More than a month ago, two Argentinian female travellers were murdered in Ecuador after accepting an offer of help from two men. The following public debate accused them (the GIRLS!!) of being irresponsible for travelling on their own and questioned their sanity. For some people it was more surprising that two girls could travel without a company of a man and accept help from strangers than the fact that two lives were violently taken.
I heard about the tragedy from a driver who gave me a lift when I was in the middle of nowhere in Argentina. I had been travelling for about one week and covered about 2000 km by hitching from Brazil to Argentina, on my own, without a company of a man. By the time, I was offered some kind of help on numerous occasions. I was hosted by a female driver in her house. I was invited for a meal and I was taken to a driver’s private thermal spa. On another occasion, I was invited to go motorcycle riding in the mountains. In neither case was I assaulted but treated very kindly with great respect.
Yet… Despite having all the positive experience from my solo travelling, the story obviously shook my believes about the safety of the world. Should I reconsider what I do? Should I give up on my passion of independent travelling? I don’t want to get hurt. I should be more careful. I should travel by buses and sleep in hostels or paid camping sites only. Maybe I should find a guy to travel with me. Yes, yes, that would make me much safer. I’m just too vulnerable as a single girl. A too easy target… These thoughts crossed my mind for a minute and I’m quite sure they are well in line with exactly what lots of people would advise me.
However, I believe that such thoughts are exactly what makes us women such an easy target. By reinforcing the axiom that a woman is safe only when accompanied by a guy, we accept as a norm that a single woman can be harassed and assaulted. Furthermore, by discouraging women to travel alone, we make it more dangerous for the courages few who resist and insist on their independence. The more women travel alone, the safer it will be for every one of us. If only every second driver who gives me a lift was a woman. If only every second person who invites me to their house was a woman. If only every second invitation for lunch came from a woman… That would reduce the fear of rape of 50% and travelling would become so much more interesting.
Our reaction to the event in Ecuador should take into consideration that we live in the 21st century and we claim gender equality. The human history is full of examples of men travelling and discovering the world. Whether they travelled to conquer new territories, to describe new continents or to join wars fought to gain freedom or enslave others. When men travelled, it was celebrated. When they died on their adventures, books were written and monuments were built to glorify their memory and achievements. A man travelling and dying is a hero. A woman travelling and dying is a stupid naive creature who got what she provoked. This is not the way it should be understood! Not any more.
By the way, after I heard the horrible story, I still continued hitching and accepting offers of hospitality. I spent two nights with two guys (that I had met a night before) in one tent in the mountains and I did not get raped, nor murdered.
On the contrary, I also spent a few nights in a hostel where a guy locked me in a room and was forcing me to kiss him. I also stayed over night in a paid camping site where my purse got stolen. Based on the two bad experiences I could conclude that conventional travelling is dangerous and I should stay away from hostels and camp sites. Of course I will not draw such a conclusion. It was just a bad luck and I know that there are millions of people having good experiences with conventional accommodation (including me). In a similar way, one horrible story from Ecuador should not overweight the millions of good stories from all around the world. Girls do travel alone and they have great stories to tell. We should listen more to the good ones and let them encourage us. I believe that only when women stop to fear talking to strangers and they start fearlessly moving on their own, the world can change and become more peaceful.
During my journey around Argentina, I overcame my own fear. I had thought that I couldn’t read in maps and I would always get desperately lost, thus I refused to ever even imagine that I could go on my own to the mountains. I thought I always needed a company of a guy to keep me safe from my navigation skills. Well and then I was in the Aconcagua national park with no guy to help me. And I decided to go further. With a map in hand and a backpack containing all camping gear, food and water, I reached the second base camp in an altitude of 4200 m and then safely returned back. Doing this on my own incredibly boosted my confidence and self-esteem. My world definitely became more peaceful and much more worth living.
Teach in Brazil 