Do you carry a rape alarm?

[Superlambaanana]

Had written a long post about male responsibility but accidentally touched the screen and slid it away so lost it and haven't the energy to rewrite. Basically... i hate men and the fact rape is essentially legal....

I was frightened by a man when out walking earlier and now want to get something legal I can carry for when i'm out walking at night.

Read a review of a rape alarm by a woman who let hers off and it was ignored. People maybe thought it was a car or building alarm.

I used to push a key through a clenched fist when i was a student but don't have a bunch of keys these days.

So what else is there that we can carry that would be effective if attacked by a strange man?

These sound like rubbish alarms. When mine went off accidentally at Kings X Station it brought the entire concourse to a halt. (Before the station refurbishment, so a slightly smaller space than now, but still a lot of people in an area with a lot of background noise.)

@Daisies12 no one stops driving...but they do take precautions to keep safe such as wearing a seat belt to reduce the chance of an adverse outcome in the same way that people are discussing precautions to make their walk safer - so probably not the best example to use to make your point.

Also for those using personal alarms the idea is to disorientate an attacker giving you valuable seconds to escape as you are expecting the noise and they are not. I wouldn't rely on one to bring someone running to assist.

Any tips of how to choose/where to buy a decent one?

Bought mine in lockdown from amazon, spent a decent amount of time comparing different options and chose one claiming one of the higher decibel ratings. What arrived was more cheaply made then it looked in the photos though.

I saw a great video on SM yesterday, a very small woman claiming to her male friends that she could get herself out of any headlock or attack from behind. One took her up on the challenge and she had a lighter concealed in her hand. Just singed the hair on his elbow but the shock had him immediately let go.

I've also seen posts on Reddit from incels who have bragged about doing exactly what OP described. Deliberately walking closely behind a woman at night, speeding up when she does, crossing with her etc, and then ending it by going in a different direction. They do it for the power and enjoyment of having power over that woman in that moment. There should absolutely be a law against doing this but I'm not sure there is.

Its possible a rape alarm would deter the person. I did a swlf defence coulrse where we all had to try an over ride put freeze response and shout fuck off a lot. Thrre was much more to it than that.

But i dont think people will help. I was sexually assaulted in daylight on a crowded bus. People just watched.

Any tips of how to choose/where to buy a decent one?

Sorry, got mine ages ago. Had a mix of battery and gas cannister types and there was little difference in sound level but the battery type were easier to use (also more likely to have an 'automatic bag-stealing alarm' setup).

I'd trust a physical shop over Amazon - if you're near a university you could try the campus shop. I thought the l Suzy Lamplugh used to sell them, but can't see any on their website now.

I know that pepper spray is supposedly illegal here but I find it really hard to believe that anyone would get prosecuted for using it in a self defence situation. Partly because what potential rapist/thief is going to press charges.

I do on the whole manage to put it out of my mind but I am thoroughly annoyed by the fact that I know I wouldn’t be able to out run most men and if most men wanted to restrain me they would be able to. They are just stronger. I used to run as part of a club and our very best almost professional women weren’t much faster than your mediocre male runner.