To think that women should be allowed to carry CS gas?

[MrsKingfisher]

I know it's classed as a firearm in the UK and we aren't allowed to carry it but isn't it time the law changed to allow women to carry it in order to protect us?

How many more women have to be attacked before we are given the right to protect ourselves?

CS gas is no help if someone is pouting a weapon at you.

Pointing*

"The most useful element though is the fitness to be able to run away."

17 weeks post CS I somehow managed this with a double buggy and 7yo after being followed a few years ago. Dull quiet Sunday morning, no one else in the vicinity. Adrenaline kicks in, and looking back you wonder how on earth you managed to find the reserves. The human body is incredible to know how to get out of a dangerous situation quickly. Safest option if possible - run. A spray would have been useless in such a situation.

I agree with those who say it's not a good idea to carry anything that can be used as a weapon, particularly as it can be turned against you. However I do have a wasp spray by my front door and back door, and I'd have no hesitation in using that if someone forced themself in.

[To be fair, I wouldn't expect that to be a wasp.]

Well you know you can just by some Mace and carry it. I cant see many attackers/rapists reporting you to the police.

The problem is that you don't know if you would freeze or fight. I have carried attack alarms in the past and they have the advantage of being quick to operate (pull pin and go), easy to grab (belt loop) and can't be used against you. Worst case, you freeze and the alarm draws attention. Best case, the noise disorientates your attacker and you can run.

The best fight is always the one you can avoid.

Women aren’t abducted and killed often but they’re harassed and assaulted every single day.

Whether carrying CS gas is a good idea is another matter but don’t minimise what women are saying about not feeling safe. That hasn’t come from nowhere.

Absolutely. I HATE it when people say it’s ‘extremely rare’, as if that makes it a non-issue. It’s erasure.

Yes, stranger abduction is rare. But it’s a sub-category of male violence, which is not rare. Jess Philips read out the names of the 118 women who’ve died in the U.K. at the hands of a man in the last year - roughly only every three days. And that doesn’t include the women who’ve been raped, battered or otherwise assaulted.

And yes, stranger abduction is, thankfully, rare. But though it’s rare, it’s regular. Without fail, a few times every year we see a grainy photo of a smiling woman or girl released by a family desperately pleading for information about her whereabouts, accompanied by the ‘last seen’ information, and we all know deep down what’s happened to her. A man has decided to end her life for no reason other than the fact she was female.

So would this CS spray (classed as firearm!) be widely available to purchase for women? Once a few (lot) of women are mugged for this firearm by men so men can use them for future muggings (of men or women) or against women what then? Have you ever seen anyone use CS spray in the flesh? A group of police officers perhaps? Often the one who used the spray leaves the fray immediately, coughing and streaming with tears. If you're close enough to spray someone you're close enough to feel the affects.
Who qualifies as a woman while we're at it? Given all that's going on with self ID?

Everything that Karma said.

It's a slippery slope!

@vimtosogood , I agree ( see post at 19.55) at lot of woman in the club's I worked in started a fight becase someone had looked at someone the wrong way .
Regardless of the sex of the looker/ lookie

Basic self defence should be taught as the absolute minimum here. Fuck Dance and general PE classes for secondary school girls being mandatory. Basic procedures to break holds etc could make a huge difference. Yes it might not counteract the freeze that many people experience but it'd be a damn sight better than being forced to learn a S Club dance routine in front of your peers. Empower young girls and give them the tools that could help them defend themselves.

Basic self defence should be taught as the absolute minimum here.

I don’t believe that would make any difference. How would that help against an attacker with a gun or a knife? Men are physically stronger than women.

Men need to not attack women rather than women supposedly being able to defend themselves.

Alarms are your best bet. You literally wouldn’t have time to do anything else or attacked randomly. It would take the brain a while to even register what was going on.

Of course men need not to attack but as ever that goes by the by. It's ridiculous. Men get away with it, as they always have done. That doesn't mean girls shouldn't have the option to learn how to defend themselves.

I think people should be allowed handguns under concealed carry permits, but that's a bit extreme for most people. I'd happily carry one if permitted.

I’m going to get hammered here but here goes...
I totally agree and understand the day to day ‘ everyday sexism’ angle.
But conflating that with someone who will abduct a woman off the streets and kill her is so far wide of the mark.
99.999% of men will agree but that still leaves Peter Sutcliff out there.
There will always be people who are dangerous to everyone.
And if you have a son and a daughter you are very much more likely to lose your son to murder than your daughter.
My son had a knife put to his throat last summer by a gang of lads in sleepy Somerset. His girlfriend jumped in the middle of them and saved the day.

@HotPenguin

No way. It used to be legal in France. Pickpockets would let it off in the underground to help get away. It's awful in a confined space. Some people would also do it just for a laugh.

Yes, really bad idea for many reasons. Will get into wrong hands.

@Biker47

I think people should be allowed handguns under concealed carry permits, but that's a bit extreme for most people. I'd happily carry one if permitted.

I wouldn't want this

A gun on your property in case of intruders, yes. But I don't think people are responsible enough for concealed carry.

@Biker47

I think people should be allowed handguns under concealed carry permits, but that's a bit extreme for most people. I'd happily carry one if permitted.

The U.K. is better off without guns. There are far more murders in the US than here.

NO GUNS ABSOLUTELY NO GUNS!!!
The more guns the greater the likelihood of lethal violence
We do not want people carrying weapons in the UK it will only escalate
if women are allowed to carry CS gas more men will start identifying as women so that they can carry it too, it also sets of precedent of 1 gender being allowed to do something that the other can't

His girlfriend jumped in the middle of them and saved the day
OMG how terrifying😟 I hope your son is ok🙏
(How fabulous is she😊)

Oh yes...just give all the women in Croydon CS Gas....that cant go wrong...rolls eyes

@BalancedIndividual

Oh yes...just give all the women in Croydon CS Gas....that cant go wrong...rolls eyes

Or worse...imagine Salford

No because it could be used to attack women

We need harsher laws as deterrents for a start.