Penny

I was walking along the road the other day at dusk. It was quiet with no one else around. I realised a man was walking on the footpath behind me and I looked around. He crossed the road to walk the other side and overtook me so I didn’t have to worry. I was so grateful that he was so considerate.

I have been sexually assaulted to varying degrees a number of times in my lifetime and I now find that often, when I am in a situation that I perceive as making me vulnerable, such as walking down the street alone, I often play out the possible scenarios of bad things that could happen and how I would respond.

I also often wonder as I pass men in the street, ‘should I look them in the face or not?’ ‘Which would make me more safe?’ ‘I don’t want to look at them and for them to think I’m interested and therefore have an excuse to assault me but I don’t want to not look at them and for them to think I am weak and an easy target.’