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The truth behind what women carry to protect themselves while running

Picture:
Picture:
iStock and Twitter

Women across the world often get harassed when they go for a run, and they decided to share the things that they carry to feel safe.

So much so that recently Avon and Somerset Police launched a #jogOn campaign in a bid to help people safe while running outdoors.

They were criticised for encouraging women to run in groups to avoid being sexually harassed - as many saw this as normalising harassment.

TV writer Amanda Deibert took to Twitter and asked women what they use to protect themselves when they go out running.

She said: “One of my mom groups has a thread that is just women listing and recommending which kind of protection they take when them when they go out running (Ie. pepper spray, alarm necklaces, whistles, etc) in case you wondered what being a woman is like."

Women: what do you use when you go out running?

Women wrote back...

Dogs.

A knife.

This is legal in America, but not the UK.

This 11-year-old has a rape whistle and one of these...

A phone that tracks her location.

Bear spray.

A running partner.

A personal alarm.

British women remarked that many of the things carried by Americans aren't allowed in the UK.

So British women try to make do.

This woman runs in a public place and doesn't wear headphones.

This woman doesn't wear headphones either... even though she would like to listen to music while running.

This woman doesn't even run outside.

Men also shared their encounters with women runners - and the things they do to make them feel safer.

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