Following a series of sexual assaults in Minneapolis:
The crime alert issued to residents in the latest attack included strong advice from police on what women need to do to protect themselves. That includes pay attention to strangers, avoid traveling alone (especially after dark), stay away from isolated areas, and switch directions and seek a safe place if you think someone is following you.
That’s the third to last paragraph. Let’s look at what we learned before we got there.
The latest victim called a friend as she walked out of a bar, and said she was concerned about a man following her. She was paying attention to strangers.
Then the man stole her phone.
The victim got on a bus headed toward her home, and the man did not immediately follow her. She avoided traveling alone (especially after dark).
Then the man got on the bus, two stops later.
It’s unclear what happened between then and when she got off the bus, but at that hour of the night, I’d certainly be inclined to think that staying on a bus would be safer than getting off in an unfamiliar neighborhood. It would, in fact, be the safest way to stay away from isolated areas, under the circumstances. (Unfortunately, it does rule out switching directions, because waiting for a bus going the other way would be dangerous.)
Then she got off the bus near her home, undoubtedly hoping to seek a safe place.
The man followed her. And raped her.
During this time, the friend the victim had contacted on her way out of the bar called the police, and was told they could do nothing. She called the victim’s phone again and again, until she finally talked to the ******** rapist, and eventually called her ex-husband and asked him to go over to her friend’s neighborhood and look for her. (He found the victim not long after it happened and took her to the hospital.)
So, to recap: The victim was suspicious enough to call a friend and tell her there was a creep around. She got on a well-lit moving vehicle that the creep wasn’t on. After he boarded it, she chose to stay on a well-lit moving vehicle with at least one other person on it, rather than get off and risk him following in an area where she’d have nowhere to run. She only got off the bus when she was close to the promise of safety—and let’s keep in mind, she didn’t know this guy was definitely planning to assault her. At this point, he was still Schrödinger’s Rapist.
She followed nearly all the ”strong advice” the police had to offer, and yet somehow, she didn’t magically rape-proof herself. Go figure.