Member-only story
Stop Making Women Scared!
The dark is not unsafe — stop telling us otherwise!
Don’t go out after dark
I’m fed up of the assumption that I can't go out after dark because I’m a woman. I live in the UK and it is starting to get dark between 4 and 5 pm. I’m never going to be organised enough to do everything I need to do out of the house before 4 pm!
Let’s break that assumption down a bit. We don’t think it’s safe for women to be out after dark. Why is that? We are scared that women might get attacked. By whom? Well, men. Not all men, obviously, most men are nice, but a few bad men.
- To clarify those points — women can’t go out after dark in case men attack them.
- To rephrase that — women should stay home during the hours of dark to stay safe.
- Put another way — women should only go out in the daylight because (a few) men can’t control themselves.
- The victims have their freedoms curtailed because of the assailants.
It’s a small jump to blaming the victim. Why was she out in the dark? She deserved it because she was out on her own in the dark.
So… I need a chaperone to go out after 4 pm in the winter. That feels like Saudi Arabia, not the UK! Without the sunshine!
