Women Share What They Do to Try and Feel Safe in Public, and Almost Every Woman Agrees
Enough is enough. Here are some things that women are forced to do to feel safe.
Recently, the headlines have been full of distressing and upsetting content—perhaps even more so than usual. With the death of Sarah Everard while she was walking home, the news is filled with stories of sexual harassment and how unsafe the world can be for women.
Women all over the world are saying that enough is enough. We are highlighting how the responsibility of keeping ourselves safe has been placed on us, rather than on the men around us.
On Twitter, these women have been sharing the things they do, subconsciously and out of habit, in order to try and, well, not get murdered by a man for simply living their lives.
While men are saying #notallmen, women are responding with the fact that all women do these:
There has never been a bigger sigh of relief than when you get home safe after noticing a scary-looking man.
The fact that so many women were able to join in the thread shows how many tactics women have developed merely to try and stay safe.
I've got a crick in my neck from checking my surroundings so intently!
Always! Wait! Until! They're! Inside!
Having to scream 'fire' because people are more likely to respond to it is deeply upsetting.
Being the only woman on public transport feels dystopian and terrifying.
Footsteps are a very scary sound.
The line between 'being nice so he won't attack me for being rude' and 'being rude so he goes away but might attack me for being rude' is paper-thin.
All of these actions are done 'just in case' because the alternative is so much worse.
'Text me when you get home!'
The worst part is that they are so normal that you forget they shouldn't be.
The people men are scared of, though? Probably also men.
If you are only bringing up men's problems to diminish those faced by women, maybe you should reconsider your priorities.
Shout out to women: existence shouldn't be this hard.
Do you have any tips to add? Share them in the comments below.
