Touching, groping, lewd remarks, following very closely and honking at you, winking, whistling, pinching - How many of you have experienced harassment during your solitary runs? Then, asks the world, why do you run alone? Because running alone is bliss, its peace, its meditative, its therapeutic. And sometimes, cause there is no company. I asked a handful of my friends to talk to me (via a googleform of course) about their experiences, running in Chennai. And thats what they said. Its our me time before the chaos of the day - those lunch boxes and work meetings and school pick-ups and what not crowd around in our heads all day long. It is fun to run with company, no doubt, but the pleasures of alone runs are undeniable. But, so unsafe!! I also asked them about the most unsafe places in Chennai, and they said, Besant Nagar - the beach to Aavin stretch & the Theosophical Society road, ECR, parts of Velachery, Boat Club (YES), Greenways Road, Adyar Flyover (due to traffic), & near Music College. I looked up the SafetiPin app for these places. Many of them have very poor safety ratings - parts of Bessie for e.g. have a score less than 3.0. But you know what? There are also many green pins there alongside the yellow and red ones. Plus, many of these roads that they talked about? Have not been audited. I am nearing the end of my campaign, and this is my pitch to you. Take your phone with you some day when you run early in the morning. Go specifically to places that you were scared shitless in, moments in the past. Go with a friend, a whistle, pepper spray, just in case. Do a #SafetyAudit. It is at least a beginning. If you want to talk anonymously about your experiences, please fill in this form :: https://docs.google/forms/d/1Fph_caqsF5YwW2vpXbMY2AAEikfZvOXOudMwvQE5UCE/viewform?usp=send_form #LetsTakeTheStreetsBack #RunSafe #ChennaiRunners #WomenStrong Prajnya 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Violence Safetipin
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:00:16 +0000
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