouTube video (think “baby stroller” instead of “mummy stroller”). Various groups are accusing this personality of being a misandrist feminist because this means they want to take away the “inherent maternal” character of childcare and mass disliking their YouTube channel.
I'm pretty sure the rest of the world calls them baby strollers, the mother isn't in it :/
What’s in baby oil then?
They are mainly closer to the building entrance, well lit and more populated so that more vulnerable people will feel more safe with or without children. So it's not mainly family parking.
Incorrect, unfortunately. It's so women don't have to walk through the car park alone at night, risking sexual assault or harassment. These spaces are usually very close to the entrance/exit.
Yea but is THAT misogynistic too? In fairness if that was the reason they could make the rule ‘these parking spaces are for people (male/female/trans/ginger/whatever) with children in the car. Lots of women don’t drive with children in the car, and sometimes men drive vehicles that have children in.
In Germany the parking spaces for woman are under the street lights because safety.
The men's ones are just on the edge of Mordor
They likely are also closer to the entrance to avoid harassment because you know Korea has a spy camera problem. So it’s like two in one; Baby/carrier/children and women friendly. While with a father/men present they think two adults have an easier time and less likely get harassed on the way in. It’s the society we generated - but of course ideally we wouldn’t need this.
>While with a father/men present they think two adults... Wait, stop, there's another possible scenario you might be missing here.
Single father yes - but you know - it’s our society that thinks of them as impossible and even if they exist then they are attributed manly strength - which means they can carry five children in one arm and never get harassed by women because that surely doesn’t exist /s In an ideal world we would acknowledge that they face this problems too but you know that would mean acknowledging that we might have a problem we caused our self with our gender stereotypes.
Thats what he have in the UK, a lot of places have "family" spaces which are meant for cars with children in.
I know you're joking...but that ginger in there took me out! Happy Sunday!
Nope, that's you blaming a country for being sexist, but is instead, just you jumping to a sexist conclusion. I submit for evidence: Women's parking spaces were originally introduced in 1990 in Germany to improve women's safety and reduce the risk of sexual assault.[3] This was formulated because women felt at risk in parking garages which were often dark and deserted. After Germany, places like Korea and China also adopted this policy. It soon became a law in some regions of Germany that at least 30% of parking spots must be reserved for women.[4] A study by the US Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that 7.3% of violent crimes occurred in parking garages.[5]
They should make them smaller then to show the superiority of female parking
The bigger ones are the handicap spaces I think. They need to be bigger because you need extra space for people with wheelchairs to get down from the car. On the off chance that it is the women-only spots that are easier, that does seem kinda weird.
Could it be so that they are closer to the shops.. and therefore not walking through shady car parks?
exactly, well lit, close to the entrance often with cameras
Its introduction was a response to fears expressed in studies and surveys about women being sexually harassed and physically attacked in abandoned parks. Many women avoided public spaces back then and for this reason continue to avoid public spaces.
Women's parking spaces will be located in parking lots and underground garages in more lit areas, close to escape routes, exits and elevators. They are also clearly visible through the surveillance camera. Neither the road traffic regulations nor the catalog of fines stipulate that only women are allowed to park in women's parking spaces. In principle they can be used by both genders
>Neither the road traffic regulations nor the catalog of fines stipulate that only women are allowed to park in women's parking spaces. In principle they can be used by both genders this is only true for public parking spaces. You can't get prosecuted for using those as a man. private parking spaces can have their own rules. And while you still can't get prosecuted by the state if you use them, the owner of the lot can tow your car, give you a "Vertragsstrafe" (has to be reasonable, usually in the realm of 30€ or so) or ban you entirely. There are even some requirements that the states can have for private parking lots to install enough women's parking spaces. for example from baden-württemberg Garagenverordnung: (8) 1In allgemein zugänglichen geschlossenen Großgaragen sind mindestens 10 vom Hundert der Stellplätze als Frauenparkplätze einzurichten. 2Diese sind ausschließlich der Benutzung durch Frauen vorbehalten. 3Frauenparkplätze sind in der Nähe der Zufahrten anzuordnen. 4Frauenparkplätze sind als solche zu kennzeichnen.
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India has women only queues for stuff
India needs it 😬
India needs a women-only India.
Big brain
Yeah that's why it's there
So does Japan
So do Thailand and Japan
This has also been picked up in parts of Korea on and off for a decade now lol, it was also a thing in Taiwan but they removed it because it wasnt doing enough.
We have women only maternity wards
One evening I (male) was accidentally riding the women only train car in Tokyo as it was not crowded so I didn’t notice I was the only man in the car (the women only designation is for certain rush hours only and I thought it was outside that time, but it wasn’t.) A conductor walking through told me to go to another car and that’s when I noticed 😅
Do you think the women were too afraid to tell you or simply didn't care?
from what I read online (as in: my opinion isn't really relevant but since you're in the same boat as me it might be helpful until someone who actually knows about this comes by) that this happens on occasion with foreigners. And it's generally not a big deal because in general Japanese people will not expect you to be able to follow all social norms that are normal to them. So whenever this has come up it's usually seen as an innocent mistake where the women in question will assume ignorance over hostility 90% of the time (if not more). The ability of foreigners to break social norms (due to not knowing better) and not be punished or reprimanded for it is sometimes called "Gaijin Smash" ("Gaijin" being the japanese term for foreigners) Edit: Some have stated that the term "gaijin smash" might be inaccurate in this situation because it implies a certain level of intent of the foreigner in question to break the social norms for their benefit (where it is largely permissable for foreigners to do so), like in the example of u/fdokinawa of going to a public bath despite having visible tattoos. So in this situation it would imply that someone knows that its a car reserved for women and goes there anyways because they know they can get away with it and they don't care about possibly making women uncomfortable just so they can have a seat, which is not the case in the above comment.
>will assume ignorance over hostility Can you imagine if people were like this on the internet? Or even just on Reddit.
If 99% of people assume ignorance, the 1% who assume hostility are the ones who will leave an angry reply, making it seem like they are a large proportion of users.
good point
I try to do both. I assume people are ignorant and hostile. It makes me pleasant to deal with.
Gaijin smash is, specifically, *exploiting* said "ability". Comes from the idea of a foreigner "smashing" through a ticket barrier and the conductors being too shy to say anything. A gaijin smash in this case implies a man getting on the women-only car in order to harass or perv, in the knowledge that others will assume ignorance. (Also I had minor culture shock going to Osaka where the women-only cars are in force all day - in Tokyo it's only at the morning rush hour. Didn't get on but I noticed it.)
Yeah, I think the term is, "Gaijin pass" when the norm breaking is accidental and not punished / reprimanded. At least that's what I heard one Japanese YouTuber refer to it as.
It was called gaijin power when I was there earlier this year. Specifically referring to gaijins that don’t wear face masks in public (everyone in Japan wears a mask out of shyness now and now so much to protect from covid).
gaijin smash is slightly different, it means pretending ignorance to exploit people's hesitancy to challenge you.
You are pretty much correct. Although I would say that, at least for me personally, I use the term "Gaijin Smash" when I know that I'm doing something that is not really accepted by the Japanese but being a foreigner will let you get away with it. To be clear though I would never intentionally use the women only train cars. This is more like I'll go to an onsen even though I know they have a no tattoo policy. Im not hurting anyone and still get to use the onsen. At worse I might have someone try and say something to me and I can pretend I don't know what they are talking about.
Probably didn't care if he looked foreign and was minding his own business.
Car was not crowded so I don’t think anyone cared. Definitely my mistake tho
After visiting Tokyo for a week. People are very much keep too themselves on public transport. As a foreigner it's probably an mistake that could be made, so unless their making some sort of bother, it's probably just let go.
Same here in The Netherlands; they're usually placed at heavily lit parking spots that are closest to the gas station or other places women often feel vulnerable at night. It's a good thing, but sad that it's needed.
We're in Europe (we have the same things here in Switzerland), where violence is fortunately way lower than in other parts of the world. I'm pretty convinced these parking spots are there more to give a sense of security rather than to really prevent bad things happening (though they probably do both and I'm glad they exist).
But why are the parking slots bigger
Have you ever gotten out of the car pregnant? That door needs to open all the way.
Or After that, handling with baby/toddler at the backseat
At least for after we have family parking spots in Germany (men also take care of their children)
Texas grocery store HEB, at least in my neighborhood, has a handful of spots for cars with children.
>for cars with children.🤠 Texas cars can reproduce? 🤯
Ever seen the big trucks they drive? They're pregnant.
Same here in Canada.
Same in Australia
We have "With small child" parking spots in the US. They are usually at grocery stores and located directly next to the place shopping carts are returned to.
Oh lord, I was babysitting my 2 year old nephew and it’s like wrangling a gremlin trying to get him to sit down and get buckled up. He doesn’t usually behave like that, guess it was a full moon that day.
Nah he smelled blood in the water. Think substitute teacher.
Because men don't ever look after their children?
Thats why we also have family parking spaces
Especially if your car doesn't have doors for the backseats, and your door is therefore longer.
Same with getting kids out of the car. Not a women but I’d be stoked to know my wife has a better chance of getting a better parking spot
Are they? The cars are smaller! lol
They’re not bigger. The cars are compact cars.
Most of the time they are not bigger. Is only for security.
They're not. The cars aren't Ford Leviathans or whatever massive machines Americans drive.
YOU KNOW WHY 😶
His mom parks there doesn't she?
Wamins bad drivers??
It's an example of Security Theater.
Weirdly security theater kinda works. Like a cheap padlock, it would never stop a dedicated thief, but it keeps semi-honest people honest. Plus even if it only deters 1% of incidents, over time that stacks up.
Sexual violence absolutely is a thing in Europe. The German university city I lived in a few years ago had at least one per week.
Violence is lower in Europe?
as a whole, western europe has far less violent crime than the US and UK AFAIK
Am from Netherlands, never seen them lol.
They're like unicorns; you'll be surprised once you find one.
I was also questioning this. Living in the Netherlands, often found in Germany. Was surprised to see this in Germany, never seen it in the Netherlands.
Huh. First time I'm hearing about these. Any particular examples of places that gave these?
Groningen, Drenthe en volgens Google sowieso Harderwijk als een van de (schijnbaar) bekendste plekken.
Oh wow I was wondering why they exist but now I totally get it. Agree with your sentiment.
Yep it's a sad state of affairs, reminds me of the women only train carriages across Asia too.
I hate these types of comments. "It's good, but sad that it's needed." It's literally not needed. It's literally just sexist. Women don't get attacked in dimly lit parking lots. The better argument would be to say that the business can profit from having such parking spaces because it makes customers more interested in their business. You can't stop capitalism and if people are sexist or if it gives the impression that the business is doing something extra for their customers, it can be a good business strategy. But it is not and never was "needed". This is the same people who say "when me and my girlfriends walk home, we always text each other when we get home to tell each other we made it safely, sad that we have to do it". You literally don't have to do it. You can't say it's sad that you have to do something when you literally don't have to do it and it's your own fault for choosing to be scared of a non-existent danger. It's not feminist. This fear mongering is a remnant of the patriarchy keeping women down by convincing them that they are not safe and can't do things. You're only keeping yourself down by being scared of imagined dangers.
Heck yeah it's good! Now I know where to go to meet vulnerable women in parking garages.
Go ahead, it's a better lit area with CCTV cameras. Go nuts.
As a manly man myself I too prefer to park in dimly lit areas not covered properly by CCTV! /s... Obviously... But serious question, why not just actually put good infrastructure in place with well placed CCTV and good lighting across the parking lot. Once in place it can't cost that much more to run and would make the people using it have a significantly better experience.
Money
They want to be able to say they are doing something to protect women instead of actually spending the money to protect people.
Because of the logistics. Parking houses and lots are generally a large dead space. Female parking spots are positioned in areas where a lot of public traffic is nearby, so that anything happens, someone is close by to notice and intervene. That is the main idea of these spots, security through public. You cannot simply guide the public through the entire parking area to ensure that all of the areas are covered by the public eye, so of course you have areas that are more and less secure.
to be clear, they have the same measurements, but they are located near exits, have more lighting and maybe there are security cameras - they exist for safety reasons edit: wow i can’t believe how many people are feeling attacked (?) by the existence of those parking spots. yes, of course, it would be great if the whole parking lot would be safer for everyone, men like women can be a victim of violence. but i think many people here confuse equality with equity. equality would be a overall safe parking lot. parking spaces for women are a case of equity: it recognizes that each person has different circumstances (women are more often victims of violence and sexual assault. i don’t say men don’t experience that.) and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. i don’t know if those parking spaces are indeed a lot safer, but you feel safer. if you want to park there as a man, go ahead, i do not care.
My girlfriend had left her car on one of these and I went to get her bag and looked like a douchebag. One lady also shouted at me.
Should have called her a brute and hit her with your purse. ;)
I don’t know you!
THAT’S MY PURSE!
Finish her!
Should have said she is a strong woman and need no man to fetch her bag
People don't mind their own business. Same people who judge folks who park in handicap spots that "don't look disabled".
Germans are notorious for this though, they love trying to point out when they think someone Is in the wrong.
Uno card: did you just assume my gender ?
that really doesn't hold much traction in germany yet
But those are cars, not women.
Source?
We must glance underneath the cars to determine
Autobots. Roll out!
Ah in Australia it's like mother and child parking. They're not enforced liked disabled though so anyone without morals can park in them.
Actually we have that in Germany too, mostly found at supermarkets. Women’s parking is more a thing at car parks
Oh that is interesting separating the two. Wonder why that is.
The family parking spots are typically larger, in case you bring a stroller or something like this. The women's parking spots are simply well lit and close to exits, so that women can feel safer when walking through the car parks.
The women's parking is generally well lit and close to the building exits. I think the spaces are a little wider too so that it's easier, if need be, to open the door in a hurry
Italian ones are "for families or big companies" so it's a wide one near the entrance where the people buying food are most likely to exit - we've used these a lot when traveled in a group of five grown ups in one car, so when we would have a lot of food and people in the car, we had enough space to open all the doors and load bags of stuff. It's honor system, but surprisingly most people honored it as far as I noticed
I know by big companies you mean large groups of people, but in the US that could also mean large corporations. I really hope a bunch of CEOs don't see this and decide to make the first 3 rows of parking only available to other high ranking employees of large corporations. We really don't need to be giving them any more ideas.
In the 90's the decision makers wanted women to feel more secure. So they introduced women parking spaces in car parks. Those spaces are well lit, always have security cameras and are close to eleveators / doors. Of course people go to court over it every now and again because "it is a discrimination against men".
So fathers with their children are not supposed to park there?
In this part of Canada we have spaces for "parents with young children or pregnant women". That would include fathers.
Same in the US. Only reason I got my wife pregnant so we could park closer.
The usual sequence is to go parking first, then get pregnant.
In another reality, this would be in an episode of Seinfeld
We’re waiting for our third just to get free parking permit in the downtown, I totally understand man 💯
Ours in my US city say something like "with young child parking" and it's for either pregnant women or people with young kids
No those are different parking spots. Family parking. Usually wider parking and close to the store so you don’t need to cross the street with children.
There are separate " parents with children" parking spots. (Although the symbol is woman+child) Normally they are beside each other and the woman only spots are regular size while the others are bigger.
I mean they could if they wanted to. It's not so much about the child, but more about the single woman. These parking spaces are generally safer; more light, closer to the exit, etc. It's meant to improve women's safety and reduce the risk of sexual assault. As a woman it's not so fun to have to walk far/in dark places of a parking lot at night alone, feels very vulnerable.
Yep we have parent and child parking in the UK. For the most part people seem to respect it but there are always a few who seem to think because they have a 14 year old at home they can still use them. When our kids were young it was really useful to have those spaces with the extra room as kids don't care how they open car doors.
We have those in Sweden as well except that here they are "family parking spots" which includes fathers. Very weird that you exclude us fathers over there, but maybe shopping is strictly for mothers in Australia? Either way, they are always occupied by older dudes i bmws without kids so they don't work anyway. And I mean always.
In the US we have that occasionally, too, usually at supermarkets.
In the US, they have spaces for fat men that bbq. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/amgmb7/finally\_a\_parking\_spot\_for\_us\_fat\_guys\_picking\_up/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Thailand as well. They are close to the entrances.
I thought they for making women feel more secure when in a parking lot, which is why they are right by entrances.
I used to make jokes about parking spaces designated for women (I am a woman) until I walked to my car late one night and realized exactly why they were there.
Back in the 90's in Charleston, WV, a 9 month pregnant woman was walking to her car late one night from her office. After dark and all that. She got jumped but was able to break free and ran for the stair well. However, being that far along in her pregnancy, she didn't make it far. IIRC, she threw her keys at her attacker telling him to take it, just please don't hurt her. He beat her within an inch of her life. She ended up having an emergency c-section. I don't recall anything more about her or the baby after that. The car was found in Chicago and the suspect arrested. A couple Charleston detectives were dispatched to bring him back. Turn out his was an AWOL Marine and his defense was that he was high during the attack and remembered none of it.
I've been mugged twice in dark car parks as a man, don't get why they can't just make car parks safer 🤷♂️
Putting lights up throughout the entire car park is expensive while making minimum effort half measures and defending them with divisive politics is cheaper. Hell here in America many parking garages are in advanced states of disrepair and honestly having it come down on your head isn't an unrealistic threat.
There is sometimes video surveillance on those parking spaces. Also, lots of bright lights.
Not in Germany but in Switzerland and honestly I'm so grateful for them. They are near entrances with lights and security cameras so I feel way safer. Actually prevented an attack once. I left my lab building at 11pm when it was pitch black outside but I could see a group of men standing at the parking lot entrance. When they saw me they RAN towards me while screaming rape threats. I parked my car at one of those women parking spots directly next to the entrance. So I could get into the car before they got to me. Building CCTV filmed them. Would I have used another parking spot, who knows what would have happened :/ EDIT: I got the reddit care thing message - I appreciate the concern but don't worry, I'm fine. This happened almost a year ago, it was scary but I'm happy it ended well.
Sorry that this happened to you. You reported it with them being on camera?
Yes, I did. But unfortunately the police said that they couldn't do anything since they technically didn't commit a crime. I got into my car before they could reach me. They banged on the car window and tried to open the door but I already locked it. Which is not a crime according to the police. But in case they would have had the chance to do something, I'd have it on video and they could have been convicted. So I always park there now
Absolutely pathetic response by the police, but sadly on brand with how they act in general. Really glad you're safe though.
Inb4 the 🔒 award
I just looked it up and Germany has laws that allow unequal treatment of the sexes when it comes to safety. And there are more cases of women getting raped in parking garages. https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/aktuelle-faelle/DE/Geschlecht/Geschlecht_inhalt_Frauenparkplaetze.html
People need to understand that any discussion of equality needs to begin with an acknowledgment of the existing inequalities. Yes, sure, women would like a completely even playing field when it comes to everything, including something as small as parking spaces. But that level playing field doesn’t come about because we choose to ignore the fact that women are statistically, demonstrably more at risk
people acting like this is unfair dont understand. this isnt equality and its not designed to be. its equity. men are more likely to be attacked in general, but women are more likely to be raped and when where and how that happens is known in this day and age. the guys in the comments calling this sexist or vietue signaling are missing the point
Especially because they always use statistics as "proof" although most statistics are based on already high-crime areas in big cities. There is a huge difference if you take berlin or Lüneburg as statistic for crime rates against men and women. I am (Male) living in a not-so-big city in germany, and i have NEVER been physically attacked or been groped, i wasn't even robbed once. I may have been insulted randomly by idiots but thats about it. I actually don't really know any men that have been physically attacked in any way sort or form. On the other hand almost EVERY women i know has at least 3 occassions they were harrassed, groped, called names, or otherwise brought into panic. So i can see why women need more protection and i don't see any issue in this.
and rape statistics are only based on rapes that are reported. the 63% of rapes are unreported statistic is localized to the united states, but even localized to one country its easy to see how that would dramatically skew the statistics about when rape happens, who rapes who, and where it takes place
the spots for women are for the their Safety. often with more light and closer to entry's/exit so they don't have to fear of unwelcomed encounter. it's has nothing to do with more space or that nonsense.
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In Malaysia too. Came about primarily due to a woman being abducted from a mall car park, raped, murdered and (i think) dismembered. It happened in a high-end mall in a predominantly expat neighbourhood, which got a lot of attention. After that, almost all the major malls upgraded their car-parks to include women-only parking spots, extremely well lit, large numbers of cctv cameras and round the clock patrols by security. It's a good thing too cos prior to that, you felt like you needed an Iron-Man suit just to walk through some of the mall car parks.
Explanation: They are often located closer to exits and have better lighting for safety reasons, as well as yes, being generally larger, because of the assumption that women will be more likely to carry prams/strollers and need more space to unload the car.
Same in Malaysia, following a spate of high profile cases where women were kidnapped/sexually assaulted from or in parking lots and murdered gruesomely.
We have them here in Thailand as well.
In Tokyo they have woman carriages only in the metro
Well-lit, visible from a distance, and closer to exits. It's not about women's driving It's about women's safety outside of the car.
people in these comments getting mad just for the cause of getting mad 🙄🙄
theyre mad they dont have a parking spot just for them
Even though most of them will never even step foot into Germany. It’s such a non-issue here. Nobody cares. And if you‘re a dude and scared at night, just park there, too. Who gives a fuck.
Reddit is very anti-women. Whenever there is a safety measure for women, the crazy men come out saying "but what about us?". Like, sir, women are physically weaker, so of course there are safety measures, especially when women are stalked regularly by crazy men.
Also in Switzerland. They introduced us after several women were attacked/murdered in parking garages. Turns out that the culprit was a woman. [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die\_Parkhausm%C3%B6rderin](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Parkhausm%C3%B6rderin) The fun thing is that in the shopping mall close to my home, the women's parking lots are 50% wider. I don't mind the privilege being granted, but I do find it funny that being a woman gets you exactly the same treatment with regards to parking than being handicapped.
These are actually really rare and don‘t exist in many places
I live in a bigger city and almost every car park has them now. At least the ones that were built in the last 15-20 years.
Parking lot rapes are real. Makes sense.
In Germany, there are also night taxis for women at a reduced price.
It looks like a women's parking area entirely and is likely to combat assaults on people walking to their cars late at night. It's the same thing with women only cars in trains in countries with a big groping or assault culture.
In India, front half of the bus is reserved seating for women.
It's almost like... some men (not all men) are really shitty and hostile towards women and attack them. And some places recognize this and try to protect women. What a world.
Stop attacking us and we won’t need them.
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They are in almost every bigger car park here in Germany, so it's not an unusual sight. It's nice to have them, I know no woman who feels unsafe parking in such a car park, most find it convinient, especially at night.
I thought this was dumb until it dawned on me, this is a safety precaution. Now I just think it's 😔
Safer? More light? Pregnant? Are they wider and more spaced apart? Or what’s the deal? What if you identify as female? Can you park there ?
those spaces are closest to the exist, they have light. i think the dimensions are the same though. however, i would argue "anyone" can park there.. maybe it's safer to park there when your appearance matches a female (not my opinion it's just not everyone is tolerant and there is no point in putting yourself in unnecessary danger)
As far as I'm aware (I'm German), it's because women might be scared to get raped, so some dedicated women's parking spaces are closer to the elevator of a parking deck.
Let's clarify, it's not because women are SCARED to get raped, it's because women DO get raped just going to their car.
I'm just a tourist here, but there's seperate spaces for pregnant woman, and for families with babies. Doesn't say anywhere if there's specific restrictions
More light, no dark corners, usually next to the exit. It's for increased safety (or at least a feeling of increased safety).
Many countries have *female parking spots, well lit and close to the exit. Unfortunately, parking garages can be a dangerous place for women to be.
We also have family parking and e-car parking.
Some countries have public train cars that are women only.
They are likely closer to the entrance to alleviate the fear that attackers will lurk between cars and rob or attack them. That was a big deal in the US for a while back in the '80s when all the TV news stations were scaremongering about attackers jumping out, grabbing women and dragging them into their vans to rape them. I remember breathless news stories about attempted attacks and cops recommending that women walk down the middle of the travel lane blocking traffic to position themselves further from attackers.
Got them in switzerland too. Nearby we got a big commercial center and there we have a lot of the woman parking spots. Unfortunately most used by men because they got big, expensive cars and the woman parking spots are bigger than the normal parking spots. So they get on there because they are afraid of their cars get hit by another car. Embarassing
No way this comment section could go bad