To ask if you feel safe as a woman to walk outside alone after dark

[Flufferblub]

I've been stuck indoors sick for a few days where I've been ill. I'm quite over weight and feel as though I need to go for a walk. I feel like I need to walk off the first meal I've had for a few days, as I feel quite uncomfortable. But I can't. Because I'm a woman and I don't feel safe enough to go out walking alone after dark. It's a shame that I don't feel safe enough to go out and get fresh air and exercise as a woman. Am I overly anxious, or is it just sensible to not go out alone at night? How do other women feel about this?

Thanks

Not without my dog, who would protect me. Live on a very safe area but as a teen there were one or two assaults round here. I very conscious of my adult daughter's safety too. Areas near train stations and parks are particularly vulnerable and we live near both.

I walk anywhere I want to. Woods, fields, canal and riverside, 2pm or 2am. With my kids or on my own. I walk and run miles every week in the dark at this time of year. I have walked through parks, cities and woods in the dark this week.

I know full well there are risks. There are risks to absolutely everything we do. There are risks to walking with somebody and there are risks to staying at home. The biggest risk to me walking at night statistically is being hit by a vehicle. So I prefer to stay off the roads where that risk is substantially reduced. I’m not going to get hit by a car in the middle of the woods. Next risk is falling into water. I make sure I know my routes and any bodies of water as well as weather conditions and potential flood risk. I wear a head torch and always tell people when I go out and when I’m due to be back.

I have been attacked in the street more than once. I have been attacked in pubs and clubs too. I have been attacked in a car. And I have been attacked in my own home and bedroom. If I want to eliminate the risk of being attacked, where should I go?

I feel very safe where I am but the fact that that I can't particularly see where I am going and that there is regularly dog shit on the streets makes me reluctant 😐

Depends on the area and time. After 9/10pm in my small town then I feel unsafe, to the point I’ve just bought a personal alarm to use when leaving and coming home from my night shift. I usually park outside my home but will still spend 5/10 minutes checking before I get out the car and make sure my keys ready etc. at times I’ve had to park 10/15 houses away and have actually walked along the road side of the parked cars as there are. Lot of houses with large front garden/steps and plenty of places to hide. I have always felt unsafe after dark.

No one can answer this for you OP. It depends on so many things. Where you are and who you are are so important.

so many women have got into trouble ignoring their instincts. Better to be safe than sorry. You shouldn’t have to stay in your garden, but you know your area better than MN.

Yes, I feel safe. I live in a rural village with a low crime rate. I also have a big dog, but I'd feel perfectly safe without him. I do have to wear lights and reflective gear though - there's only intermittent pavement and not much lighting.

I would but then I wouldn't see another soul where I live

So I guess it depends on location.

I would walk around our city no bother but I probably wouldn't walk around a major English city!

I'm in London and feel safe. Obviously there are risks but they don't magically go away during daylight and I'm certainly not about to let men control when I can or can't go outside, I will not live my life like that.

Just to add, as well, that I've lived in a few cities including London and I've had quite a lot of hassle. I used to dread walking home from the tube... the number of times I'd get a weirdo murmuring in my ear or freaking me out somehow. I'm 5ft0 and I sometimes wonder if that makes me seem an easy target (I expect that wouldn't be the only factor though).

@justaboutdonenow Good dog!

I had a friend who lived in a rough area of SE London. She had a beautiful rottweiler the size of a bear, and I walked her to the shops. The crowd of lads in their late teens who I would usually find intimating gave us plenty of space as she sat obediently beside me.

I'd walk round the village where we live and the small town we are on the edge of or along the seafront but I wouldn't go on the metro at night.

Yes, but I live in a city so would not actually be 'alone'. I don't feel so safe after midnight, but 5pm is fine. I mean I would be stuck at work all night if I didn't do any walking alone in the dark...

I feel less safe in my low crime rate Town after midnight than I ever did in London. London is significantly busier for a start

Yes, I've literally just got back from Brixton where I was running some errands and the shops don't shut til 8. I was listening to a podcast and catching Pokémon on my phone on the walk back. If I fancy a Magnum after supper at 10pm I'd scoot down the road to Costcutter (about 3 minutes walk).

There are a couple of roads I'm a bit twitchy about though, and would think twice about after 11pm. Once it gets properly late then I'd only go a very specific route home past a couple of pubs and takeaways where I know the staff and trust them to help if necessary.

No, I do not feel safe, I become hyper vigilant if I have to walk home in the dark in a non busy area.

Does that mean you don’t go out alone after about 4 pm at winter? That’s quite sad.seems it’s a mix of issues, area, physicality, but you also felt nervous young, did anything happen to you?

id not go out walking alone late at night no. It’s likely very safe, but there is no street lights here or pavements, so I’d feel vulnerable to an accident. When I lived in a more central location was fine. Here I’d go out on my own till about 9 or 10 at night.

I have no problem going out on my own after dark - either where I live now (rural) or when I used to live in London (not a particularly nice part of London). I'm not saying I've never felt nervous, but not enough to put me off doing it.

The dark has never scared me, I walk my dog miles and miles over the country side in the dark and love the silence and isolation of it, it can be very relaxing.

I'm in TO with a small old dog so walk him some nights around 1 am.

I've been attacked so I've since taken self defense. I am aware, but not terrified.

It depends where you live and what you're used to I suppose. I feel very different somewhere I don't live when I'm working away. When I'm at home I often take the dog out at 9 for a walk before bed and sometimes don't lock the back door (which I definitely should do). Husband works away so I'm on my own but I don't feel scared on my own. I've also managed to leave the front door open all night before and in my previous house in the same area left my keys in the front door which opens direct onto a road. Both times someone knocked and told me.

Only you can judge if you feel comfortable/safe going out where you live.

I feel exactly like this, lived in London for 20 years and never felt unsafe and routinely walked alone after dark.

Recently moved somewhere rural and I don't even like leaving the curtains open after dark as it's pitch dark outside and no one is around. I really dislike walking down the country lane at 6am in the morning to get to the train station even though I know the likelihood of anything happening to me is very small.

Across the park, along the river: no
Well-lit roads: yes, until about 10pm, then no.

I live in a small city, but when I was in London I was less cautious, which might be based on my age then, or the fact that everywhere was fairly busy, even at 1am

No. I only do dog walking at night with DH.

Yes it’s safe the vast majority of the time - women are far far more likely to be harmed by a man they know, in their own homes.

It depends where. I’d walk around my small, well lit, low crime town quite happily at any time. There are some isolated woods where I feel uneasy walking the dog alone in broad daylight.