Many women in England feel unsafe running in the dark, so they avoid it even though they like to do this exercise at night.
According to Jahan Banou, by mid-October, normally many women try to find alternatives for after-work activities such as walking, cycling, and running, because they do not feel safe enough to do these activities in public areas. For many English women, the arrival of winter means a major change in lifestyle.
The Guardian’s reporter Robin Winter wrote about this issue: “Let’s be clear about this; we are afraid of being raped and killed. There is nothing irrational or cowardly about our fears. Women who are afraid to be alone outside in the dark, because of the men who attacked Zara Alina, Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa, Nicole Smallman, Bibbaa Henry, and Libby Squire; all these women were on their way home or were going to visit their friends, and got attacked by violent men.
These tragic stories of women that seem all too familiar to us, along with a lifetime of being chased, groped and harassed in public places mean we modify our behavior. Even if the walk home is only 20 minutes, we have to take a taxi. We should use clear paths and avoid shortcuts. We stop outdoor sports in the winter, which is a big disappointment.
I’ll admit it’s not an easy problem to fix, although there are certain things that will help: a higher rape conviction rate to begin with, along with a move to take more seriously “petty” crimes like flashing and stalking, which can be horrific.
There must be immediate accountability for bad behavior within the police force, as detailed in the Casey investigation into racism and misogyny in the Metropolitan Police, to reassure women that our safety is a real priority.
But happy are the men who have freedom and do their activities and their favorite sports without fearing that their enjoyment of the activity they like will be impaired.”
Source: Guardian