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Women’s safety while running
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don't run where you wouldn't walk.......
but this applies the same to men as to women......
the only time I have had anything chucked at me whilst running is when i was running in a group......and it was a mixed group and some kids threw stones.........
I'm more scared of dogs when I am running than being attacked or harassed by a bloke. But I usually run with a club and my original reason for joining was so that I did not have to run on my own in the dark. However I live in a relatively low-crime area.
I agree with hellywobs, I've had far more run ins with dogs than humans whilst out running. Been attacked twice and forced to stop and turn away countless times until an owner has regained control of their dog. Very rarely does the owner apologise.
Clearly those pathetic people who verbally abuse runners have a limited vocabulary as "run faster" and "run forest run" are the two standard shouts I get.
Yeah sorry about that Seren. Looking back I see how juvenile I was doing that ...
I'm more scared of geese and swans than dogs or humans - I once took a long detour to avoid some iffy looking swans
cows are my fear.........rather go through a group of drunken teenagers than through a field of cows.......
just have to pretend that I'm in charge
I'm scared of geese and swans too, also cows - don't see too many of those in the forest! But we do meet up with deer, and sometimes (preferably NOT) wild boar though most seem to have moved on from our area, luckily.
My ex boyfriend was attacked by a goose and a goat once, on the same day. How weird is that, considering I've been running since 2006 and never been attacked by anything, human or animal. Once a plastic bag flew at me, but I don't suppose that counts
The widespread misogynistic attitudes of men are to blame for the excessive violence and sexism towards women. Modern society's porn culture regards women as commodities/objects to please men. Women now live in a state of anxiety and fear and many women believe that men are potential threats. The recent mass killing in America has created media hysteria and reinforces the ultra-feminist view that "all men are bad and all men must prove they are not bad."
I think this thread has proved that the majority of women here do not live in fear that every man is considered a threat......i think it is in the minority.......
I agree with you Seren.
I don't live in a state of anxiety and fear and I don't think all men are bad.
A few are and its up to the good ones (who are in the vast majority) to bring them in line by standing up for women when they are being out of order.
I have also been followed by a man on a bike whilst doing a longish run on a local, well used cycle path, in broad daylight. It's surprising that there was nobody else around at the time and it was very uncomfortable. He was riding alongside me and talking to me. In the end I slowed and I asked him to move on but he didn't for several more minutes, until we came into a busier area when there were people around. I did report the incident to the police, just to make them aware.
Calls from cars, beeping etc is sadly par for the course for both male/female runners I feel. I wear headphones so I can't hear. It makes me feel self conscious but not really intimidated.
"Women now live in a state of anxiety and fear"
RoadWarrior, I don't know where you got that impression but in my experience that simply isn't the case.
I go out running most days, my borough is full of women runners - most run on their own and nobody seems in the least scared.
The vast majority of male runners are smiling, polite road users - as are most people, actually. The small minority of criminals and trouble-makers out there are only just that: a small minority.
Also, shocking as they were, the mass killings in America have had little, if any, impact on the lives of women in London. I don't know if it's different where you based, but I can assure you here in the capital it's business as usual.
There has been a great deal of debate over the recent killings in America and how much Elliot Rodgers' misogyny was a contributing factor but the main problem was that the killer was a sociopath who was in therapy from the age of 9.
He hated everything (not just women) because, as he grew up, he realised that he didn't fit into the world or, to be more precise, the world didn't see him as he saw himself. He felt entitled to popularity - but was unpopular. He felt entitled to power - but had none. He felt entitled to sex with beautiful blondes - they didn't want to know. Probably his grandiose attitude was the very thing that pushed people away.
Sociopaths are born, not made. They cannot be cured. If it hadn't been his hatred of women it would have been something else that set him off.
TV news stories of various incidents around the world in which women face violence from men on a daily basis. Mass killings in America by woman hating men, Abduction of 200+ young girls in Africa, gang rapes of women in India, are just some of the many crimes against women.
Too many women are victims of crime and male offenders must be brought to justice. The government should be doing more to make all women's lives safer from violent crimes. Harsher laws must be implement to ensure crimes against women are eliminated or reduced completely from society.
Is there a widespread porn culture in the islamic world?
I dream of a world where there are no violent crimes and all global citizens live in peaceful harmony. No one should live in fear and anxiety of being a victim of violent crimes or becoming a potential victim of violent crimes.
I'm pretty sure you can't enact laws that protect women specifically. The answer is to use the current laws more effectively and to educate.
One of the themes in India seems to be that the police either collude or don't give a sh*t so it looks like police reform and the employment of more female officers is one of the best things they could do in tackling the problem over there.
Last week, one of our running club (a returning runner) had a water bomb thrown at him from a moving car and the water bomb hit him in the eye.
He was running in a relatively large group and one of the other runners took him to the local hospital. He can see okay, but apparently the back of his eye is bruised and he had to have it examined. Bastards.
Big G.can't have happened as according to Road Warrior attacks only happen against women
the fact that men are getting killed daily over the world on gang attacks and in actual wars.....
I would make a guess that more men die each year in the world as a result of violence than women......
so lets not try and make out the world is a place where no woman is safe......
there are dangerous places and dangerous people out there.they are in the minority........lets keep it in perspective
I think that comparing the safety of women runners in Britain with other cultures, where guns are freely available and women are treated as second class citizens is a bit of a stretch.