"We all have a part to play in making people feel safe at night"

Thursday 28 April 2022

From time to time I have been known to catch the last bus home on a Saturday night then walk the 10-minute journey from the bus stop to my house, and feel incredibly fortunate to be able to say I feel safe walking alone at night in Jersey.

The attack on Sarah Everard last year sparked a wider conversation about the lack of safety women feel and the efforts they take daily to try to decrease their chances of being assaulted or abducted.

Sarah Everard was wearing trainers (which would make running away easier) and took a well-used route home (as public as possible). These things sadly don’t stop attackers.

Almost 80% of the 1,100 people Jersey people who answered the 2018 Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle survey said they also felt safe walking alone at night in Jersey, this includes 7 in 10 women.

In fact, in 2010 nearly 9 in 10 of those surveyed by the States of Jersey Police felt at least ‘fairly safe’ within five minutes from home. This statistic has risen after each survey, to 96% in 2018.

The feeling of safety, or its absence, has far reaching effects on wellbeing. In 2020 across OECD countries around three quarters of people reported feeling safe when walking home at night in their neighbourhood, up from two thirds in 2006. Men feel safer than women in all OECD countries. On average 8 in 10 men felt safe, compared to 6 in 10 women. 

If you’re a male living in Australia, you feel safer than anywhere else of the surveyed OECD countries. 8 out of 10 males in Australia walking home at night feel safe. They feel nearly twice as safe as Australian females.

Looking at the UK gender split, it shows that safety concerns for males and females are almost equal according to a 2021 Gallup poll. 

Pictured: Results from the Gallup poll.

We all have a part to play in making people feel safe at night and it’s probably the small gestures that can make a big difference to how safe women feel. 

So what men can do to make women walking alone at night feel safer?

Here are the top five recurring concerns women had when surveyed by a UK newspaper:

• Space. Men - back off, or cross over the road. That extra 10 seconds to your journey can make the world of difference to someone’s sense of safety.

• Make some noise, so that your presence is noticed. Nobody likes the strong silent type at night creeping up behind them.

• Don't chat. Even if the intended conversation might be innocent, women have long been told not to engage with strangers (especially if they’re men). Walking home at night is not the way to meet your ideal life partner.

• Call out companions. Be the one to tell others in your group what they should and shouldn’t be doing while out at night. Parents talk to your boys. Wives talk to husbands and get involved with the discussion.

So next Saturday night as I get off the bus, if I cross over the road from you while rattling my loose change and I refrain from saying hello, please understand it’s with your best interest at heart.