Walking behind her?
Give her space. Slow down, create more distance or cross the street when that is easy.
FOR MEN
Hey man, you can make a difference.
As a man, you don’t have to feel unsafe yourself to help a woman feel safer.
Often, the difference is not a grand gesture but something small. Giving a little more space. Not walking right behind someone. Not staring. Respecting a rejection immediately. Speaking up when friends cross a line. Paying attention when someone is visibly uncomfortable.
Not because you are to blame, but because your behaviour can affect how a situation feels to a woman.
Often, the difference is not a grand gesture but something small. Giving a little more space. Not walking right behind someone. Not staring. Respecting a rejection immediately. Speaking up when friends cross a line. Paying attention when someone is visibly uncomfortable.
Not because you are to blame, but because your behaviour can affect how a situation feels to a woman.
1
Look at what you do
You know you mean no harm. She cannot know that. A few small choices can remove unnecessary tension from an ordinary situation.
Passing her?
Do not linger just behind her. Pass clearly and with enough distance.
Looking?
A glance is different from staring or repeatedly looking back. Leave it there.
She does not want contact?
No response, looking away or walking on is clear enough. Do not push it.
2
Make the easy choice
Do not overthink it. Give space. Be clear in how you pass. If she does not want contact, leave it there. What costs you almost nothing can make a real difference to her.
→Give space.
→Pass clearly.
→Do not stare.
→Respect a rejection immediately.
→Do not unnecessarily keep walking or riding alongside her.
3
Speak up among men too
A social norm is also created among men. If someone shouts after a woman, keeps pushing after a rejection or makes her visibly uncomfortable, do not automatically laugh along or look away. Say something.
A small step for men. A leap forward for women.
From considerate to a new normal. That is how social change begins.
4
See something? Do something that helps.
You do not have to play the hero. Make contact. Create a distraction. Get someone else involved. Ask whether she is okay. Help without taking control away from her.
Make contact
Ask calmly: “Are you okay?” That alone can be enough to interrupt a situation.
Create a distraction
An ordinary question or brief interruption can create an exit without direct confrontation.
Get someone involved
If needed, involve staff, security, other bystanders or the police.
Does she act as if she knows you?
Play along calmly. She may be trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation. Let her decide what is needed next.
5
Look the way she has to look
Would this place feel different if you were walking here alone as a woman?
Look beyond whether you personally feel safe. Notice the things that determine whether someone has overview, space and options.
- Dark stretches and places where faces are hard to see
- Tunnels, alleys and underpasses with poor visibility
- Places where it is hard to move away or change direction
- Dense planting, walls or objects that block sightlines
- Places with few other people or little natural surveillance
- Car parks, cycle parking or routes where someone can quickly feel boxed in
6
See something that could be better? Share it.
You can also contribute through the Vrouwveiliger app. Notice a place, route or situation that could feel different or uncomfortable to women? Share it. Your perspective can help reveal patterns too.
Not for emergencies.
In case of immediate danger, call 112.
Make it the new normal.
Sometimes no complicated intervention, expensive investment or years-long process is needed to make a difference. If more men naturally take women’s sense of safety into account, not just one situation changes. What we consider normal changes too.
A safer public space for women sometimes starts simply with how you move through it.