All men should be aware of this

No it is not fairly commonly known by men.
I asked the three men in my life and it wouldn't even enter their minds to cross the road. They would'nt get up close behind a woman but they certainly wouldn't cross the road

Do you think they might now that they know they might be scaring someone a bit? You don't have to be up close to make someone nervous. Although it might seem irrational to some women, a lot of others would feel nervous at night knowing there was a man following behind even at some distance. Men are likely to be walking faster than a woman too so he's closing the gap which heightens the anxiety.

Just the simple gesture of crossing the road communicates "It's ok, you're safe"
It's fairly commonly known to men I know - I've seen this advice often in crime/safety programmes etc. I'm sure other people here have too.

I cant for the life of me see what this man did wrong! Perhaps he was anxious of you as you did turn around and start following him. I have a male friend who is currently going through a really bad breakup and is suffering from depression. He goes for long walks in the forestry because he can be alone. Perhaps this man was the same. By all means be aware when walking alone but you cant tarnish all men as attackers

All down to the OPs perceptions and assumptions.

What is evident on this thread is some women are more fearful than others.
Some women perceive men as dangerous while others don't.

As I said earlier, as a 59 year old woman I wouldn't have found this situation fearful or intimidating. I feel I'd have a greater chance of being hurt or killed crossing a road on the way to the shops, than passing a male stranger on a walk in the woods. Anyone have the statistical odds on that?

😂😂😂
Fair play. You had me for a while

Yes it is a lot more unsafe generally but I don’t think the uk is that different in terms of what’s considered sensible. I know loads of women who carry their keys in their hands and I lived there a while ago. Loads who don’t open the door if they’re not expecting anyone if there home alone. It just doesn’t happen as often as it happens here

worldwide it’s more likely than not they can’t.

Looking over his shoulder and opening his backpack? I wouldn’t have registered this as ANY way threatening.

This poster has said they're in Brazil, from their posts sounds a lot more unsafe there to be out if you're female.
I agree though, I don't avoid doing those things either like a lot of us, appreciate being in the UK is a privilege though.

I taught my son as a teenager to make sure that he gave women appropriate space, especially when out running or at night.

• don’t run up behind lone women.
• cross the road or take wide berth into road whilst walking past lone women at night
• don’t sit on a bench with a woman is already sat on at an empty tube station

I find the vast majority of men do this when out and about and I appreciate it.

I didn't say I was? I was making the point that its not a given fact that women can't do these things.

Is it really such a big ask? To walk without stopping for a few 100m? Like why do you hate women this much?

Existing.

This is true but abusers isolate from everyone. And other women are best helped to get a woman out. Not her jumping to another potentially abusive man

So nothing then. Other than never swivelling his own head and carrying his belongings in his hands instead of a bag. Gotcha!

And lots do. Why are you more important than the ones that do?

I know this thread has raised serious issues for some and I am sorry the OP was scared. However because it’s been mentioned so many times that the guy was looking in his bag I keep getting an image in my head of a man crouching down over his rucksack and the OP putting her hands on his back and leapfrogging over the top of him and sprinting away down the path 😂. I guess that would put him off doing the same thing in future!

Look I’m a man, and I get it some women can be anxious some not. I don’t mind giving women a wide berth in public. I generally cross the road to avoid walking on the same side if we’re alone and dark out.

I don’t take it personally. I also think if you have a gut instinct it generally serves to trust it. Maybe your unconscious picked up one something your conscious mind didn’t. Nobody did anything wrong but if you felt wary you have no need to justify it beyond that.

My only worry here concerns the fact the most dangerous man a woman will ever meet is her husband, statistically speaking. I worry that pushing all women to fear all men at all times may isolate someone vulnerable from asking for help when they need it. Making ALL men everywhere subject to suspicion plays into the narrative abusers try to construct to further isolate their victims.

Well I don't avoid doing those things and neither do lots of other women.

She’s already told you herself as the person experiencing it - she’s just posted and explained. I’m not going to speak for her

Ah you have taken inspiration from reading some of the ‘ Why dogs shouldn’t be in cafes’ threads on here 😂.

No, I’m not. The OP said in her first post:

To get to my point: ALL men should understand how women need to be programmed to be wary of them, and how they can help is by ensuring they aren't doing anything that could feel intimidating.

So, other than not being there, what could this man have done to ensure he wasn’t doing anything intimidating, being that he wasn’t doing anything intimidating?

Most men already know that most women find them intimidating at times, so what could he have done differently? It’s a simple question to answer which you seem to think you do!

You turned and followed him and were just behind him when he looked over his shoulder at you. He was probably feeling a bit uneasy about who was coming up behind him. He didn't do anything threatening towards you but just stopped and looked in his backpack. He might have been getting his phone out for example thinking he might need to call someone if he was about to be attacked so was readying himself! I think you were feeling a bit uneasy in a lonely wooded place but he may have felt a bit uneasy about someone who turned around and started following him!

I'd probably look back more than once if I walked past someone and then they turned around and followed me.

OP was "a few feet behind" this man at the point where he stopped and found a reasonn to let her go past. He has more right to be creeped out here than the OP.

What if he had got to that point and realised he didn’t know which path he needed? Should have have just got lost rather than take his phone/map out of his bag?

your basically saying a man can never stop walking if a woman is around!

Did he keep looking back? I thought it was once. If he kept on looking back that changes things, much creepier.