<<Steve Irons>>
<<South Perth>>
<<G3, 59 Albany Highway, Victoria Park WA 6100>>
<<PO Box 1060 East Victoria Park WA 6981>>
<<South Perth>>WA<<6151>>
Dear Mr Irons,
I am writing to you to ask for your help in promoting awareness for the safety of women. I am a student at All Saints’ College in year 8 and plead that you help safety of women. Safety for women is a serious issue which affects many women around the world. There is no direct solution for this problem, but the issue could be managed by increasing awareness and promoting more education and information about the issue.
As a woman myself, I am deeply concerned about the safety of many women. Recently, the numbers of women being attacked by men has fluctuated and is becoming more of an increasing problem. One out of six women have experienced attempted sexual abuse or rape. 1 in 3 women have suffered from physical abuse in Australia. Out of men and women, 82% are women who get attacked by men. About millions of women are attacked by men each year. Sadly, the average women will probably be attacked 4-5 times by men in their lifetime.
As you would be aware, this is an immense amount of petrifying and uncomfortable situations to be in. Not to mention every time, women do get into that sort of situation women get more traumatised and scared for the next time, because there could always be a next time. When men attack women, it negatively impacts women’s health, physically, mentally, sexually, reproductive health, and may increase chances of getting HIV. These are a few of many problems. Not to mention each physical, mental, etc, problem comes with its own other symptoms such as mental depression, anxiety, stress, etc. When anyone is unsafe, they feel scared to death, weak, and powerless, it makes someone feel they ‘are incapable and then having to recover from this and still need to deal with this current problem and manage a way to get out of bed every morning is still an ongoing struggle for many women. The feelings women have when attacked by men is unmeasurable.
Under the current arrangements, men poorly treat women a lot, and sometimes men go overboard and hurt women. That is why safety for women is so important because women can get badly hurt, and that’s why women need protection to make sure they do not get hurt. Safety for women is about how you strategize towards getting abused either physically or mentally by men. You need to know how to deal in that horrible situation safely and be able to call and get help. Many women do not know who they can call, or what to do in that situation so that’s why safety for women is such a big issue which needs to be talked about more, as women need to stay as safe as possible in those times. Women get treated badly all the time and it is time for women’s opinions and their side of the horrific story to be told.
I understand that many women who have experienced being in uncomfortable situations with men have gone through this and have been involved, but the sad truth is, most women will go through being unsafe/ uncomfortable with men at least once in their life, and that’s why women need to stick together. All women sadly will be involved in this traumatic problem one way or another. There are many strong female feminists who speak up about safety for women and try to resolve this solution, but until people with the resources to do something, like Prime Ministers and MP’s, nothing else can be done.
As this problem cannot physically be solved, there are many other ways to help the safety of women. There are many feminists who speak up about this topic and create self-defence tools for women to use when and if that time comes. An example of this is a feminist who speaks up about women’s safety is a social media influencer whose company is called ‘staysafeladies,’ her company sells discreate self-defence weapons to use in those tough times. These self-defence weapons take shape in form of keychains, hairbrushes, perfume bottle, lighter and more! She also actively talks about that it is sad that women even need to have these weapons on them, and repeatedly remind people that it is not normal and right that women should need to carry these weapons to feel safe.
I ask you to understand this problem, do not seek comfort in anything but instead, seek the truth. I also ask that you make this problem more aware, and use your voice and authority, to help these defenceless women know about this problem and become more aware of this topic. There are many things’ people cannot change, but if there is something I can do, I will do it. Please use your voice and educate these women on this topic and let them know about companies such as ‘staysafeladies.’ You may never know who needs it.
If this decision comes into effect, it will save many women from being defenceless in these situations. Feeling like you cannot do anything, makes you feel worthless, and this will at least prevent this feeling from occurring, as women will be able to fight back. After years and years of being thought of the under dogs or the weaker gender, women will be able to protect themselves with these self-defence tools. Women’s safety is in danger in these situations, at least women will not need to be hurt and have a scar on their body to remind themselves every time.
All women deserve the right to feel safe and secure no matter where they are or who they are with. What I am asking is the bare minimum every woman should be entitled to. There is always something more we can do. Make the only right and sane choice and help all these women around the world from getting hurt and feeling safer!
Yours sincerely,
Roshini Yasir.
Bibliography:
Office for Women – Safety and wellbeing. (2020). Retrieved May 17, 2022, from Sa.gov.au website: https://officeforwomen.sa.gov.au/womens-policy/womens-safety
World. (2021, March 9). Violence against women. Retrieved May 17, 2022, from Who.int website: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women
Singer, J. (2021, June 3). Self-Defense Tools for Women, but Make Them Cool. Retrieved May 17, 2022, from Glamour website: https://www.glamour.com/story/self-defense-tools-for-women-are-sparkly-and-sharp
Instructables. (2015, August 30). Basic Street Safety for Women. Retrieved May 17, 2022, from Instructables website: https://www.instructables.com/Basic-Street-Safety-for-Women/
The Global Assessment on Women’s Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.preventionweb.net/files/13380_7380832AssesmentFinal1.pdf