What would you do in this situation, alone in a park at dusk?

[Colalola]

i was in a park walking through with my dog and two teens entered and sat on the bench which I had to walk past to exit. They were making loud noises to get my attention and make me look but I ignored. One then should ‘I’m going to rape you…!’ What would you do?
it was just myself and them in the park. I carried on walking as I was in shock but I’m interested to know what you’d do.

Miscommunication ...I don't think so
What that little bastard said only means one thing.
Threat of sexual violence
Good on your DH cornering the little fuckers ,I bet they didn't like that speak about having the tables turned.

I wouldn't have sent DH out either. What if they'd attacked him or he ended up hurting them? Yes they're shits but you don't want to go to prison over it. Let the police handle or anonymously post on the local Facebook so they are shamed at least.

You should still report it to the police. Those boys are clearly headed a certain direction and the father’s attitude is not going to help. This to me is where as a society we take it in our hands to make sure kids don’t get there.
They will see in the news that teens are raping teens and know that it is not ok to threaten rape either.

I would have quickly left and then reported it when out of sight. Boys in park threatening to rape - hopefully police would have been there in minutes and caught the evil thugs. That would have surprised them!

I’m sorry this happened to you op, it must have been very frightening. I would have done the same as you. Male teens are strong and probably could overpower an adult woman quite easily. I wouldn’t be hanging around to find out if they were serious. I would definitely report to the police though. There may be cameras around which could help identify them.

I think you did the right thing in leaving and your husband did the right thing in confronting them. Behaviour needs to be 'policed' and a lone woman confronting two teens would be reckless. If we do not push back at bad behaviour we are condoning it.

Agreed. The people who would have done nothing are unknowingly allowing it. If I didn’t have someone who could have confronted them I’d have reported it instead. It’s not acceptable at all. Both teens old enough to know better and the dad should be ashamed of himself for immediately defending that kind of behaviour imo. If my son was accused of saying that to ANYONE I’d have apologised profusely and marched him out of there. I wonder what he’d have done if someone said that to his wife or daughter?
!

People want dogs to have licences when really kids need them .

When I had to walk my dog in the park early on dark mornings, I took a walking pole with me. Perfectly reasonable thing to carry, as I had a weak knee, but the difference with a standard walking stick is that it had a pointed end. I would have been prepared to use it to defend myself too, if necessary.

I'd have ignored them and got out of the park quickly. However, you need to report the incident to the police, so they are aware. It's possible the teens meant it as some kind of joke, not sure why in any decent person's mind it would be considered one. Or it was meant to unnerve, intimidate and threaten you...with the possibility of the threat actually happening.

I've started taking pictures of males who are aggressive (to anyone). Not always possible if you need to leave in a hurry.

You should leave it to the actual police though. Sending your DH down is a recipe for disaster.

OMG a GREAT HUSBAND story is so rare on MN but this is a PRIME EXAMPLE. What a fucking legend.

I'd have reported them to the police. Whether I ignored them or unleashed rage on them would depend on how generally safe or otherwise the situation felt - this fucking shitty behaviour in men absolutely incenses me and it wouldn't be the first time I've bitten back out of sheer fury, only to reflect that I probably put myself at risk (female runner who, on average, gets uninvited comments form men weekly. Everything from "can't you go any faster" to lewd sexual shit)

I'm sorry they did that to you, but good that your OH confronted them and their horrible parent. I think i would still have reported this to the police, the statistics about VAWG are useful to try to persuade Govt and police to actually do something about it rather than just using it as a talking point to try and make themselves look as though they care when they are called out. In my local park a young school boy threw a full can of drink at me, hitting me at the back of my head. I called the police, who did absolutely nothing, but i suppose maybe it was recorded. I. would still always report.

I carry a can of hairspray and a metal "afro" comb when I'm out and about. Makes me feel a bit better after so many nasty things said and done to me by males in public spaces and on public transport. Women really shouldn't have to live like this though. Men seem to see lone older women as easy prey, or just a nuisance in their way, to be shoved about. VAWG definitely gets worse and worse-gangs of schoolboys are terrifying.

Hairspray is completely ineffective.

It doesn't come out in a forceful spray as it's designed to mist.

If there's even a slight breeze, it's likely to end up in your eyes too.

And of course there's every chance they'll grab it off you anyway.

I always think whatever a woman does in the moment at times like this is right for her, none of us can judge as we weren’t there. What I would say however, is that at the point where you are safe, always call the police. In this instance I would be very factual and say “a teenager threatened to rape me in the park”. That is factual - don’t ever try and assume it was a joke. Then I would probably try and take some photos of them etc (if possible) and wait for the police to arrive.

Well done to you and your DH.

The young men who did this are twats and their dad is an even bigger twat. I hope they learnt their lesson.

Called the police and stayed on the line as I got myself to safety.

I would have called 101 when I left, I wouldn’t have got my phone out in case it exacerbated the situation.

You did the right thing by making yourself safe as your first priority.

After that, I would have called the police.

I think you did the right thing for you at that time. What I would have done is different, and based on 5 years working in the police and then a long career in legal field.

1. Move on, out of the way
2. Call the local police station report the incident. (Totally depends on the area!) I expect they have someone go to where you are, maybe even within 15 or 30 mins.
3. Give details to the police when they arrive, and they can do the follow up

Ideally, the experience with the police would be something the young men would remember and reflect on. Also, the police will note the names which would be valuable in in future, or if they are already "known".

I did this a few months ago following an incident in a park where a group were harassing walkers, blocking a footpath, etc.

I'm returning to this thread, after commenting that I'd have informed the police, because I remembered how shockingly awful the police are at dealing with people who carry through on threats of VAWG, never mind threats of it.

I reported a series of incidents to my local community police, things that I'd experienced as well as others' experiences, due to groups of men on off-road bikes hanging round and harassing women. I was told that they'd "try" to have some presence and "try" to speak to them, but in reality there was nothing they could really do. I asked if a woman would have to be hurt before anything was done, and the response was "Oh, between us that's actually already happened"

Many years ago as a schoolgirl girl walking to a youth club some boys at my school chanted "rape, rape ..." at me. It was only when one of the boys recognised me and said I was xxx sister that they stopped. I don't honestly know what they thought they would achieve by chanting something so very frightening.