Women think about safety a lot ... all the time in fact.
They think about safety when their phones ring, when a dog barks in the middle of the night, when getting dressed in the morning, when they are in their driveways, on the road, stopped at traffic lights, at home, at petrol stations, in traffic, at shopping malls, restaurants, while commuting, walking, jogging or running. It’s a constant.
Sadly, there’s good reason so much of a woman’s time is spent thinking about safety.
According to the most recent SA Police Service crime statistics, the first three months of 2022 was “brutal” for women. Murder, attempted murder and the assault of women all recorded double-digit increases. From January to March, 898 women were murdered and 13,799 sexual offences were reported to the police, of which 10,818 were cases of rape.
Women have learnt to turn their car keys into weapons and check their phones, waiting for the ticks to turn blue — a sign that their loved one got home safely.
Women have been thinking about their safety for so long that they think it's normal to do so all the time ... but it's not. It's not normal to treat sunsets as curfews or to have to constantly look over your shoulder while strolling down the street.
Now, just imagine what women could do, would do, if they just felt safer. They would live more. They would live fearlessly.