Yvonne Ní Mhurchú, Limerick, Ireland, SSH Blog Correspondent
It 11:05 a.m. on Friday, September the 5th in Limerick city and I have just had the most enjoyable half hour walk from the centre to my house. I know what you’re thinking, “I bet that’s because she wasn’t harassed once” and you would be right, sort of! It was also because the streets were almost deserted. This year Limerick was chosen to be Ireland’s first National City of Culture, because of this there have been tons of festivals and events going on around the city since January and this particular weekend was no exception. September 5th to 7th sees the arrival of a Giant Granny puppet (with the street theatre company Royal de Luxe), who is 25feet tall and even comes with her own wheelchair. She will spend the next few days wandering around the city and as a result there have been a number of major road closures, making the streets practically empty.
As I walked home partly amused by the novelty of not having to worry about traffic as I crossed the road, it also dawned on me that my fear of getting harassed in the street was gone too. The city looked like it usually does around the 4 a.m. – 5 a.m. mark, when most people are sleeping, only now it was bright. I love to walk home after a night out if the weather is nice (which is rare in Limerick!) but I would never dream of walking home at night on my own, regardless of how empty the streets were. I am unable to do that as there is always that underlined fear that I might get attacked. Of course I know that if I were to get attacked it would not be my fault, but I cannot imagine other people feeling the same. But I digress.
Right now, I don’t want to dwell on victim blaming, street harassment or rape culture. I just want to keep the feeling I had today on my walk home with me for as long as possible; my nice, leisurely stroll home. No harassment, no crossing the road un-necessarily, no dodging people, no planning alternative routes, no special ‘safety measures’ for peace of mind, no folding my arms to try and hide my chest from view. It was just, calm.
I imagine that is how it must feel for men when they walk around. No fear and complete anonymity. How lucky they are to be able to take something like that for granted. To just be allowed go about their business and not be made to feel uncomfortable or questioned or told to smile.
So, I guess what I am saying here is, for a woman to feel 100% comfortable walking home alone it takes extraordinary circumstances such as giant puppets and road closures. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous when I put it like that, but that is actually what happened today. For the first time, ever, I didn’t feel nervous or constantly look to see who was behind me, my head was held high as I looked straight ahead, I didn’t get nervous once, I just, walked. Thanks Granny!
Yvonne volunteers as a SATU (psychological support) worker for her local Rape Crisis Centre and is an advocate for women’s issues and equality. You can follow her, her feminist group or her anti-harassment campaign on twitter: @YvonneNiMhurchu, @lmkfeminist and @GNOLimerick.
