Ms Keown was in the planning stages of the event when she heard police had arrested a 29-year-old Napier man on Friday evening over the indecent assault on a woman on Burns Rd this month.
The woman had been walking with her children about 8.45am on November 5 when she was approached and indecently assaulted by a young man.
"The arrest is a great relief to everybody but we know there's others that have occurred as well so we're still pretty wary."
Women had stopped walking alone, ditched their normal routes and were even spending more time inside, she said.
"Speaking for myself, I often go to the Pakowhai dog park. I'll quite happily go there with my kids and my dog, by myself but I don't do that any more.
"I've just heard story after story after story like this from women. They're cautious, scared and just have a feeling of general unease."
Ms Keown said she shifted her family from Auckland two years ago because she wanted to spend more time with her children and live in a community that was safe.
"I don't want the actions of one person, or a tiny handful of people, to determine how I feel about my community."
The walk was organised to encourage women and their families to have fun and reclaim their basic right to walk where they wished without fear, she said.
"I just thought I don't want to stay silent about this. I want to do something about it; I want to feel empowered and help other women around me feel empowered."
Scheduled for November 25, a Saturday, the public walk will start at 2pm at the Soundshell on Marine Parade and take participants along the waterfront, up Coote Rd, on to Shakespeare Rd and down Browning St before ending at the Magnet Cafe.
More information can be found at www.facebook.com/Napierwalk/.
