More than half of women in New South Wales do not feel safe walking after dark in public spaces, according to a new report.

The Safer Cities Survey polled more than 5,000 community members from December 2022 to February 2023 — 80 per cent of whom were women.

Fifty-nine per cent of the women reported either feeling “not so safe”, or “not at all safe” in public spaces at night.

This compares to 32 per cent of men.

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the findings were troubling.

“It’s concerning to hear women in our recent survey were twice as likely to feel unsafe in public spaces after dark compared to men,” she said.

“Feeling safe shouldn’t be dependent on your gender, everyone has a right to feel safe in public spaces.”

The report released on Sunday coincides with the beginning of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will kick off in Sydney and Auckland next week.

The state government has announced it will increase lighting around Moore Park — the home of Sydney Football Stadium, which will host six matches and tens of thousands of fans.

The opening game will occur on the other side of the city at Stadium Australia in Olympic Park where the Matildas will take on the Republic of Ireland on July 20.

Transport for NSW Acting Deputy Secretary for Cities and Active Transport, Caroline Butler-Bowdon, said the Western Sydney venue has better existing lighting than Sydney Football Stadium.

“Lighting is incredibly important. What we do know is that women choose safety over convenience in the way that they move around a city,” she said.

Recycled lights from VIVID installations will illuminate four routes between Sydney Football Stadium, Central Station, and the Moore Park Light Rail until the World Cup final on August 20.

Those around the fig trees along Driver Avenue will be permanent, while the others will be operating on a trial basis. 

When asked what helped them feel safer in a public space after dark, female respondents in the survey identified good lighting and the presence of other people as the most significant factors.

Eighty-eight per cent said whether or not a space was well-lit influenced the route they chose to take.

“I would never walk through a laneway, park, oval, or out-of-the-way thoroughfare at night,” one female survey respondent said.

“I always message family, friends at different points of my journey and ask female friends/family to do the same.”

Women reported feeling significantly less unsafe during the daytime, with just five per cent saying they either felt “not so safe”, or “not at all safe” in public spaces.

The survey was part of the state government’s Safer Cities Program aimed at improving perceptions of safety in the state’s cities and towns, particularly for women, girls and gender-diverse people.