How to protect yourself as a woman if you have to walk alone on the street at night?
The whole Sarah Everard discussion is absolutely abysmal to hear that a woman cannot even safely walk down a street in 2021. It wasn't even in the early mornings after a night out but around 9.30pm on March 3. This isn't the worst of it, a 48-year-old man, in a profession where the public think they are keeping us safe and secure, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping her around her home. Later her body was found in a Kent woodland.
If this situation is happening when women are only walking home, this needs to be addressed immediately as to how we can protect ourselves in the situation. This has happened to me when I was walking home in the early mornings in London after a event night out, when two guys in a car were parked up and near a side street who called out at me. It was evident they were waiting there for women as prey. What I did was mentally keep myself in the moment in a collected way and went up to the car and spoke something to them in a weird voice. They left me alone and I walked on, not even having to turn back to look if they were going to do anything.
A guy friend stated was this what you looked like π
β it can be made a joke now but it really was this. I went from cute to psycho in a matter of seconds when my inner voice told me this was a dangerous scenario.
Obviously, it is best to prevent yourself from getting into these situations but if there are predators out there that put you in this type of scenario, you have to vigilant and have ways to keep safe and protect yourself.
What I had described isnβt taught to young women as a way to be equipped in these situations as it was a higher level of sense that I had and here are three top recommendations:
When walking home alone, to always send a live location to someone close to you on whatever app you are using and then to let them know if you are home within that timeframe you have discussed with them, and if the person you have messaged has not received any contact, they should then immediately call the police
Have a sound deterrent in your hand whilst walking and make sure it works prior to your walk home
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