This Woman's Scary Story Shows Why Women Feel Fear In Everyday Situations, And Something Has To Change

Same as hitch-hiking - i did it when I was young - before mobile phones - but these days just text the licence number to a friend before you accept a lift and make sure the driver knows you have done it

I think one of the things that makes me feel more comfortable with tradesmen is that I have a dog that is loud and a bit too in the face of strangers. Most people are pretty wary of him (he's not the one mentioned in another comment that has the silly Ken Dodd fur). I wouldn't trust him not to attack if someone tried to hurt me - but he might also run in the opposite direction! I also make it known that my husband is self-employed, was meant to be there and is due back any moment regardless of how true that is. That said, I think I've just had genuinely decent men doing the work.

Fortunately her teeth are fine, she just has that massively sticky up hair he used to do unless I do my rather bad impersonation of a hair dresser and give her a trim. People are often more wary of big dogs but the only dog attack I have experienced was from a yorkshire terrier who went for my ankles when walking home from college one day!

I only had my hair short once - it's blonde and fine and so I pretty much looked bald. Bit scary! I'm sure yours looks much better than you think it does though - I take it the 25% is growing back then? Talking about hair, my youngest dog has fur that sticks up on her head so that she reminds us of Ken Dodd (I've taken to trimming it).

Kenn Dodd?? - are her teeth that bad????

backed into corners strikes a chord with me - you are trapped.

Just because YOU have experienced it... still does not make it the norm. it completely unacceptable behavior and i guarantee its not the norm.

...and that is just the major incidents. It does not even cover guys creeping on me, stalking me, or the occasional grope. I am a tomboy military veteran, so these are things that happen when I am usually in a t-shirt/jeans AND situationally aware. Heck, I always dress in pants now because apparently wearing a dress is an invitation for some perv to try and slip a phone under it.

Diane a - maybe you need to back the f*ck off. You don’t know her or what she’s gone thru.

Ok Angie -what would be your advice as an ex millitary tomboy to a woman who gets punched - i didnt have a shotgun - didnd have CC - didnt have a Taser

Angie- sorry but i think you need a bit of help

maybe you are a little bit too "situationally aware" not every man is out to get you

Angie -- am so glad you are not my neighbour - I would be seriously scared of your shotgun and your stun baton and CC and the knife up your sleeve - in public - when I struggle to dig my doorkey our of my bag and the lock is iffy and stiff - I think you would shoot me. stun me, gas me or stab me - for getting into my own home

Blimey Angie - you are more than well-prepared. Think I would have ignored the idiot at 3am. and just kept the dogs close. I think overthinking stuff can maybe ruin your actual life - a knife up your sleeve??

So very, very scary. I'm really glad it turned out okay in the end.

@Laugh Fan Thank you. I mean objectively nothing much happened but the memory of the fear and helplessness stayed for some time but it's been a while since I last thought about it. I didn't keep it to myself and talked about it and I had to walk past the place it happened at almost every day and saw the guy on the street about twice a month for years since it happened. Maybe that helped because I had to confront and deal with my fear instead of hiding and running away from it.

@Chris Jones I was in a course in college for one semester. I've been thinking lately of taking it up again. And yes if it became more physical than him restraining my wrists and not letting me go I probably would have tried to get his nuts or bite him or something (since it happened I went through various situations in my head) but I didn't want to escalate the situation because I just wanted to leave, I didn't want to fight, I didn't think it would end well for me (later, it took awhile for my wrists to stop hurting and I was surprised they didn't bruise too much), instead I talked him out of it (I'm still not sure how) and did my best to convince him to let me go, but if I didn't succeed in that...

Chris Jones that might help but it's just sad that it would be needed in the first place

Self defence course might help? Having techniques to get out of different scenarios can be confidence boosting and could help prevent you freezing. First line on the self-defence course a friend did (after yesterday's post re a kicking in the nuts it might not be well timed) but it was 'go for their nuts'.

Glad you got out "only terrified"... What a horrible thing to have to say, y'know? And that sums up so much of what we live. *sigh* FWIW, nobody ever knows what might work or not, you have to go on the moment, and the "explainers" often don't get that.