Women are sharing the steps they take to protect themselves when they're alone

An eye-opening Instagram post has led to scores of women describing the measures they take to feel safe when alone.

Blogger Chinae Alexander revealed her own fears about running alone at night, and the precautions she takes to ensure she is not in danger.

Alexander started the thread on Instagram, where she recalled a time she was running around her new neighbourhood, only to realise that it had become dusk and she would have to run down dark streets to make it home.

“I took my headphones off, hid my phone, and was glad to be wearing a shirt instead of my normal sports bra,” she wrote. “I ran so fast, my heartbeat and breath felt like they both might explode in my chest.”

According to Alexander, she’ll never forget the feeling of reaching her home and “wanting to cry because I hated that I felt so afraid”.

The blogger then compared her own experience to that of a man she saw running a few days later “running without worry or fear”.

Alexander’s realisation that “fear has become foundational” for “women/people (non-binary, trans, gender non-conforming)” prompted the New York-based blogger to use the post to ask other women what they do to feel safe - and has received more than 400 responses.

The 33-year-old began the conversation in the comments by revealing the precautions she takes - such as freeing her hands when walking alone, removing her headphones, and knowing where the closest exits are.

According to the replies, hundreds of others feel the same fear - and take precautions such as parking in well lit areas, holding their keys in their hands to be used as a weapon if necessary, and carrying items such as mace or pepper spray.

“Always park under a light. Carry a stun gun. Carry my keys in between my fingers with my finger over the panic button. Run to my car. Put my hoodie on so you can’t tell I’m a girl,” one woman wrote.

Another said: “I try to show that I’m alert and aware, I look around and directly at everyone thinking that if I appear tough and alert I’ll be less likely to be the woman a perp would choose. I do not EVER go for a jog or walk alone for exercise out of fear.”

Many women reiterated the importance of being aware of their surroundings and taking measures such as waiting for the door to their building to close before opening the next or listening to the speed of any footsteps behind them - as well as telling friends and family members where they are and when they have arrived home.

“I share my location on my phone with many friends, just in case,” someone else wrote.

Others revealed that they will go out of their way to remove themselves from a situation that could turn dangerous - with one woman explaining that she will get off the train and wait for the next one if a “man is obviously staring or trying to get close to me”.

“Also, never getting on an empty train car or one with only men,” she added.

According to Alexander, while she doesn’t know “what to do about all this that we feel, acknowledging that we all contain it is a start”.