The Unheard Word
DEDICATED TO MAKING YOU SEEN, HEARD, AND ACCEPTED. FIGHTING SOCIETAL ISSUES ONE VOICE AT A TIME.
@theunheardword_
WHO ARE WE?
HI, WE ARE THE UNHEARD WORD. OUR PURPOSE IS TO SPEAK UP AND SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS THE NEED FOR EQUALITY WITHIN SOCIETY. IT COMES AS NO SUPRISE THAT OUR WORLD IS FILLED WITH UNJUST WAYS OF THINKING AND POLICIES IN PLACE
SADLY, IT HAS BECOME SOMETHING EVERYONE JUST ACCEPTS, BUT WE SAY SOD THAT!
OUR AIM IS TO BE SO LOUD THAT WE ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE, HIGHLIGHTING HUGE SOCIAL ISSUES ALONG THE WAY, IN HOPES OF CREATING A MORE SAFE, ACCEPTING AND PEACEFUL FUTURE.
WE HOPE YOU’LL JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY!
EQUALITY
&
EMPOWERMENT
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IS THE WORLD A SAFE PLACE TO LIVE AS A WOMAN?
Every day someone falls victim to a vicious attack and it’s no surprise that women are one of the biggest victims. Has this left women in fear of leaving the house or being alone? Here is everything you need to know.
Today alone I have stumbled across 3 articles on attacks against women in the U.K. While I find it important and useful to have news apps on my phone, it pains me to see my notifications filled with heinous crimes against anyone and as a woman myself, it’s become apparent the growing number of attacks on women of late. According to Action Aid, in 2020, 81,000 women and girls were killed averaging at 1 death every 11 minutes.
The Femicide Census report for 2020 claims that 111 women were killed by men in 2020, and at the time of the report only 79 men were found to be guilty or held responsible to these vicious acts of violence. It begs the question if women feel safe leaving the house, going about their day, or being left alone with men.
Social media has been swarmed with #allmen where women have stated that while not all men maybe dangerous, because of how many men have displayed violent behaviour, it is safer for them to assume all men have the potential to be dangerous, to ensure their own safety. In recent weeks I’ve noticed a new version of this flooding TikTok and Instagram reels with the question of “if you’re alone in the woods, would you feel safer bumping into a bear or a man?” The responses have been plentiful. There have been many men supporting this and stating if it was their partner or friend, they’d take the chances of leaving them with a bear over a man. However, this has sparked fury amongst many men who believe they are being targeted for just being a man.
While it is important to understand and accept that there are men who are attacked, killed, and sexually assaulted by women, a report by Steen and Hunskaar published in 2004 show that in Norway, in a 2-year study, 33 men (2%) were attacked by women in comparison to the 334 women (21%) who were attacked by men.
Due to fear, there have been a spike in women taking extra precautions when going out, be that in the form of safety devices such as alarms or keyrings containing window breakers in the event of being trapped in a car or sharing their live location with family and friends.
I myself always share my location with a trusted friend when I am travelling alone or using public transport as well as sharing the information of a taxi, I am using such as driver details and a registration plate. But should me and other women have to do this? In short, no we shouldn’t, in fact nobody should. Everyone should be able to feel safe alone in their own home or when venturing out, however, the sad reality is that very little do. To answer the previous question of do women feel safe around men, data published in 2021 by End Violence Against Women show that in fact, 1 in 2 women felt unsafe walking alone in the dark close to their home and 1 in 2 women also feared walking alone in the dark in a public place in fear of being attacked or approached by a man.
While there isn’t much anyone can do, to prevent attacks on themselves, as mentioned previously, there are various methods you can take to protect yourself which I will link below. If you or someone you love have been victim to an attack and are looking to seek help, please reach out to your local authorities or safe organisations listed on our SAFE SPACES page.
<- U.K. APPROVED SAFETY DEVICES
<- sAFETY FROM YOUR SMART PHONE
SAFE SPACES
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS IN IMMEDIATE DANGER, PLEASE CALL 999. IF YOU NEED TO REACH OUT TO SOMEONE PLEASE SEE OUR USEFUL ORGANISATIONS LISTED BELOW.
116 123
0808 2000 247
0808 800 4444
0808 8010 327
0808 801 0677
0300 123 6600
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