A digital mapping project aimed at charting places in London where women don't feel safe has garnered thousands of responses in less than a year.

We didn't really anticipate stalking being as strong as it is - AnnaLise Trudell, Anova education director

Safe City London allows users to report where they feel safe or unsafe and submit information about particular incidents.

Each one becomes a location-specific pin, creating a geographic data set that will eventually be used by staff at London city hall to help inform decisions around policing, outdoor lighting and even city planning.

So far there are 2,000 responses on the map and while a number of trends have emerged, not all of them are surprising according to AnnaLise Trudell of Anova, a local group that provides shelter and support for abused women that has partnered with the city on the Safe City.

Number of stalking incidents a surprise

Anova's AnnaLise Trudell said what surprised her most about the data harvested from the Safe Cities digital mapping project were the sheer number of women who felt as if they were being stalked. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

Areas of London with the most reports: Downtown

Old East Village

Old North

Western University campus

White Oaks area

"We were prepared for verbal sexual harassment, these particular areas don't feel safe, but just bad design or creepiness," she said, noting 70 per cent of users reported incidents that were sexual in nature.

What surprised Trudell however, was the sheer number of women in the city who felt as if they were being stalked or followed.

"We didn't really anticipate stalking being as strong as it is," said Trudell. "It's turning out to be quite a big one."

Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the incidents are concentrated downtown with about 760 pins tied to locations in London's core.

Need more data from Western University

Western University is one of the places in London where organizers of the Safe Cities project believe reports of women feeling unsafe are under reported. (Colin Butler/CBC)

More than 100 incidents happened at Western University campus.

Trudell says she hopes more people will contribute to the map before data collection stops at the end of December.

A billboard on Wellington Street south encourages people to share their experiences on the map. Trudell also says a campaign to promote the map at Western University will likely generate more user data from that location.

Data from the map will be presented to city administrators in the new year.