Careful is a word that often occurs in sentences as we tell our loved ones Goodbye for the day. 'Be careful crossing the road'. 'Drive Carefully'. However, I'm not sure how many parents say 'careful not to get raped on your way home from school!' as their children leave the house. It almost seems totally absurd, but in the light of the recent rape of a 14 year old in broad daylight, I'm starting to wonder whether we've become too relaxed in the notion of making children aware of sexual predators, and thinking maybe more should be done to increase this awareness.
On Thursday 16th September at 3pm near London Road, Guildford a young school girl was raped on her walk home. This news was really shocking, because if you know Guildford, you know it as a pleasant town in the heart of Surrey largely populated with Mums, Range Rovers and students. You'd assume it's a perfectly safe town and that any 14 year old would be fine walking home alone at 3pm. You'd assume that because there are people everywhere and most of the roads are constantly occupied with cars; no one would be able to attack someone in broad daylight and go unnoticed. You'd assume wrong.
This incident although horrific is a great reality check. Living outside major cities may lessen the threat of being attacked, but it does not abolish it and we shouldn't be fooled into thinking otherwise.
I've lived in the city, and now I live in Surrey, but I never feel completely safe walking home in the winter months, even in well lit areas, and it turns out I'm not alone. An article published in the Guardian stated that 'almost half of the girls up to the age of 18 feel unsafe in Britain's biggest cities'. The article goes onto say that 'One in five of these girls feel threatened by gangs and more than 40% knew of someone who had been attacked'. This disturbing fact is sad but true, and although we can't stop every attack that occurs, we may be able to prevent a few.
Its a shame that any girl should be scared to go out, and a fear of being attacked seems to be preventing people from fully living their lives. Poor street lighting should not be an issue but '91% of the questioned girls claimed it was'. Most girls would feel safer with an increased police presence, and I have to agree. Take for example the increased security after and before football games, there are police everywhere, and on those occasions I'd never have a problem walking home or going for a run, because I knew there was always someone to help near by.
People in authority need to do more to make people feel safer outside their homes. Whether it be supplying more street lighting in poorly lit areas, increasing police presence, introducing self defence classes into after school activities or simply reeducating young people to the dangers of walking/travelling alone. The last thing we want is to create a neurotic fearful society, but it seems that not doing anything is doing that anyway.
Bezine tips for staying safe:
1. Keep to well lit areas
2. Do not walk with your headphones in
3. Be aware of your surroundings
4. Always take a sensible pair of shoes to walk home in (You aren't going anywhere fast in stilettos)
5. Get a Taxi where possible (Registered)
6. Always travel in twos
7. Call someone before you leave to let them know where you are going
8. Don't talk on your mobile when walking alone
9. Fight or Run = Always Run
10. Don't let fear get the better of you
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