Jo Raphael: Women exercising alone have right to feel safe

Women have a right to feel safe while out by themselves, writes Jo Raphael. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

I enjoy exercising alone - especially outdoors, walking in nature with the household canine.

It's a great stress-reliever, an escape from daily aggravations and helps with my mental health.

I also enjoy going to the gym with my friend. It's fun and it means we are both each accountable to the other, we encourage each other and are less likely to ditch each other in favour of sleeping in.

So with the gym, paired with solitary exercise, I believe my activities are well-rounded.

Many women I know enjoy both exercising alone and with friends.

My gym friend also loves running alone - she says it's her only "me-time", with no screaming kids or loud noises. It's her thinking alone time.

But it's shocking when something happens to shatter a person's feeling of safety and security.

Kara had an experience that shattered her sense of security.

Her happy place in Tauranga's Gordon Carmichael Reserve was tainted - for who knows how long - when she was confronted by a naked growling man, performing an indecent act in front of her while out walking last Tuesday.

She has been walking daily in the reserve for years, saying it was calming, stress-relieving and a way to decompress after work.

This time, it was anything but calming.

"It was pretty terrifying. He was making noises as he stepped out... I just ran. I tried to scream, but I couldn't," she told NZME, speaking out in the hope of alerting other reserve users.

To have your security threatened takes a long time to recover from. She is now reluctant to walk the track again and is having trouble sleeping.

That's sad, but completely understandable.

A similar thing happened to a woman in Rotorua as she was running by herself in Puarenga Park and was followed by a man on a mountain bike.

The woman was "extremely fearful" and ran back to her car, while still being followed.

Thankfully the man was arrested and when police later found him, he told them he "took enjoyment from watching the victim run".

This is extremely upsetting and we should be grateful he was caught.

It saddens me that women should have to go to extreme lengths to ensure their safety while alone such as not wearing headphones, keeping their wits about them, not going out after daylight, and avoiding sparsely populated areas

Having to always exercise with someone else - while it can be enjoyable from time to time - can defeat the purpose of alone time.

And constantly looking over your shoulder is not a relaxing or enjoyable way to exercise.

Women should not have to worry about these things in 2022.