We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Would a female feel vulnerable if alone ans stranded?

1246789

Comments

  • Red-Squirrel_2
    Red-Squirrel_2 Posts: 4,341 Forumite
    Slinky wrote: »
    Breakdown services should prioritise lone women/women with children. You may not know/remember the name Marie Wilks, here's her story. There was a lot of publicity after this event and the breakdown services said they would change the way they assess priority of calls.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2008/05/16/m50_colour_piece_feature.shtml

    That's a terribly sad case, but to be honest I don't think most men are very well equipped to defend themselves against a knife wielding maniac intent on murdering them either.
  • Gloomendoom
    Gloomendoom Posts: 16,551 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Unless they pay more, women should be treated exactly the same as men

    Women should be given the opportunity to pay extra for priority service... and so should men.
  • Geoff1963
    Geoff1963 Posts: 1,088 Forumite
    Women have one more risk factor than men.
    To say that men and women are equally at risk, is like saying that a person holding a £50 note is no more likely to be mugged than a person holding a £5 note.

    A naked man will be arrested for exhibitionism, but taking a woman's clothes is considered equivalent to kidnapping them.
  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 11,230 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I know my husband if he broke down would rather wait longer if a lone woman/woman with children was given priority.

    As for paying more and getting priority, it's hardly speedy boarding where everybody ends up on the same plane.

    Would it be right to pay for a priority service so a fire engine got to you faster because you could afford to pay for it rather than somebody in a more vulnerable situation who couldn't afford to pay?
    Make £2025 in 2025
    Prolific £617.02, Octopoints £5.20, TCB £398.58, Tesco Clubcard challenges £89.90, Misc Sales £321, Airtime £60, Shopmium £26.60, Everup £24.91 Zopa CB £30
    Total (4/9/25) £1573.21/£2025 77%

    Make £2024 in 2024
    Prolific £907.37, Chase Int £59.97, Chase roundup int £3.55, Chase CB £122.88, Roadkill £1.30, Octopus ref £50, Octopoints £70.46, TCB £112.03, Shopmium £3, Iceland £4, Ipsos £20, Misc Sales £55.44
    Total £1410/£2024 70%

    Make £2023 in 2023 Total: £2606.33/£2023  128.8%




  • Red-Squirrel_2
    Red-Squirrel_2 Posts: 4,341 Forumite
    Women should be given the opportunity to pay extra for priority service... and so should men.

    No, it should definitely be based on vulnerability, and urgency, but I don't think gender is always going to be a deciding factor.

    A single woman stranded in a red light district, yes prioritise.

    A single woman broken down in a busy car park in daylight, no need to prioritise.

    Somebody disabled, unwell, stranded in a hazardous location, with small children, or very elderly, prioritise regardless of gender.
  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 11,230 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    No, it should definitely be based on vulnerability, and urgency, but I don't think gender is always going to be a deciding factor.

    A single woman stranded in a red light district, yes prioritise.

    A single woman broken down in a busy car park in daylight, no need to prioritise.

    Somebody disabled, unwell, stranded in a hazardous location, with small children, or very elderly, prioritise regardless of gender.

    And that is what I think they work on, following on from the case of Marie Wilks. I have no connection with her or that case, but her name has stuck in my mind for nearly 30 years. Sometimes it takes an awful situation for a major rethink of the status quo. As we must all be accutely aware with the recent tragedy of Grenfell.
    Make £2025 in 2025
    Prolific £617.02, Octopoints £5.20, TCB £398.58, Tesco Clubcard challenges £89.90, Misc Sales £321, Airtime £60, Shopmium £26.60, Everup £24.91 Zopa CB £30
    Total (4/9/25) £1573.21/£2025 77%

    Make £2024 in 2024
    Prolific £907.37, Chase Int £59.97, Chase roundup int £3.55, Chase CB £122.88, Roadkill £1.30, Octopus ref £50, Octopoints £70.46, TCB £112.03, Shopmium £3, Iceland £4, Ipsos £20, Misc Sales £55.44
    Total £1410/£2024 70%

    Make £2023 in 2023 Total: £2606.33/£2023  128.8%




  • Robisere
    Robisere Posts: 3,237 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    There are some here who are obviously trying to prove that "Equality" has eroded the difference between genders. It has not: I would not like to imagine my dd in that situation, especially if she also had our 11 year old granddaughter with her. That's why I taught her self-defence and why I told her to phone me if her partner was unavailable, should she ever be in that vulnerable situation. If she phoned the RAC as a member, I would be happy to know that she would be given priority. To those who say that she should pay extra for a priority service, I ask this: do you have an OH, a daughter or other close female relative who might one day be in that position?

    Some years ago, my wife worked as a secretary in a factory which was sutuated in the country between 2 villages. I worked in a workshop in our home village, 3 miles away. She would leave work 30 minutes before the workforce to catch a bus home. One dark winter night, a car pulled up at the bus stop and the driver said he was a taxi driver, would she like a lift? My wife noted that there was no sign on the 'taxi', and backed off into the woods that she knew well, until he went. She also noted his registration and passed this to the police, who could only caution the man. After that, I would leave work for 30 minutes and drive to her workplace to bring her home, then return to work, finish a job if necessary and lock up.

    That is the threat to women alone: there are plenty of evil B*****Ds about who have evil intentions. How many times do we see those cases on the news?
    I think this job really needs
    a much bigger hammer.
  • Angry_Bear
    Angry_Bear Posts: 2,021 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker PPI Party Pooper
    Robisere wrote: »
    That is the threat to women alone: there are plenty of evil B*****Ds about who have evil intentions. How many times do we see those cases on the news?

    Actually, while "stranger attacks" do happen, they're relatively rare (rape crisis says only around 10% of reported rapes) and often do get reported. However, the high rate of reporting relative to incidence means that many people THINK it's more common than it really is and therefore some women will FEEL more vulnerable even if (statistically speaking) there really isn't a significant difference in vulnerability depending on gender. Roadside recovery companies naturally play on this in their advertising.
    Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?
    ― Sir Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015
  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 11,230 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    But most women are aware of potentially dangerous situations in ways that men never think of, and take steps not to put themselves into them. I won't go out walking alone at night in places men wouldn't think twice about, nor would most of my female friends. We don't take the risk of becoming that 'rare' statistic. I'm sure that if women were a lot less cautious, there would be more cases of them being attacked.

    A lot of men don't have a clue how it is different for a woman to live her life, particularly one living alone. My MIL won't go out after dark in the winter. My late father never thought twice about going out in the dark on his own, yet they were both born in the same year.
    Make £2025 in 2025
    Prolific £617.02, Octopoints £5.20, TCB £398.58, Tesco Clubcard challenges £89.90, Misc Sales £321, Airtime £60, Shopmium £26.60, Everup £24.91 Zopa CB £30
    Total (4/9/25) £1573.21/£2025 77%

    Make £2024 in 2024
    Prolific £907.37, Chase Int £59.97, Chase roundup int £3.55, Chase CB £122.88, Roadkill £1.30, Octopus ref £50, Octopoints £70.46, TCB £112.03, Shopmium £3, Iceland £4, Ipsos £20, Misc Sales £55.44
    Total £1410/£2024 70%

    Make £2023 in 2023 Total: £2606.33/£2023  128.8%




  • UKTigerlily
    UKTigerlily Posts: 4,702 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    I'm female but don't drive, so assume i'd feel vulnerable, but i'd never expect to be given priority over a male. There are plenty of sick people who harm anyone, male or female
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.2K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.5K Life & Family
  • 258.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.