Heath & Beauty - Free Fitness Library
Sex, lies & attitude
The survival instincts of women travellers
Maggie Moss with some general observations and words of advice for the supposedly vulnerable sex.
Why is it that the moment you announce that you're going further than Blackpool, all your nearest and dearest immediately trot out all these horror stories? Especially if you happen to be female, and especially if you just happen to be going without a man along?
The first thing you will notice is that most of these people trying to put you off haven't actually been travelling at all. Oh no, their stories of near disaster won't actually have happened to them, but always to this female friend-of-a-friend who narrowly escapes mugging in Bogota, dacoits in India, rape in the US, and then misses the last plane home before a military take-over.
So are your well-intentioned advisers right? Should you just stay on the beaten track, look for a hefty male travelling companion, or settle for an inclusive tour with an organised group? In a nut-shell, how safe will you be?
The answer is, of course, as safe as you make it!
With the Three C's - Common-sense, Compromise and Confidence, women can and do travel and safely and enjoyably all over the world.
The vast majority of women (alas), are already experts in personal safety. If you can get yourself safely around in today's urban conurbations, know enough not to get into trouble hill-walking or when you're out for the day, the chances are you are already practising most of the common-sense techniques you need to keep yourself safe on your travels.
Do you automatically tend to avoid empty dark areas in places you feel unsafe in? Do you unconsciously size up situations and make potential allies, for example, avoiding the railway carriage with one or more men, in favour of the seat next to a family group, or other women? Do you let someone know when to expect you back? Do you plan your journeys as far as possible to arrive in daylight, (remember nightfall is a lot earlier in the tropics)? Do you try to avoid areas obviously associated with petty crime and red light districts, keep valuables hidden away, and stay alert to what is going on around you?
If so, you are already well on the way to travelling safely.
Feel your way into a new culture, be sensitive to changes and learn to pick up and decode signals that might be missed by those in too much of a rush. Leave hitchhiking, strolling around late at night, or accepting invitations from strangers until you are confident that you know exactly what the consequences are likely to be.
If the above apply as much to male travellers as to female ones, there are however some aspects of safe travel that are more pertinent for women travellers, particularly those on their own.
Accounts of women's travel, attitudes and responses to female sexuality vary wildly around the globe and Western women, particularly young ones, are often assumed to be footloose and fancy free.
If you are willing to compromise some of the freedoms we take for granted and think about how you present yourself, both in dress and in manner, you will fit in better with local people, find it easier to appeal to local allies, and attract less attention from local pesterers.
Finding out as much as possible about the culture in which you will be travelling is the key. Alas, guide books are not often as much help as they could be. Try to get hold of work by local writers - there is now a wide range available in any good book shop. And, of course, use the experiences of as many other female travellers as you can.
Choosing carefully what clothes to take makes sense. The Magenta de Vine look is really only suitable for cosmopolitan urban centres. In provincial towns, anywhere off the beaten track, and above all in Islamic countries, your image should fit in with local expectations. take a one-piece for the beach, one smart outfit, and , for instant modesty in countries where local women cover hair and shoulders, take a scarf, wear a shirt and jeans not a crop top and shorts.
It is also worth realising that in many parts of the world torn or frayed garments worn by Western visitors are more likely to be associated with "hippies" than with designer labels and street cred.
Finally, how should you respond to the local pests? Again the key is to take advice from other women travellers. What works in one culture may not be appropriate n another. The good old British cold shoulder, (where ignoring that creep in the pub back home works wonder), could be misunderstood in places where a wordless put-down is actually sending a message that, because you haven't complained, you don't actually mind! In general keeping your temper and assuming a calm but outraged how-dare-you-treat-me-like-that-young-man approach, is better than causing a scene. Appealing to others for help is also more likely to meet with a response than in Britain where, alas, passers-by tend to retreat with embarrassment rather than help out.
Common-sense, Compromise and finally Confidence are the keys to safe
and successful travel for women. As one woman wrote, "There is
the intangible manner of bearing yourself as someone who is self contained
and self possessed. Giving out a certain presence that, even when you
are tired or lost lets people know that you know where you're going,
and gives out the message that you're in control. Problems occur more
frequently if you allow your confusion, tiredness or irritation to show.
Confidence grows as you become more sure of yourself and your surroundings.
Do not feel that somehow you have failed as a "real" traveller
if at first you feel nervous and long for home. Take things at your
own pace, and you will soon discover the actual benefits of being a
female in a man's world.
Women are often welcomed into homes in a way that male travellers are not. We are less likely to be hassled by officials, and more likely to be able to meet local women on their own terms. In many countries a friendly and protective attitude is still offered to women travellers, especially those who have taken the trouble to fit in.
So here's to years of safe and happy travelling.
Maggie Moss is co-author of the Handbook for Women Travellers, and co-tutor of "Getting Going and Staying Safe" - Travel Seminars for Women.
"Look out for the magazine for the Independent - Minded, 'Wanderlust' Available at newsagents or call 0753 620426."