A National State of Emergency: Women's Safety At Night

It’s the national crisis affecting more than 50% of Americans. An issue so deeply ingrained in our culture that it has slipped under the radar for centuries. You may not read it in a headline, and if you do it might not feel like “breaking news.” The normalized endemic that I am referring to? Women’s safety at night. 

Women’s safety at night isn’t a new issue. In fact, it’s been a problem since the beginning of our country’s history. Accounts of attacks on women have been making headlines since the 1800s, with many slipping beneath the public eye. 

In the modern era, the issues surrounding women’s safety at night remain unsettlingly real and everpressing. It feels as though the news is perpetually reporting weekly accounts of women being harassed or attacked past sundown. So much so that it seems our nation has become completely desensitized to these regular, disturbing reports. Which begs the questions - 

HOW MANY MORE WOMEN NEED TO BE HARMED BEFORE WE DO SOMETHING?

HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE READ REPORTS OF WOMEN BEING MURDERED ON THEIR EVENING RUN BEFORE WE DEMAND REAL CHANGE?

HOW MUCH LONGER CAN WE WAIT FOR THIS TO END - WEEKS, MONTHS, YEARS?

Since 2018, Despite the Dark (DTD) has been working to shed light on the issues surrounding women’s safety at night, prompting change through conversation and action. Our campaign was launched by a group of four young women who had all fallen victim to the harassment and feelings of imminent danger that women face when they step outside past sundown. Shortly after launching DTD, Mollie Tibbetts was attacked and brutally murdered on her nighttime run. This tragedy struck a core within our team and within Americans nationwide. 

Mollie’s death sounded an alarm, making it even more clear that our country is facing a deeply rooted issue in which more than half of the population can’t safely step outside past sundown without fear of harassment, attacks, or even murder. 

And yet since then, despite countless reports of similar attacks on women, our society remains unmoved. Our government unfocused on women’s safety at night. Our female population left feeling unsure of if their safety at night “really matters.” The problems surrounding women’s safety at night continue to be reiterated in the news, though rarely offering up a real solution. And when solutions are offered, they focus completely on what each female victim “could have done to protect herself” rather than how the community, government, or social norms could have shielded her from harm.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IS A GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT AFFECTS 1 IN 3 WOMEN WORLDWIDE IN THEIR LIFETIME.

Around the world, the fear of gender-based violence holds many women back from pursuing normal lifestyle activities. At night, that fear is heightened.

According to a survey conducted by Runner’s World, 60% of women reported not exercising outdoors past sundown, as opposed to only 14% of men. 

IN A RECENT DTD SURVEY:

92.8% of participants reported being told that women should not go outside after sundown because it’s unsafe

78% of women said that, when given the option, they will do all of their daily activities before sundown

74.5% reported feeling unsafe when they are outside after sundown.

Sharmistha Sen. Sydney Sutherland.
Vanessa Marcotte. Karina Vetrano.

These are all women who pursued normal exercise or lifestyle activities past sundown and never returned home. They represent the smallest fraction of women who have experienced gender-based violence at night.

Most cases of gender-based harassment go unnamed or unspoken about, as though murder or violence to the highest degree should be the only outcry for change. Because in fact, nearly every woman has fallen victim to lack of safety at night. Nearly every woman has felt unsafe past sundown. And nearly every American has subconsciously normalized this reality.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WE ARE DECLARING A

NATIONAL STATE OF EMERGENCY.

Ring the alarms, listen up, and get ready to take action, because we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the issues surrounding women’s safety at night. Our organization is committed to empowering women to live Despite the Dark. We believe that both men and women everywhere should be able to safely pursue life past sundown. Together, we are working to radically change the way our nation approaches the issues surrounding women’s safety at night through education, advocacy, and empowerment.