Marion Fitzgerald says women shouldn't get “hysterical” about the risk of being murdered by a man

I think blinkered by statistics is an apt way of looking at her statements and
the underlying sentiments. Because though she may not like the word (I'm guessing here!) That's what they are.

sneering and condescending to the rest of us 'hysterical' women who presumably deserve exactly what we get because we can't keep calm when attacked and assaulted 😟😳

‘So if you get yourself murdered or raped it’s all your own fault for not being brilliant like me’. That’s kind of what she implied then’?

Did you hear her say that when she was attacked, twice, with a 20 year gap in between, she managed to get away because she stayed calm and didn't become hysterical.

Wow. So if we all be calm and don't get hysterical then we'll get to walk away too right. Talk about minimising other women's experiences.

Was listening to this with disbelieve and penned an email to the Beeb!

Did you hear her say that when she was attacked, twice, with a 20 year gap in between, she managed to get away because she stayed calm and didn't become hysterical.

What the fuck was she inferring there!!

However I do think we should also be warning our sons to be careful in the same way as our daughters.

Oh, I love your innocence. Amazing to think that the majority population in England doesn't spend half of any boy's life warning him about the incalculable danger of stepping outside his front door.

A man has a much better chance of fighting off another man than a woman has of fighting off a man. The motivations and the consequences are entirely different as well. There’s really no comparison between men’s attacks on men and men’s attacks on women.

However I do think we should also be warning our sons to be careful in the same way as our daughters.

I do agree with this too. Men are also at risk of violence from men.

You know what I hate so much about the use of hysterical in this context is that so many women will have actually been “hysterical” when they were attacked.

Yes absolutely this.

Well, it's good to see a pretty united response to her ridiculous comments this morning. That 'hysterical' seemed quite calculatedly spiteful and deliberate.

Ms Fitzgerald certainly didn't make me feel any safer.

I guess a lot of murdered men are killed in fights, stabbing a due to gang violence...etc.

Which is no consolation if you’re a mum worried sick every time your son leaves the house.

'dont be hysterical'
this is a phrase used to deride and embarrass someone in order to put them back in their place

You are right. ‘Hysterical’ implies that you are being a big baby over nothing. What is the correct response to being scared witless?

I heard this on my way to work and it really annoyed me. So blinkered by statistics that she can’t see behaviours as important. She could have considered that perhaps it’s because women are apprehensive and careful that they don’t come to more harm.
I can’t stand people who wilfully use statistics to ignore or minimise aspects of the real world that don’t align with their views, or who can’t see beyond the numbers and deprecate those who can.

Can you imagine if she said this about other groups in society? Hysterical because one woman is murdered every 3 days? Give me strength.

@AdHominemNonSequitur yes random attacks are very rare but it's the extreme end of a wider issue and that is of women feeling unsafe and threatened by intimidating or aggressive male behaviour. Pretty much all women have experienced sexual harassment, been made to feel intimidated of scared when walking alone or changed their route home to walk on well lit streets. Ask any woman and she will tell you some stories and the harassment often starts at a very young age. So women aren't being hysterical because they are worried they are going to be abducted at random they are angry because of the general level of fear they feel going about their lives in public or in their own homes.

I'm not hysterical. I'm furious, and the only acceptable level of risk of sexual assault ans murder I should face when walking home is none.

Nice one Marion.

You will excuse me though if I feel more attuned to the way Cressida Dick describes it.

I am out on my own. I keep very odd hours due to my job in very isolated locations.

It isn’t women I’m afraid of.

Hope that helps.

Women are safer because we’ve had to try harder to keep ourselves safe.

And yes, my ex nearly did for me but strangers have tried to attack me too.

As said, it isn’t women I’m more likely to ‘get hysterical’ about. But keep on making the poor men the victims Marion...

Psychopaths are the problem, this isn't normal behaviour for any sex and I understand men feeling a little aggrieved to be lumped in with people with clear clinical pathology.

What has happened to Sarah Everard is tragic and shocking. It should never have happened to anyone, man or woman, and I feel angry and sick to my stomach for her and her friends and family, but it is worth remembering that random violent attacks by strangers are really rare.

It is also true that a woman is statistically safer than a man when out at night. It may be because of the precautions women take, but it is still the case.

I don't mean to undermine the risk or minimise peoples feelings of fear, because an average strength woman is clearly less able to defend herself against an average strength man, but just to caution perspective.

If there were wild animals killing women and men we wouldn't say to women 'don't worry more of the victims are male' we would say 'we need to tackle the wild animals and stop their killing spree'