I don't think most men feel safe on the streets at night, and if they do they are probably drunk. Of course this should not be the case, but it is. There are actually far more men assaulted on the streets at night than women. Of course more education is needed and I abhor the comments made by the Met. Police, but the streets are not safe for men, or women.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
As I said @punkdoc … no one should feel unsafe on the streets of the UK.Â
My daughter lived five doors up from the London Road murderer in Ipswich. One of the girls who was killed was her neighbour. She had two little girls. She did what she did because of the way she’d been treated by men, including  family,since she was a young girl.Â
Yes, that area had become a Red Light area.  It wasn’t policed properly.  Men cruising the streets thought that every woman walking along the road was ‘on the game’. They weren’t …. and even those who were had the right not to be killed by a monster.Â
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
@punkdoc I agree also that it's not a safe picture for men at night, but it is different. Men are more likely to be beaten up, yes. Much of that probably isn't being randomly jumped walking down the street, but it's still awful, obviously. The other half of us are probably more likely to be assaulted in the pub, on the train, on our way to the loos on a night out. And these millions of assaults aren't recorded because, well, it just happens, and the police aren't called like they are when someone bottles someone else outside a pub and there's blood everywhere. But all those assaults we don't report make us feel all the less safe, and when things like this happen they make it all the more terrifying because we know that IF we are one of the statistics assaulted on the street, it won't be a bottle to the face or punches in the gut, but rape and murder. It is different.
My ex hubby once picked up two young, girl hitch hikers when he was driving up north for work. As he said - 'it was better that I picked them up'.Â
There's an example of how decent people think, yet he shouldn't have to think like that.Â
That was the Stephen Wright case @Dovefromabove, wasn't it? As I said to people at work - those women were all someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's mother. No difference - whatever they do for a living.Â
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Bringing back all sorts of memories of the precautions and avoidance tactics I used to employ when I was younger. It just became second nature, and fortunately worked out well for me. I do remember thinking that once I passed the menopause, that if I was ever raped, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about getting pregnant any more. What a reflection on society. It isn’t right that any of us, male or female, should have to go to inconvenient lengths to keep ourselves as safe as we can, but it’s a fact of life. Better safe than sorry? Id rather hoped that as more women became employed or elected into previously male dominated environments, they would have a diluting effect on more overt masculine behaviour. ( haven’t worded that as I wanted, hope you get my drift?) Doesn’t seem to have happened.
- tv on in the background, just overheard an advert for a box set on the Great Plague. Just the thing for a little light escapism.....
I  absolutely agree,  @Dovefromabove   but what’s to be done,  no one liked it years ago, it’s not just now this is happening Same in my mum’s day,  her mum got caught in the early 1900’s  and had a baby,  poor little thing died,   same in mine and same in the youngsters of today.  More bobbies on the beat, I don’t know what’s to be done.  Vigilantes on the streets near to the clubs and pubs, women armed, what is the answer. Personally I would not risk walking out alone at night simply because I should be able too.Â
Vigilantes? It is the sad truth that the vigilantes one night could be the harrassers the next on their night off with the lads or without them. We're a sick society. A sick species.
BTW I remember the ladette culture of the 90s. Groups of female students behaving like pack animals exactly as packs of male students. I even got groped a few times too. It made me bloody angry but confused. Brought up to respect, treat well and above all offer no violence towards women. A man trying that would get short shrift, a woman? Well I didn't know what to do. Thank goodness that's not the trend now. We want men to rise up to a higher standard not women come down to most men's!Â
I reckon this is all part of a very complex set of issues with modern society. There's mens behaviour, backed up by society as a whole, but there's also body image, airbrushing images, fake insta, peer pressure to conform, etc etc etc. The online influences promoting makeup and cosmetic surgery or alterations or modifications. Image becoming everything. Pretty little princess in pink. There's ab whole academic thought about pink for girls being part of the problem with young girls being set up to be raped when older. A whole theory that we're bringing up boys to commit violence against women but girls to be victims of violence too. It's battered my head, blown my mind the linkages with everything.
BTW I believe that it was only the 1800s or even early 1900s that pink became the colour of girls and women. Prior to that pink and red were seen as strong colours and masculine. Blue was the colour for girls back then. Yellow too was not neutral but gendered not good you might think.
I am early 60's, but even 15 years ago, I would not have been happy walking in town late at night. I do of course recognise that although it is far more likely for men to be assaulted than women, in that situation, men are far less likely to be raped or murdered.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
I was in a book shop in Hay-on-Wye this afternoon when an American bloke stuck his head in the door and asked 'Could you give me directions to the map shop'. I was the only one in the shop who laughed
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Posts
Of course this should not be the case, but it is.
There are actually far more men assaulted on the streets at night than women.
Of course more education is needed and I abhor the comments made by the Met. Police, but the streets are not safe for men, or women.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As he said - 'it was better that I picked them up'.Â
There's an example of how decent people think, yet he shouldn't have to think like that.Â
That was the Stephen Wright case @Dovefromabove, wasn't it? As I said to people at work - those women were all someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's mother.Â
No difference - whatever they do for a living.Â
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It isn’t right that any of us, male or female, should have to go to inconvenient lengths to keep ourselves as safe as we can, but it’s a fact of life. Better safe than sorry?
Id rather hoped that as more women became employed or elected into previously male dominated environments, they would have a diluting effect on more overt masculine behaviour. ( haven’t worded that as I wanted, hope you get my drift?) Doesn’t seem to have happened.
- tv on in the background, just overheard an advert for a box set on the Great Plague. Just the thing for a little light escapism.....
Vigilantes? It is the sad truth that the vigilantes one night could be the harrassers the next on their night off with the lads or without them. We're a sick society. A sick species.
BTW I remember the ladette culture of the 90s. Groups of female students behaving like pack animals exactly as packs of male students. I even got groped a few times too. It made me bloody angry but confused. Brought up to respect, treat well and above all offer no violence towards women. A man trying that would get short shrift, a woman? Well I didn't know what to do. Thank goodness that's not the trend now. We want men to rise up to a higher standard not women come down to most men's!Â
I reckon this is all part of a very complex set of issues with modern society. There's mens behaviour, backed up by society as a whole, but there's also body image, airbrushing images, fake insta, peer pressure to conform, etc etc etc. The online influences promoting makeup and cosmetic surgery or alterations or modifications. Image becoming everything. Pretty little princess in pink. There's ab whole academic thought about pink for girls being part of the problem with young girls being set up to be raped when older. A whole theory that we're bringing up boys to commit violence against women but girls to be victims of violence too. It's battered my head, blown my mind the linkages with everything.
BTW I believe that it was only the 1800s or even early 1900s that pink became the colour of girls and women. Prior to that pink and red were seen as strong colours and masculine. Blue was the colour for girls back then. Yellow too was not neutral but gendered not good you might think.
I am early 60's, but even 15 years ago, I would not have been happy walking in town late at night.
I do of course recognise that although it is far more likely for men to be assaulted than women, in that situation, men are far less likely to be raped or murdered.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I genuinely do not understand this.