WHY IT MATTERS

‘STAY SAFE’ STRATEGIES THAT WOMEN USE EVERY SINGLE DAY.

They are strategies that are replicated by women everywhere. By your sisters, your friends, your colleagues, your neighbours. Read them and decide whether this is okay.

Thank you, too, to the women who shared their stories. As one put it, “Just because we have strategies, doesn’t mean we don’t walk home in fear.”

“I walk in the middle of the road if I can. It gives me more time to react if someone appears around a corner or out of a driveway.”

Natalie, London

“If my husband can’t pick me up, I don’t go out. Right now I don’t want to walk the streets, I don’t want to get on a night bus and I don’t know if I can trust taxi drivers.”

Jhulan, Newcastle

“I wear dark clothes and try to camouflage into the background. I don’t use a torch either. Sometimes that is dangerous with traffic.”

Helen, Essex

“It’s about a mile from my local pub to home. I never feel comfortable walking it so I always get an Uber. I probably spend £500 on Ubers every year. If I was a man I’d spend £0.”

Tessa, Cardiff

“I have used COVID as an excuse a few times. I told people I was waiting for a test result so couldn’t go out. Just because I’d need to make my own way home and feared for my safety.”

Zainab, York