Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and City Clerk Anna Valencia announced a partnership with UN Women’s Global Flagship Program, Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces. The initiative responds to sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces. Chicago joins 53 other cities from 32 countries in its partnership with UN Women, including Quito, Ecuador; Cairo, Egypt; London, UK; and New York City. The initiative responds to sexual violence against women, female-identified residents, and girls in public spaces.  The partnership aligns with the City’s Citywide Strategic Plan to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Human Trafficking, published in September 2021. In Chicago, between 2018 and 2021, there were 908 reported criminal sexual assaults to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) that happened in a public space such as on the street, in an alley or an abandoned building. According to the US Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), only 310 out of 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to the police.  The first step in the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces program includes conducting a scoping study that provides essential research to inform the City and other key stakeholders when designing a plan to address violence against women and girls in public spaces. A smaller working group of researchers has formed that will lead the scoping study. Information gathered in the scoping study will inform recommendations for the City to increase safety in public spaces for female-identified residents. The study is anticipated to be released at the end of 2022.