Men are technically not prohibited from parking on the said spots, and won’t be prosecuted if they choose to, but the owner of a parking lot retains the right to ban a driver from the site in certain cases.

A German man, Dominik Bayer, has sued the Bavarian town of Eichstätt for discrimination over “female-only” parking spots, which were specially set up in the most well-lit parts of the area after a woman was raped nearby.

Apart from viewing them as discriminatory against men, Bayer believes the signs indicating the parking spots were prejudiced against women, as they apparently suggested that females could fail to take care of themselves. The town authorities addressed the man’s concerns by saying that the sign is merely a suggestion, which does not mean that men who park there will necessarily be punished, N-TV reported.

“It is statistically proven that more women are the victims of violent crime than men”, local legal officer Hans Bittl noted, with Germany’s federal anti-discrimination agency echoing the stance, saying that female parking signs do not violate equality laws in any way.

The ADAC, Germany's leading motorists' association, weighed, in saying that men cannot be prohibited from parking there, but given a special sign, the owner of the car park could choose not to let this or that motorist to the site.

The car park in question is located near an elderly people’s home, and young female staffers have to arrive at their work early and leave late at night, which made it critical to come up with female parking spots in the area “on safety grounds”.

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