Women's Access to Public Space : A Qualitative Study on Women's Experiences Regarding Access to Public Space Within the Suburbs of Malmö City

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the access of women to public space in particularly vulnerable suburbs within Malmö County. The study employs a qualitative research method and is based on semi-structured interviews with ten women who share their experiences of living in these vulnerable suburbs. The study is underpinned by theoretical frameworks and selected themes, including the Female Role and Patriarchy, Power and Freedom, and Repression and Symbolic Violence. The findings of the study reveal that the limited power and freedom of women and the prevailing patriarchal system, in the form of a patriarchal society, significantly impact women's access to public space in the vulnerable suburbs of Järva. The results demonstrate that men, through various methods such as repression and symbolic violence, dominate, exploit, and suppress women in public spaces in these areas. This occurs through direct and indirect actions, including various forms of oppression and symbolic violence. Women are not treated equally to men in public spaces, which may suggest that men do not consider women as important as men or that men, as a group, perceive themselves to be superior to women as a group. The study also reveals that women are constrained from acting freely due to the current perception of "the female role" and because women, according to men, should not deviate from the norm. Overall, the study highlights the limited access of women to public space in particularly vulnerable suburbs within Malmö County. The findings of the study underscore a significant societal problem, as women are involuntarily relegated to a subordinate position to men who constitute the norm, which is inherently unjust.