Not All Men But Almost All Women: Post About Women’s Safety Concerns In Response To Sarah Everard’s Tragedy Goes Viral
Interview With Author
In the aftermath of the tragic death and suspected murder of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive from South London, the police made door-to-door inquiries reportedly warning women not to wander alone in the streets. In turn, many felt like such an approach only adds to the already flawed culture of victim-blaming.
Lucy Mountain, a personal trainer and Instagram influencer, is just like many women who tread those pavements day after day and think of the surrounding neighborhoods and streets in them as their home. So she felt an urge to use her Instagram platform of 463k followers to voice her views on how “a woman was not allowed to walk home” in light of Sarah Everard’s case.
Lucy penned a powerful message that shed light on what women go through every day as part of their auto-pilot defense mechanism. Perpetual fear of being approached, harassed, and hurt has penetrated our ways of going through our daily lives from the very core and since childhood, the author claimed.
So let’s see her powerful and heartbreaking message that has since gone viral with 2.6 million likes, that will make you pause and reflect.
Lucy Mountain penned this powerful message about women not allowed to walk alone in light of Sarah Everard’s tragic murder
Image credits: lucymountain
Bored Panda reached Lucy Mountain, a personal trainer and founder of Nobs Guides, whose heartfelt post on Instagram went viral, resonating with more than 2.6 million people. Lucy told us that she, just like many women, relates to Sarah since “Any of us could have been her.”
Image credits: lucymountain
“We have all done that walk after dark. We have all taken the precautions of wearing flat shoes, calling a loved one and sticking to main roads,” Lucy stated. She said that “these are all things women are ‘advised’ to do to protect themselves, and it’s still not enough.”
“‘Text me when you get home’ is a text which we all send and receive—and the relatability of this perfectly describes how normalized it is for women to not feel safe when they are alone. This is not okay.”
Lucy also said that the reactions she got from people were “extremely bittersweet.” “On the one hand, I am so proud of the conversations which have been opened up and the stories shared by extremely brave women. It’s given us time to reflect on our own past experiences of harassment—and help us potentially find closure on situations where we were victim-blamed.”
In the aftermath of Sarah’s murder, police reportedly warned women to be careful about venturing out alone
Image credits: LambethMPS
However, Lucy feels that “it’s heartbreaking that the post felt so relatable to so many women,” and added that “4 days on, there is still an influx of ‘whataboutism’ from people trying to derail the conversation.” But for the most part, the personal trainer feels that the feedback has been mainly support and self-reflection “from men by their own actions and women on their past experiences.”
“We need to stop teaching women how to better protect themselves from men and teach men how to stop harassing and attacking women. The conversation shouldn’t be telling women what type of clothing they should wear so as not to ‘provoke’ an attack. The conversation shouldn’t be telling women to not go outside after a certain time.”
This conversation “is about how we stop harassment from men being such a normalized part of a woman’s life experience,” Lucy concluded.
Lucy’s message tugged deeply at the heartstrings and touched 2.6 million people on Instagram
Saw a headline today: "Women should feel heard". No. Women should BE heard. And others should *listen*. *sigh*
Elizabeth Luttreel should NOT be heard, because she's a bot - but everyone else. And, further - everybody should take it serious. This isn't about changing predators ... we won't, we can't, at least not on the spot or against their will. This article to me is a reminder to always prefer caution before bravery, to walk the extra mile (to your sister's, female friend's, ... home) because not doing so might prove itself highly regrettable. Honestly, depriving a predatory man from a chance to execute this behaviour even may count as something done for them, too, as not committing a crime is the best way to evade any punishment - and whoever hasn't done any wrong yet is one where it's not too late to reevaluate themselves. And, in general, this isn't saying women deserved any of this. They don't, no one deserves the need to be cautious when they're doing nothing special ... but still, it might be necessary ... and this isn't about feeling uncomfortable either ... I wish it was only that...
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I have two daughters, ages 20 and 22, and this terrifies me. Text me when you get home is my standard phrase to them. I can also track them on my phone. I hope nothing bad ever happens......RIP Sarah
When I read that I thought about all the women in my life and it made me scared for them. Society should not tolerate this. Perhaps we could put one or two police back on the beat to patrol lonely areas?
Since it was a police officer who kidnapped & murdered Sarah, I'm not sure extra officers on patrol would be that helpful.
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Saw a headline today: "Women should feel heard". No. Women should BE heard. And others should *listen*. *sigh*
Elizabeth Luttreel should NOT be heard, because she's a bot - but everyone else. And, further - everybody should take it serious. This isn't about changing predators ... we won't, we can't, at least not on the spot or against their will. This article to me is a reminder to always prefer caution before bravery, to walk the extra mile (to your sister's, female friend's, ... home) because not doing so might prove itself highly regrettable. Honestly, depriving a predatory man from a chance to execute this behaviour even may count as something done for them, too, as not committing a crime is the best way to evade any punishment - and whoever hasn't done any wrong yet is one where it's not too late to reevaluate themselves. And, in general, this isn't saying women deserved any of this. They don't, no one deserves the need to be cautious when they're doing nothing special ... but still, it might be necessary ... and this isn't about feeling uncomfortable either ... I wish it was only that...
Load More Replies... I have two daughters, ages 20 and 22, and this terrifies me. Text me when you get home is my standard phrase to them. I can also track them on my phone. I hope nothing bad ever happens......RIP Sarah
When I read that I thought about all the women in my life and it made me scared for them. Society should not tolerate this. Perhaps we could put one or two police back on the beat to patrol lonely areas?
Since it was a police officer who kidnapped & murdered Sarah, I'm not sure extra officers on patrol would be that helpful.
Load More Replies...
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