For You

This is for every woman who has pretended to be on the phone when they walked home alone at night.

This is for every woman who has crossed the street to avoid a man who was walking too close behind her.

This is for every woman who has tugged at the hem of her skirt, trying to stop those eyes from landing on her.

This is for every woman who has held her keys between her fingers as she walked to her car or towards her front door.

This is for every woman who has stayed beneath the streetlights to avoid the dark and all the dangers unseen.

This is for every woman who has 'phoned a friend that they're on their way to meet' when they're in a cab headed home alone.

This is for every woman who has put on a smile and 'played nice' to the man who wouldn't leave her alone in a bar.

This is for every woman who has read the words 'Text me when you get home safe' as she leaves the club and makes her way home.

This is for every woman who has ignored the wolf whistles and vulgar voices that shout out to her as she crosses the road.

This is for every woman who has smiled politely whilst the drunk guy put his unwanted arm around her shoulder.

This is for every woman who has looked over her shoulder as she walked down the street, afraid of someone following her.

This is for every woman who has seen a man walk home alone at night, and wondered what 'safe' must feel like.

This is for every woman who has second-guessed a dress in case it gets the wrong kind of attention.

This is for every woman who has covered her drink on the dance floor, just in case something gets slipped into her vodka soda.

You are strong.

You are brave.

You have faced these challenges so often that your reactions have become reflexes.

You have lived with the burden of staying safe clouding what should be your brightest moments.

When we walk alone, we walk with targets on our back.

When we cross the road we don't just look for traffic, we look for predators too.

We worry for our safety.

We worry for the safety of our sisters too.

And through it all, we carry the memory of the women no longer here.

The women whose strength was not strong enough to defeat the misogynistic evil that followed their footsteps.

And through it all, we carry the pain of the women still here.

The women whose strength is shown every day that they fight through trauma, flashbacks, and fear.

I stand with you,

When the last train home becomes a game of 'spot the safest seat'.

I stand with you,

When the man asking your name decides to name you 'darling' before you can speak.

I stand with you,

When 'never talk to strangers' become a mantra for making it home safe, not just the words of a parent to a child.

So this for you, the woman who pulls her friend away when the man at the bar gets too close for comfort,

This is for you, the woman who checks and double checks that her girls got home safe, whilst trying to make sure that she gets herself home safe too.

This is for you, the woman reading and resonating with every line, every syllable,

Every second glance shot over your shoulder.

You face these fears every day, and yet you question your courage,

You question your strength.

The strength that lies in your every step.

The strength that keeps you walking until your feet find home.

You are my heroine,

My inspiration,

My muse.

You are my ally,

As we fight for this fear to be heard through the weight of our womanhood.

You, my sister, are the strongest woman I know.