USE YOUR PHONE TO PROTECT YOURSELF

NO RUNNER should have to equip themselves to deal with harassment, but you may already have a powerful safety tool. If you take your mobile phone, make sure it’s charged. In addition to taking a video to document a harasser, you can use it to:

1. Track yourself / Download an app (such as Strava Beacon or Garmin Connect) that allows your friends and family to monitor your location while you are out running and can quickly send alerts to your chosen contacts if an incident occurs. Alternatively, call or text a friend to let them know you’re headed out for a run and send a pin with your starting location.

2. Call a friend / If you’re running through an area that feels unsafe to you, or you feel that you’re being followed or otherwise threatened, call someone (or even pretend to do so; this might be enough). Tell whoever you call precisely where you are and start a conversation with them. This action tells the harasser that you’re not really alone and that you can easily get help.

3. Send out an SOS / Check your phone’s emergency features now. That way, you won’t be trying to figure them out when you need to. For example, on an iPhone 8 or later, press and hold the right-side button and one of the volume buttons to engage the Emergency SOS feature. After a countdown, the phone will automatically call the authorities and text your location to your emergency contacts.

4. Dial 999 / Many people who have been harassed say they didn’t want to call the police because they didn’t think it was serious enough. A change in law to criminalise acts of public sexual harassment will leave less onus on the victim to assess the situation, but, in the meantime, if your instinct tells you something is suspicious, call 999. This will generate a police response, log your location and, hopefully, discourage the harasser.

5. Defend yourself / If you’re being attacked, your phone can help you fight back. While it may not be an ideal weapon, it is a blunt instrument with edges that could be used to strike an attacker. In fact, anything you're carrying, even a hard-plastic water bottle, can be used to your advantage. Defending yourself in this manner could alarm your attacker and give you time to run to safety.