As a female do you have the courage to walk alone in the dark?

[Vaccine001]

I have done so but rarely. It has always terrified me. What if i akways think to myself..

@MissDollyMix

No. I'm pointing out the need for perspective.

Currently you are more at risk of Covid than you are from a stranger attack (in the UK).

It's important for the sake of mental health to keep things in perspective.

@Vaccine001

I feel the violence will never stop. No matter how much young males are educated. Can't always be the parents fault, can it? Nature v nurture.

So long as there are humans, there will be violence.

I don't generally. Too many friends assaulted or raped in my city to feel comfortable.

It's not often necessary, to be honest. My commute is a drive, and if I'm out in the evening in winter I'm with friends or my husband, so it's not something I'm actively avoiding - just that if I needed to go to the shop urgently now (about a 10 min walk down the unlit canal, longer if not, or a 3 minute drive), I'd drive or I'd get my husband to go.

But then again, what does it fucking matter? They take us off the street in broad daylight anyway.

@Tealightsandd

Well no it isn't. It's about making balanced risk assessments.

That was to EnchantedWoods

Depends on the location but I'm definitely more cautious now than I was in my teens and 20s.

When I lived in London I frequently walked home from nights out, anywhere between 2–5 miles. I just loved walking along the Thames at night when it was quiet and everything looked so nice lit up. Generally there were enough people around that it felt ok but there was one quiet/dark stretch that when I look back now I think I was fortunate that nothing threatening ever happened.

In fact, in 7 years living in London and carelessly walking around at all hours, often with earphones in playing music and after a few drinks, I don't recall anything remotely threatening ever happened to me.

I'm quite an ignorable person. I'm not particularly attractive and the way I hold myself/walk isn't particularly feminine. I do wonder if that made a difference as I generally get very little attention from men full stop, whether wanted or not.

Walking - no because I rarely would have the need to. If it was a night out I’d make sure I got a taxi (although the driver has you on your own in a car then if you really start thinking about it).
Running though I do go in the dark alone! For some reason running makes me more brave, maybe because I think I’d out-run an attacker 🤔 I was training for a marathon and would run along a road with street lights that goes between two towns but can be very quiet at 6am. For some reason running early morning seems less risky than doing the same run at say 11/12pm 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was walking along a quiet path yesterday with my baby in the pram and a dog came bolting along behind and overtook me. A young guy came running after it trying to catch it, it had slipped its harness and lead. He said sorry on the way past, caught his dog then walked on. It was probably due to the fact that all of this has been on the news but I was then hesitant to walk behind him into the wooded area the path goes through briefly before coming out the other side. I stopped to let him get a decent amount ahead of me - how that was going to save me I don’t know 🤷🏼‍♀️ There was no one else anywhere along this path either for once. I then started walking and for a split second took my eyes off him ahead of me on the path. I looked back and he was gone. I then fully presumed he was hiding behind a tree ready to jump out when I got there and had decided in my head the whole dog running away thing was a big act so he could get ahead of me 🤦🏼‍♀️ I walked extremely fast with the pram through the wooded area frantically scanning for him in the trees. I got to the other side but did not see him at all! I have no idea where he went, he literally vanished! It made me realise how much of a tiny act it takes for me to presume someone’s going to murder me in a completely normal everyday situation though

Is it not sad though that Women cannot walk without fear that they might just be attacked?

It is such a repressed world we live in now. 😢

@scarpa

I don't generally. Too many friends assaulted or raped in my city to feel comfortable.

It's not often necessary, to be honest. My commute is a drive, and if I'm out in the evening in winter I'm with friends or my husband, so it's not something I'm actively avoiding - just that if I needed to go to the shop urgently now (about a 10 min walk down the unlit canal, longer if not, or a 3 minute drive), I'd drive or I'd get my husband to go.

But then again, what does it fucking matter? They take us off the street in broad daylight anyway.

I don't want to sound crass... But how many friends have you had who have been pulled off the streets and raped by a complete stranger?

Doesn't bother me. I do take my walking stick with me, whether I need it that day or not, but I refuse to be dictated to by disgusting men.

@Vaccine001

blueshoes Hat pin. I made a typo.

vaccine, not pulling you up on spelling at all.

I am unsure what having a hat pin in your collar does even if there was anywhere in my collar to put it. How does that work as a weapon - I thought it will just enrage an attacker to more violence or be used against me.

sarah13xx I also would have had the same thoughts and reactions as you did. Awful we have to feel the need in order to figure out how to survive a potential attack.

Depends where, geographically.

blueshoes stab him with it. Worked for my mom when she was attacked. I have never owned a hat pin.

@sarah13xx

Walking - no because I rarely would have the need to. If it was a night out I’d make sure I got a taxi (although the driver has you on your own in a car then if you really start thinking about it). Running though I do go in the dark alone! For some reason running makes me more brave, maybe because I think I’d out-run an attacker 🤔 I was training for a marathon and would run along a road with street lights that goes between two towns but can be very quiet at 6am. For some reason running early morning seems less risky than doing the same run at say 11/12pm 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was walking along a quiet path yesterday with my baby in the pram and a dog came bolting along behind and overtook me. A young guy came running after it trying to catch it, it had slipped its harness and lead. He said sorry on the way past, caught his dog then walked on. It was probably due to the fact that all of this has been on the news but I was then hesitant to walk behind him into the wooded area the path goes through briefly before coming out the other side. I stopped to let him get a decent amount ahead of me - how that was going to save me I don’t know 🤷🏼‍♀️ There was no one else anywhere along this path either for once. I then started walking and for a split second took my eyes off him ahead of me on the path. I looked back and he was gone. I then fully presumed he was hiding behind a tree ready to jump out when I got there and had decided in my head the whole dog running away thing was a big act so he could get ahead of me 🤦🏼‍♀️ I walked extremely fast with the pram through the wooded area frantically scanning for him in the trees. I got to the other side but did not see him at all! I have no idea where he went, he literally vanished! It made me realise how much of a tiny act it takes for me to presume someone’s going to murder me in a completely normal everyday situation though

I think you've watched to many scary movies! And taken the rare news stories as every day occurances. Men don't hide behind trees with their dogs to rape woman pushing prams. Gosh, how sad.

Yes, I do, but when I go out it is usually with Mum friends for a drink in a pub that is fairly residential. I am in a city but it is a small city and we never go to the centre where I would imagine more of the risk is. I know what the stats are but I wonder how they differentiate depending on the area you are in. For instance, my Mum lives in a 'nice' area but it borders a town that is pretty rough, I would definitely not walk around there at night and neither would my husband. If he visits me when I'm at my Mums I will pick him up at the station on Friday night.

@Vaccine001 yip, I had my dog with me too who I like to think would attack someone like that if they did jump out on me or he would at least be enough to put someone off considering it. I find I end up getting into situations like that though because maybe the false bravery of having a big dog with me has made me walk there 🙈 I think that route is firmly ruled out when I’m alone now though, even in daylight, how sad!

I think we are all a bit spooked right now because of what happened to that lovely young woman, Sarah Everard. But I'm a bit peturbed to read about so many women being so scared that they restrict their lives so much. By all means he sensible, but do not hide in your homes or stop doing the things that you want to do.

I've lived in London most of my life and I've always gone out by myself, often walking home from the tube by myself, late at night. I've never been accosted, which may be due to luck, but I refuse to be scared.

Often, when I was younger coming home from a night out. I would hold my keys in a certain way so I could use them if I was attacked.
The last time and more recently, I miscalculated a journey home and walked almost a mile in the dark as the street lights went off. It was terrifying, I only had my phone torch.

@Ifyoudontlikeitdosomethingelse I’ve never watched a scary movie in my life, don’t need ideas put in my head 🙃

I don’t usually feel threatened walking on my own and do it without thought. Sadly though I’m more likely to be on guard walking with my partner at night - gay bashing is on the rise and I’ve been attacked way more with her than on my own.

No

I do. Always have and plan to for as long as I'm able. Had the odd dodgy incident, but as I've had similar in daylight I don't fear the dark. Used to come home through unlit parks and similar but have moved now.

Yes.

I used to walk the route Sarah Everard took 3 or 4 days a week. At the time I was doing it, Hanwell was festooned with yellow ribbons for Alice Goss. I used to walk about at night a lot and only stopped because my habits changed during lockdown.

If I am attacked, and I do keep an eye out, I may not succeed, but I will attempt to injure, or much worse, and I do carry equipment do do just that. I won't get stopped and searched, because if I looked remotely dangerous, I wouldn't be a target in the first place.