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Women’s safety while running
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I run with 2 big German Shepherds so never get hassled - anyone trying would have to be crazy.
A junior in our tri club has recently suffered a terrible incident. A small group of them were doing brick training (biking followed by running) and there was a man on the same path doing Nordic walking with sticks. On the youngsters 3rd lap the man turned and shoved one of our young triathletes with both hands as hard as he could. Poor lad fell off his bike and suffered shattered bones in his hand and arm, has had to have an operation and will be in a cast for 6 weeks, which puts paid to his competing in the junior National champs, and who knows, may have ruined a promising triathlon career. Luckily there were independent witnesses, so this arrogant pig is being sued for the medical costs, damage to the bike, and pain and suffering. Serves him right. Hope it costs him a lot of money.
My main purpose in starting this thread, was to get an idea of how widespread the problem was, and perhaps find some solutions.
I think that anybody who thinks that women are not more vulnerable to attack than men is being a little naive.
When I worked in running retail I heard a lot of stories from women who had suffered from harassment, in areas where I could run with impunity.
I also think that men are less uncomfortable psychologically with harassment than women are.
I think that harassment of men is most likely under reported TBH Ben (especially to another young male working in the shop where they bought their kit) rather than absent. Some men really wouldn't want to admit that harassment was a) occurring in case they were seen as "weak" or b) that it affected them adversely psychologically.
I agree up to a point Peronel, but I think women can choose not to be intimidated.
The only time I was ever sexually assaulted was when I was 15 long before I started running. I thumped the bloke as hard as I could and called him every name under the sun. He disappeared, sharpish.
And of course it makes sense not to run in dodgy areas and to keep to well lit, busy roads at night - but the same goes for all runners.
As I said - take a dog. If you don't have one of your own, borrow one from a neighbour. Some people are only too happy to have their dogs exercised on a regular basis by somebody else.
Of course the chances of being attacked are very small but it does happen. Last year a woman was attacked and repeatedly raped over an eight hour period after being dragged from a popular footpath here, one our club uses regularly.
It isn't about running though is it? you only have to look at abuse that women in the public eye get on Twitter to see there is a deep seam of mysogyny running through an alarming proportion of men.
True Bionic Ironwolf - I do have two big ridgies with me much of the time
I agree Mr P - there is an element of this behaviour that isn't just about running.
Ultimately, if it's going to stop, I think it's down to the male friends of people like this telling their mates to stop being wankers.
I got my backside pinched at Comrades by an attractive girl, and I felt rather flattered by it!
The level of harassment a male feels when it comes from a female is inversely related to the attractiveness of said female.
So in Bens case since he's already stated that the girl in question was attractive, then it wasn't harassment.
Ugly man pinches women's arse = unnaceptable.
No, but that is how it is likely to be perceived.
Its the way of the world. I dont make the rules, I just live by them. Its quite puritanical on here sometimes lol.
I worked as a glass collector at a rough nightclub back in the day, and crusty old lushes were all over my backside, and it didn’t bother me too much.
The female staff were kept behind the bar, because they got groped all over the place if the collected glasses, and it upset them a lot.
I don't think the levels of harassment are any more for a woman than a man..just the reporting and attitude......
lets be honest in winter in the dark when running along the pavements......when the youths shout out of the car window..they would find it hard to tell if the runner is male or female.......
and we can all interpret something said differently..........when a youth shouts run faster......or run forest run.....etc......do we take offence.........if its an old lady shouts run a mile for me love do we take it as harrassment.....
its also hard to know how many men have been raped or gang raped...because just as 30 years ago women didn't come forward to tell police.........how many men would come forward to report they had been subject to an attack.....
Millsy very few men feel physically intimidated by women so a woman pinching a man's arse isn't likely to have the same effect, it's also about context, and women's place in society. I'm not saying a woman pinching a man's arse is ok, just that a more appropriate comparison would be a man having his arse pinched by a bigger aggressive man (usually in a group) who might threaten to anally rape him.
Interesting turn of phrase Ben - calling a woman a "crusty old lush" is on the same spectrum as the sort of behaviour you say we need to stop. Don't you see that?
On the whole I reckon that, whilst attacks on women runners do happen occasionally, most of the time the problem seems to be one of a lack of respect from lazy or ignorant people towards female runner.
Talking about this with two runner friends this morning (both female), it seems that they both have suffered occasional verbal abuse. One of them mentioned this happened more frequently when she was a beginner and less so over the years. Perhaps attitudes to female runners have changed in the last decade, or maybe she is now stronger and more confident and this has changed how people see her (or how she perceives others).
Physical attacks should always be taken seriously and reported to the police. If a runner, female or male suffers physical harm or serious harassment whilst running, whether sexual or not, the perpetrators are criminals and should be dealt as such. Fortunately, instances of this nature are rare.
In my view, no woman should EVER be put off running because there are criminals out there. The chances of anything serious happening are low. All women can enjoy a long running life without fear. There is much to be gained by running, including a lot of body strength and self-confidence, by running.
As a woman, I would hate other women to be put off running for fear that someone may be out there waiting to pounce on them. In my opinion, if someone is disrespectful, just ignore the b*stards and carry on running - you have much to be proud of and they are probably just ignorant of jealous.
In fairness, I was making reference to people who had assaulted me!
I just suggest it's something to think about - especially when you said you didn't mind when the attractive girl did it.
Actually it's something everyone needs to think about - is it OK if the person doing it is attractive or is is stil assault? And if attractive people can get away with sexual assault what message does that send?
Good point. I guess if physical contact is wanted by both parties then it isn't assault. Some men find it difficult to see themselves as victims of sexual assault, particularly if an attractive woman is the perpetrator. However, there are indeed cases of female stalkers where the male victim has been continuously harassed by a woman they initially considered attractive. Stalking isn't sexual assault, but I'm sure you get my drift on how the tables can turn. This is completely unrelated to running, though...
You only have to peruse the Daily Mail to see actual photographic evidence of women beating men (Solange, Binky - apparently you have to have really weird names to be a man-beater) .... and yet we all just laugh it off and no-one does anything about it.
Imagine if Jay Z had laid the smackdown on Solange ...
It shouldn't be laughed off. It isn't funny.
Having said that, the only blokes I ever hit had just groped me and were getting what they deserved. Any woman is entitled to defend herself - if that's what they were doing.
Question: If you laugh at a bloke getting beaten up by a woman, are you in fact sexist? ie are you in fact a woman hater who thinks women should not be able to beat up men?
Subquestion- if a woman tries to hit you and you punch her out are you also a sexist.
Sub-subquestion. Are all men sexists no matter what they do?
A) If you laugh at anybody getting eaten up by anybody else you are probably a bit sick.
C) No.
I think when people laugh at men that have been beaten by women fall into two categories:
a) those who see the man as ridiculous because he, being physically stronger, should take control of the woman (sexist), and
b) those who may not take it seriously because they believe that the women in question couldn't have hurt the man that badly, being physically weaker. (may not be malicious, but is wrong because a woman with a baseball bat can be as lethal as any beefcake).
Whoever is the perpetrator, unprovoked physical aggression is assault (even if nobody has been seriously injured) and no laughing matter.
You need to take care to stay out of potential harm from strange men that may pose a threat to the safety and well being of females. Do not exercise alone, safety is in numbers. Every man is a potential threat unless proven otherwise.
The only thing I'm scared of when running is my dodgy achilles tendon.
Sisters be scared of noone - go out and run free!