Trigger warning - avoiding sexual attack questions - how you feel safe walking alone when you hear a local man is hiding naked in woodlands?

[IMakeDealsWithTheDevil]

I have a dog and have to go out daily. We have a situation locally where a man has been seen naked in woodlands in several local areas recently. There was another similar news item a few months back.

On Facebook a lot of men are making jokes about it but I am actually very worried. Several murders have taken place within a 40mile radius of where we live that have been female lone dog walkers, two of the murderers we know had been being sexually deviant up to the murders, showing genitalia etc.

I find the story has landed very differently with the women on the village group with many of us worried but the men thinking it's "just a nudist" or making jokes.

It's really affecting how relaxed I am on my walks and where I am walking. I've been thinking today how I would get attention if I was jumped or what I should carry with me or how I should act to put them off. Is it still the best advice to talk to them about their mum if they try to rape you? Biting? Poking eyes? What do you carry with you?

I really hope I am not coming across as crazy but I knew one of the women who was murdered personally and I am finding this very triggering. I think there should be some police led safety advice in the area.

There is a naturist in the Gower that walks in Mill Wood where I often walk and he’s a lovely guy and very knowledgable about local history and a mine of information on paths and trails.

He and his Willy are not the least bit frightening.

This isn't naiveté, it's one of the fundamental principles of our legal system.

The police can't pull me over and charge me for speeding if they think I'm going to speed. They can if I actually do.

There are good reasons why nudity isn't criminalised. For example, the law doesn't control what we wear (and if it did, how much would you have to be covered up? It's a complete minefield.), and nudism as a practice comes under freedom of expression.

This is kind of my thinking. By choosing to drive to work I'm putting myself at much greater risk than pretty much anything else I could do. It's just that the risk posed by men has no benefits.

Do you have any achy muscles when you dog walk? It is obviously illegal to carry anything to use as a weapon, but if you happened to have a deep heat spray or similar, and sprayed it in any attackers eyes, I’d imagine that would be pretty effective, and might give you chance to run.

That sounds like the same area - near the sea and the man having been reported for committing sexual offences.

The 2 woods this man has been seen in a further inland but still what I would class as local. If you go the other way there are the other woods where the dog walker was murdered a couple of years ago by a man who had been lying in wait.

If people are advised to just walk past, are they even reporting this exposure? I assume not as I now would feel like I was wasting police time, now knowing men are allowed to show anyone their penis as long as they call themselves a nudist - no wonder we don't have any idea when men like Wayne Couzens escalate.

Well it does to me because I love hiking. So I'm willing to take the small risk of male violence because I don't want to stop doing the thing i love.

A man wearing clothes deliberately exposes his flaccid penis to a non-consenting person on a bus: Crime!

An entirely naked man deliberately puts himself in situations where his exposed flaccid penis is likely to be seen by many non-consenting people but says he didn't mean to upset anyone: Not crime!

Obviously the law is the law, but it seems rather nonsensical and arbitrary to me.

Apparently it's that or we might accidentally bring in the Burqa!

Quite the dilemma! Perhaps we could just have a very small genital burqa? It could be called 'underpants', and be considered the bare minimum. Just a thought for those who are worried about clothing-extremism to consider.

You're right OP. It doesn't matter what bit of legal hair-splitting distinguishes nudists from sex offenders, if people are really 'nudists', they need to be in clearly boundaried and signposted areas like beach resorts, not lurking about in the fucking woods. There's no special status for 'nudists', it's up to them to make sure their activities are not bothering or threatening other people. There's no right to walk about naked - see the case of the 'naked rambler'.

Of course it's weird and intimidating for a naked bloke to be prowling woods where women walk their dogs. 'Flashing' is a common sex offence which is likely to escalate. Anyone who thinks naked lurkers are just being at one with nature are deluded.

The golden rule which protects women and girls from predators is don't go alone. Band together. There is safety in numbers.

Thank you for that much needed humour.
I don't want the genital burqa to have any eye hole/s though.

Deep heat. Or something more? If it got to point that I was being touched or dragged then I'd pluck their eyeballs out tbh. A man can't hold both your arms and protect their nuts either. I'd do everything in my power to seriously harm any man pulling my into woods or a car. Eyes. Nuts. Biting thinks of skin off.

But if they was coming at me and no listening to requested to back off I'd deep hear them in the eyeballs. Any man who approaches you when no one else about and ignores requests to back off means your serious harm. I keep my keys in my fist when ever I feel uncomfortable alone.

Carry something like an an umbrella, a photography tripod, walking stick - even a sturdy metal water bottle. Something that is not an obvious weapon but is in your hand and can be used as such. I regularly walk back from the gym with my water bottle kind of held like a truncheon.

Humour aside, I'm sorry you're dealing with this, OP. It's upsetting how legally well-protected men are when it comes to intimidating women in this way.

One would think any decent fellow would recognise that a lone woman in the woods might be disturbed to stumble across a naked man, and either stick to areas that are designated for naturists, or wear clothing. And any man willing to expose his genitals to a non-consenting woman has already proven he thinks her consent and boundaries are invalid compared to his own desires. Both of those things make such a man feel like a very real potential threat, whether or not he actually is.

Yes, we are in the same area. The fact that many, decent, men already know that even walking too close behind lone females can be intimidating and scary (even though that is not their intention at all) and so they take, literal, steps to avoid doing so, tells you all you need to know about a man walking naked in a wood where he is likely to encounter lone females, walking their dog or otherwise. Despite anything he may say to the contrary.

Anyway, as I said, the local police are describing this person as a 'suspect' and are actively trying to identify him, so presumably they have information not released to the public/media or they do not regard him simply as a jolly, naked rambler.

Thank you yes, I have now seen the paper which calls him a suspect that had been "prowling" so no, doesn't sound like some jolly nudist. I had heard (word of mouth) he was also spotted in another woods nearby but so far no actual news on that. I'm avoiding woods and sticking to populated fields and areas I can see people approaching with good mobile signal.

Is this The Naked Rambler type scenario?

It makes me sick when men trivialise this kind of thing. A while back we had the so called "Somerset Gimp" prowling in our area. He was pressing himself against women's windscreens in dark country lanes and making sexual noises/gestures. Cue side splitting humour from guys on Reddit, with some even sympathising that he didn't have a proper outlet for his "kink". Meanwhile the accosted women fully expected to be murdered and suffered PTSD and loads of women were terrified to drive anywhere. And they wonder whey we don't want men in our spaces. They haven't got a fucking clue.

I would always report it - It builds up a picture. Others may have had a similar experience in the same area.

To answer your question OP, I would be very worried and would avoid walking in the area on my own, ie not with another person.

As for the men in your Facebook group - oh, the luxury of not being a woman and thinking it's "funny" 🙄

Completely agree, annoying as it is to change your habits, better to be safe. I only walk in the woods when I'm with DH now.

Spot-on @ginasevern- it really gives me the rage when people treat this sort of thing like a Carry On Film. I remember the ‘hilarity’ on Social Media about that revolting gimp. And yes- I saw the sympathy posts too. ‘Awww poor thing has probably got untreated MH issues’. Nevermind the mental health problems he was causing others through his behaviour. 😡

Agree that the law should change. No one needs to be naked or have their genitals on display in public. People can do so in their own homes and gardens, or on nudist beaches. Or get together with nudist friends and book exclusive use of a campsite where you can all go and strip off without bothering anyone that doesn’t want to be involved. I’m fine with there being designated spaces for nudists as I can just give it a wide berth- unexpectedly seeing someone naked in public is completely different. I’d be absolutely terrified to encounter a naked man in the woods while out with my dog.

That’s awful. Was he known to her?

Is this supposed to pass as some Welsh bucolic ideal?

Men commit 98% of sexual assaults.
I think I will run with that stat as my guide thanks.

Can you speak to local councillor
Call a public meeting
Invite police to come speak and advise
Bring in a self defence expert ideally woman
We had a good one at work from local police a woman police officer gave great advice on street safety how to use a rape alarm etc (let it off in their ear if you can )