Sexist and dangerous Samaritans ad

It’s really not but ok

So why not feature a man intervening?

Surely men aren’t so afraid of other men they would stay silent thus risking the other guy’s life? And if they are shouldn’t they get over it and live their lives without fear?

It’s a woman in the ad because whoever has come up with it hasn’t thought for one second that it’s a man’s job to support suicidal or depressed men.

I hope there’s another ad where a man gets involved. It’s important for men to see they can and should support other people’s mental health issues.

Nobody said it was a "campaign against women" so you can stop the strawmanning. It IS however an ill-thought out campaign using lazy sexist tropes.

If people are interpreting as that, and are perceiving the station as empty, that's the message they are taking home and the Samaritans have failed to communicate the message well and understand why women won't approach a male in the first place.

I guess the sad truth is that these sorts of ads are just intended to raise the profile of the organisation and thereby raise funds. We kind of fool ourselves that the messaging is part of their charitable purpose, but fundamentally it is on a par with the 'social issue' branding that plenty of businesses and brands engage in to promote sales.
They don't really care as much as we would like to imagine they do about whether the hashtag #SmallTalkSavesLives reflects quality research about mental health support or just creates a nice little viral buzz.
I don't have much respect for the Samaritans. I think organisations that signpost them often do so in order to assuage a vague sense that they have a responsibility to do something, but that the signposting just leads very unhappy people to think that there is a service out there that will help them - when in fact all you get is ... well, nothing really, in my experience. Obviously the volunteers are trained not to offer counselling that they are fully untrained to deliver. All they offer is an ear and some platitudes.

So why did they frame it as kind woman in sexy outfit vs timid woman in plain outfit? That’s a conscious decision the film makers have chosen to employ. They could have used another bloke. Or a couple. Or the man could have been a woman. It’s an advert, and all the decisions which have been made are there to tag into the viewer’s subconscious.

Get a grip OP.it’s telling you to “trust your instincts “ …for a woman that means trusting your instincts as to what to do…whether that’s talk to someone you are worried about, get help from someone else/999 or run as fast as you can in the opposite direction . Living in a society doesn’t mean seeing every man as a potential murderer/rapist.

It’s encouraging EVERYONE to talk to someone if they are acting in a way that could mean they are planning to jump. This SAVES LIVES - not everything is a campaign against women and you need to stop describing it as such

You can tell the people in this thread who have actually spent time on train station platforms and those who haven't.

Train stations are often in a rough area of a city. Lots of drunk people, lots of people on drugs, lots of shady characters. My local one had an arsonist set the toilets on fire at 6am fairly recently. I've seen people trying to break into the shops next door. Stabbings aren't infrequent.

There's also a lot of space on train station platforms, it's not like you're queuing for a bus. Unless multiple trains have been delayed it's very rare you need to actually stand close to someone. This is generally an advantage, but also means it can be very likely that no one can hear you scream (not literally, but for example if someone was pushing, threatening, or manhandling you, it would be easy to do and no one aware at the time).

It also potentially contradicts the official national train station advice which is to immediately contact the transport police about anything at all that may be a problem.

There are many murders, rapes and attacks carried out on women in broad daylight.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/15/raped-broad-daylight-train-crime-illusions

In London? Nope...

Lived in the capital for 30 year and there is not a chance I would approach someone who looks 'disturbed'.

You never know whether they are on drugs, drunk or plain unpredictable.

I would contact emergency services or if on the tube/train I would bring that person to the attention of staff if I thought they looked like they were in need of urgent help but, no, as a lone woman I would not get involved directly.

In the small town where I live in now, it would be different but I have seen too many fights, drunks and people off their heads in London to approach people there.

My safety comes first.

That's completed suicides. Not what @MindHowYouGoes was talking about.

She isn’t alone, there’s what looks like a member of staff approaching too.

They ruin it for the good ones don't they.
I make friendly chat with all kinds of people and one bus driver 30 years older than me started stroking my hand when I got on. The second time I reported him. Old married men are always inappropriately putting their hands on me
NEWSFLASH MEN: women are not in a constant state of waiting to be aroused by you. 99% of the time we are just being friendly.

They just haven't thought the ad through enough, I think. It's a lovely message BUT a woman, or man, approaching a person in distress or potential mental crisis, alone and in an isolated area, is taking a huge risk. A risk The Samaritans don't allow their staff to take.

Great message, poorly executed, for me.

Yep. My friend was potentially saved from throwing himself under a tube train by someone who did this.

He doesn't know whether he'd actually have done it, but he was pondering it. The guy asked him something random, and after my friend had stepped back and responded, resulting in a short conversation about the question (and he'd presumably lost that 'look' that the other guy had picked up on) the guy simply said "you okay mate?" and touched his arm, and my friend was able to say that he was.

So yes, a random question to break the moment, absolutely is effective.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow
Are you telling women that they don't understand their own lived experience?”

No. I was sexually, physically and emotionally abused by my brother and father. That means they were dangerous individuals. Nearly 60 years of life has taught me that most men are not and I refuse to live life scared.

That’s my lived experience. If other women choose to be scared of every man they encounter, that’s their choice.

I've made small talk at a bus stop with a man after we were both checking that we had the correct one for our destinations. The usual stuff "At least it's not raining" (there was no shelter), the vagaries of the bus company.

And then he sat behind me on the bus and started coming on to me. I was in my 60s.

bad*

I like the idea, I'm out and about all day and make sure I make friendly small talk with all kinds of people, it really does make a difference.
But not approaching lone men. Sadly the bag eggs have ruined it for the many good ones. I honestly think womens fear of men has contributed to men feeling alone
Women support each other as it's safe to do so.
I make polite chat with men and they start coming on to me or being weird.
why couldn't they show a man approaching a man? Men being caring needs to be more normalised

I can't actually see the ad. I'm blocked by them. Anyone else ?

I didn’t say that. And I was responding to the suggestion that women are wrong to regard male strangers as potentially dangerous until proven otherwise. Sadly many women have learnt the hard way that this is the only safe approach.

Oh my fucking god....if we haven't had enough in the press lately about the lack of mental health services and the tragic repercussions of the public...

Now the Samaritans are actively encouraging young women to approach disturbed looking males....WTAF?

Why didn't they use a bloke? Or a elderly woman? Oh no, this disturbed man needs a pretty young girl to make his dick spring into action and think life's worth living after all.

Disgusting!

I'm glad you're ok and hopefully in a better place now

They do have trained staff sometimes. They usually have white vests and stay by the end of the platform.