Advice for boys...

[aumentou]

Hypothetically, if you are ever travelling down a dark path with no side exits and not observers and there's a woman on her own ahead of you on the route, it's not particularly polite to move fast enough that you're catching her up. Better to hang 40 yards back or so - you know, so that if you were hostile she'd have a good head start. Otherwise, she might get twitchy. Also, when she stands to one side and waits for you to pass rather than keeping on moving, that is not your cue to look amused. Yes, YOU know you're not a mugger or a rapist or anything like that. She doesn't. Since you have just moved in a way consistent with an attack, it's not unreasonable for her to be concerned.

Comments

[glitterybint.livejournal.com]

staying further back wouldn't make me feel any safer. Crossing the road might, maybe.

it's weird but I don't really find myself in these situations anymore, or I don't really remember feeling threatened very often. When I was younger, before uni maybe I do remember walking home and constantly being on guard, working out what i could do if they attacked me. I dunno, maybe teaching has given me more confidence? more understanding of behaviour? maybe I just don't go out on my own any more? it's very strange!

[child-of-chance.livejournal.com]

That's my experience too. On a dark street with someone behind me, male or female, I'll cross the road if they don't. Them hanging back just makes them look suspicious.
When I was very young I had no sense of fear at all - stupidly, maybe. As I student I used to get very wary but actively protective - stopped wearing scarves, or jewellery on cords, and started carrying sharp umbrellas or heavy things in my bag. Then at some point the extreme nervousness stopped without my realising it, and just left a degree of caution. So now I walk well away from parked cars with lone men in them, cross the road to the well-lit side, and so on. On dark lanes I get to the end quickly but without running. But in the end I just try to look confident and not make eye-contact.

[child-of-chance.livejournal.com]

And not everyone is as well aware of attack methods as you :-)

[mr-s-face.livejournal.com]

"it's weird but I don't really find myself in these situations anymore"

It's not weird at all. You don't go out as much as you used to, even if you're going out you don't often go alone, and you don't usually walk to places because you drive.