Women's fears of being in the outside world: BBC Radio 4 - Clipped Wings

[TheBiologyStupid]

A thoroughly depressing, and depressingly necessary, BBC Radio 4 programme about women's enjoyment of nature being spoilt by the fear of being attacked by men:
Clipped Wings www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00180d0

There are measures you can take to protect yourself. A course of krav maga with a good instructor will mean you can floor an attacker of any size, break a chokehold if seized from behind, deal with a knife attack etc.
It is not legal to carry offensive weapons, but a small aerosol spray of deodorant or perfume in your pocket can be squirted in an attacker’s eyes to buy time for you to run, a small sharp screwdriver or metal nailfile can be useful for a quick stab ditto.
Pairing up with another woman for walks, especially one with a large and intimidating dog (or owning one yourself) can also reduce your anxiety.
I live in rural Perthshire and happily walk alone during daylight on the hills and through forests. I would be more circumspect at night in my nearest city, actually.

Women are far more likely to be subject to sexual assault than men. I don't want to get mugged but I don't really fear it. I am scared of sexual assault because it feels more personal and its effects are usually far more damaging.

Yes but that sexual assault is also much more likely to be in your own home / a place your feel safe // with people you already know

Your risk of sexual assault by a stranger when walking outside is much less

When men are attacked, it’s a fight, with someone who is the same sex as the victim.

When a woman’s attacked, it’s usually a rape, and the attack is invariably by the opposite, much bigger and stronger, sex.

If men got raped as much as women, they’d be a lot more scared to go out.

I will not be listening to this programme. Do you know what the odds are of actually being attacked by a random man in a wild place?
Get out, enjoy nature. You are doing yourself so much more damage by sitting in on your arses and worrying about something that will almost certainly never, ever happen!

Agree, and what a sad thread.
I love going for a walk by myself, I'm not about to effectively lock myself away if I don't have someone to chaperone me as I'm too scared to enjoy being out alone.
That's no way to live.

@GoodJanetBadJanet have you read the summary of the programme?

"

Listen now
Clipped Wings
After a frightening incident of sexual assault while birding, BBC Springwatch naturalist Lucy Lapwing visits four women to try to renew her passion for being alone in nature.
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After a frightening incident of sexual assault while birding, BBC Springwatch naturalist Lucy Lapwing visits four women to try to rekindle her passion for being alone in nature.
Birdwatching has always been joyous for Lucy. Her pockets are always stuffed with nature's treasures, such as acorns, feathers, and owl pellets.
However, there’s now one extra item she always keeps reassuringly within reach.
While she was birdwatching alone, a man exposed himself to her and videoed her reaction, so now Lucy always carries an anti-assault Defence Spray.
The incident has left her wary and anxious. She puts her back to a tree when looking through binoculars. She no longer talks to male fellow birders, actively avoiding them from a distance.
She is "so angry" that she feels unsafe in nature - a place she had hitherto regarded as unquestionably "her realm".
In Clipped Wings, Lucy ventures outdoors with four women whose hobbies and pursuits regularly take them alone into nature: mountain biking, backpacking, running and birding.
Lucy talks to former professional mountain biker and Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner Lee Craigie, Ali Ogden, who runs backpacking events across the Scottish Highlands, long-distance runner Catriona Bruce, and ecologist and birdwatcher Sorrel Lyall.
What abuse or dangers have they encountered in pursuit of their passion? How do they mitigate risks? How would they like men to behave when encountering a lone woman in nature?
And what advice, support, or solidarity can these four supportive peers offer, to help Lucy assuage her fears and get her love of birdwatching back on track?"
It's about how a woman who was actually assaulted in the countryside can find a way back to going out and about on her own without feeling fearful. She is talking to four other women about how to do that. Yet you think this programme is not worth listening to? And that this thread is sad? Wow.

@GoodJanetBadJanet I’m pleased that you feel that way. Have you ever been accosted by a man whilst out in the countryside in broad daylight? It might make you feel a little more empathy for those of us that have. When you realise that a mobile phone and someone knowing where you’ve intended to go are totally useless when faced with a man intent on doing you harm. I hope you never have to face it.

I caught the programme by accident and thought it was very good. I definitely limit myself because of the fear of male violence. I can't imagine hiking on my own, camping alone in isolated places. The woman on the programme who had to deal with weird, suggestive comments from an intimidating guy up a mountain and then had to camp on her own knowing he might come back at any point.... Terrifying!

This stuff makes me so angry. Women having to internalise and externalise avoidance tactics from male violence that in themselves cause women harm, or reduces their happiness. It’s shit.

My DH suggested I alone go for a walk in the wood near our house. I told him he was bonkers. But why he asked? Well how many women have been attacked and killed recently just going about their business? I know of 3 recently. I am not willing to take the risk to be number 4.

I compared it for him- if everywhere you went the other people were the height and strength of Tyson Fury how would you feel? Would you feel comfortable? 'No'. Thought so. It's not the threat it's the potential reality of being overpowered.

Krav maga sounds pretty amazing. Might take some classes in that.

No, I don't - what are the odds, please Minty?

I thought that the point raised in the programme of asking the men in your life to think about how they make lone women feel when they’re out walking (crossing the road away from the woman) etc is an easy strategy that men can use to make solo women feel less uncomfortable around them. No reason for men not to do that wherever possible.

I thought defense sprays were illegal in this country. I suppose it's an innocuous spray, like cheap perfume, that would be painful in your eyes.

Wasn't there something a few years ago? Women were asked what they would do if all men were kept inside for one day, like a male curfew. Many of the answers were so sad, they'd just go for a walk in the evening by themselves. Because they could, because it would be safe.

So, I can have a stab at answering that. My husband’s MA dissertation included a sub-section asking gay men why they weren’t scared of Grindr hookups raping and murdering them. The men all assumed they would easily be able to fight off an attacker. Total rubbish, as Stephen Port later demonstrated. But they all thought they were invincible. Women know they aren’t.