Guardian article on street running in the dark

[funnelfanjo]

Well written article by a journalist describing how she switches to running on a treadmill in winter because of the risks in running in the dark. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/19/women-unsafe-running-in-the-dark-outside-without-fear

Right on cue the highest rated comments are all “what about the menz”…

Ultimately, however, there is a cold hard truth - it is infinitely easier to ensure Mrs Harrison comes to no harm by having her limit where she goes, than it is to make sure she comes to no harm by making sure that none of the misogynistic men who live within 20 miles of her house are out and about when she goes for a run.

This is precisely what I mean: the choices for dealing with the problem of male violence are presented as a binary that unquestioningly prioritises risk elimination over autonomy. I’m sure this wasn’t meant, but I find the turn of phrase “having her limit where she goes” paternalistic. It suggests a control over Mrs Harrison. The third way is: present Mrs Harrison with all the facts and let her decide. While continuing to combat the violent behaviour of men.

I'm a female runner and I run outside all year round, unless it's icy. I live in a small town and am frequently surprised how poorly lit many residential areas are with street lights out for weeks at a time. Without thinking about the risk of being attacked I wonder how elderly, less mobile or people with poor sight fare during the winter when at some points it's dark not long after 4pm and the streetlights are insufficient.

Upthread there was a comment that suggest women could be as bad as men, and I think that you ar oversimplifying talking about at critical mass of women in power. But you are right that government could do much more if it chose to, and that more women should be in positions of power. And fewer people who don't care about anything that doesn't effect them in their position of extreme privilege.

[Imagines a Tory MP suggesting that there isn't a running in winter problem - any woman who wants to run in the dark should just do 3 or 4 laps of their back garden, then after completing the 5k they can pop back in for a bath.]

We could also look at the design of our urban areas. Vienna have incorporated a female lens into designing new areas, and made changes to already built areas- it was mentioned in "Invisible Women". Obvious things like street lighting, but there are other things too.

The street lighting issue is a difficult one. On the one hand you don't want light pollution and to waste energy, but on the other hand the lighting isn't good, and where we are it's off between 12 and 4am. I can't disagree with saving energy and light pollution and can see the difference in how many stars we can see these days, but I can see how it can have a disproportionate impact on women. That said, not many women are out running between 12 and 4.

I run all year round, but I run with a club and I run in the daylight when I am on my own. And I stick to the busier and better lit areas when on my own.