A woman says a man coerced her into sharing her phone number at a park—and confronted her when she didn’t respond to his messages. Her story has now sparked a discussion about the risks women face in public.
In a TikTok posted on Thursday, @JustJerrae says that she regularly walks in a public park in Texas. She explained that a man asked for her phone number and called her phone while they were still face-to-face to ensure she had given him the right number.
After leaving the park, she immediately blocked his number out of concern for her safety.
@JustJerrae says the next day, the man approached her again in the park and asked her why she hadn’t returned his messages.
“I literally had to run from this man,” @JustJerrae says.
The TikToker says as a result, she stopped going to the park at the same time of day and instead visited hours earlier than normal.
But when she visited the park at an earlier time, another man approached her, made comments about her body, and asked if he could take her to another park with him.
“I don’t think it’s fair that I should have to find a new park,” @JustJerrae says in her TikTok. “It’s such a risk being a woman out in public. And being there every single day at the exact same time—because you never know who’s watching you.”
On Wednesday, @JustJerrae’s video had over 930,000 views.
@justjerrae Like every time I think I’ve mastered my paranoia and finally convinced myself “I am safe, I am protected”… I’ll pick up on some weird stuff like this that confirms I need to always be alert and on GO! What does letting your guard down really mean when youre a woman? #safteyfirst #watchyoursurroundings #womensafetymatters #womensafetyfirst ♬ original sound – JustJerrae✨
While many commenters showed their support for the TikToker, others seemed to blame her for the attention she received from the men she described. “Why not just tell them to f*ck off?” one person wrote, and others advised her to be less approachable.
In response, @JustJerrae posted another TikTok saying that she doesn’t respond that way because she is worried for her safety and that there is nothing women can do to prevent men from threatening them with violence.
“If he’s violent, he’s gonna be violent with you,” @JustJerrae says. “Period.”
Women in the comments section of her follow-up video agreed with her and shared their stories.
“I had to quickly plan avoiding my house bc I told a guy no while walking home,” one woman wrote. “And he started chasing me in broad daylight.”
“I said no and the guy looked at me in the eye and told me ‘I could always make you,'” another shared. “While laughing.”
“I told a guy in a park that I wasn’t interested. He responded by saying ‘this is why [bitches] get killed.'” yet another woman wrote. “And I was pushing a 2 yr old in a stroller.”
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/man-confronts-woman-park/