One week ago, we celebrated International Women’s Day around the world. We took to our social media and praised the inspiring women that have shaped our lives for the better. Yet, just over one week ago, a young woman in London walked alone at night on a well lit street, and was kidnapped and murdered, by a local police officer. This week, we see a great mourning reverberate across every country, as we feel the pain and tragedy of this event with heavy hearts.
Our community of fearless BladeBabe’s stems from the very real concerns women are faced with everyday. Catcalling, stalking, kidnapping, and much worse. We devote our platform for not only safety aesthetics, but to educate on real life self defense techniques that could save lives against the brutality of these assaulters.
For this month’s safety tip, we invite you to try something new in our ongoing conversation of protecting ourselves.
Tell your story to a trusted friend or family member
What many people don’t talk about enough, are the daily struggles and precautions women have to take just to go outside on their own. The heaviness that this constant fear, even in daylight, ensues from just going to the grocery store and walking back to the car, needs to be addressed. Maybe there is someone close to you who feels the same anxieties and it cold help to share together with validation. It may be really eye opening for some males in your life, as well, to share the space of a life they do not experience.
Be the one to call shit out
*As a serious disclaimer, we only recommend stepping in when absolutely sure of your safety, before engaging in potentially dangerous situations.
It sucks being a bitch, but sometimes it is really necessary to call people out on their shit. If you see a woman being harassed or seemingly uncomfortable with someone around them in public, ask her if she is okay. Ask if she needs assistance in getting away from them. It is not enough to just stand by and hope for the best anymore; we need to start acting on these impulses to protect each other, as safely as we can, when we see a potential threat.
Insist that the males in your life are informed
There is a conversation regarding the outcries of women’s stories, similar to the Me Too movement, with responses from men saying “not all men,” in doing such harassment. The issue with this is that now the conversation of validating women’s experiences and promoting solutions to the fervent existing problem, has shifted to rhetorical debates of which men are the “bad ones” in relation to the masses. One thing is very clear in this problem, and that is the commonalities amongst all women having an incredible fear of men; for obvious biological reasons, as well as more commonly induced fear by poor behavior. This is where you can change the tone of these conversations. For every moment that arises where a man is either condoning or acting on a situation, involving the safety and wellbeing of a woman (or another man), you point that shit out. You have the power to tell that outdated ideology of boys will be boys or anything of the sort, be thrown away to the young and grown men in your life. If they are unwilling to see what blatant disregard our society has for the equality and wellness of our female population, then they no longer get the privilege of having you in their life.
We have to stop acting like this is women’s problem to solve
As advocates for safety and self defense weapons, it is important to recognize that the endless promotion to scare women into acting a certain way, pretend phone call when walking at night, or carry their keys between their fingers as they walk outside, is only perpetuating the problem. Is it not the responsibility of a young girl to carry the weight of what might happen to her if in the wrong place alone with a man, or whether or not she wears a more revealing outfit to overwhelm his urges. It is up to a man to know how to keep his hands to himself, and not harass or establish dominance over women he deems as powerless. It is also the responsibility of parents and teachers and our entire society to create as vigorous a practice from calling out females who wear their skirts too high, to instead calling out the males who act on their misogyny.
This fight for women’s safety against misogyny is far from being over, but together we can rise up and start demanding better from our community.
Stay safe Bladebabes.