There’s a rose-tinted version of solo female travel that saturates social media reels. What they tend not to feature is the harassment or unwanted attention that, at some point, you will probably meet in one form or another. It ranges from a man who follows a little too far through a market to someone sitting too close or touching inappropriately on a night bus, or the person in a bar who will not take the hint. Handling it quickly and calmly is the best approach. Here are some sensible tips for if it happens.

  1. Most importantly, don’t be an easy mark. Do what you can to avoid making yourself a target.
  2. Dress to fit in, not stand out.
  3. Walk like you know where you are going and most low-level approaches never start. Carry yourself like someone who would be more bother than she is worth. It works even when you are hopelessly lost. If you need to check a map, duck into a shop to do it rather than standing on a corner with your phone out.
  4. If someone is following you, act like you’re not alone. Head straight for a busy café or a hotel lobby. Sunglasses kill the eye contact a lot of approaches need to get going, and headphones with nothing playing give you a reason not to hear anyone.
  5. When you cannot walk away, be blunt. A single “no thank you”, not repeated and not explained. Anything else invites negotiation, and the point is to stay out of the conversation. If it keeps coming, “please leave me alone” said loud enough for people nearby to hear usually ends it. Few harassers want an audience, and bystanders tend to side with the woman being bothered.
  6. Research where you stay. Check it out fully and explore the area on Google first. A well-reviewed guesthouse with a reception and 24-hour door staff on a busy street beats a bargain room down an unlit lane. Throw a cheap rubber doorstop in your bag too. Wedged under the inside of the door, it stops the door opening even if someone has a key.
  7. Ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt put a name, a numberplate and a car type up before it arrives. It also follows a tracked route you can see in the app in real time. This is far better than flagging down an unknown taxi and hoping the driver is trustworthy. Check the car and driver match the app before you open the door, and share your live trip with someone you trust, at the absolute minimum, check in with someone before and after you travel.
  8. On a night out, the same risks exist as they do back at home. Clock the exits when you walk into a bar, and keep a rough sense of the way back to somewhere lit and busy. Watch your drink, watch it being poured if you can, and either finish it or take it with you, because a glass left on the bar is one you cannot trust. On the way back, take the busier, better-lit street over the shortcut.
  9. Unless you hold your drink well, be mindful of getting too inebriated. Drunk you doesn’t always make good decisions, and is easier to target.
  10. Trust your gut instincts, and use your intuition to guide you. If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t.

If something does happen, report it. Being targeted by someone else’s behaviour carries no shame, and there is no version of events where you are to blame. Tell the local police, tell your embassy or consulate, and tell someone at home. They cannot fix it from a distance, but the support goes further than you would think, and you should not have to carry it alone.

For a wider read on where you are headed, the Global Peace Index, published each year by the Institute for Economics and Peace, ranks 163 countries on safety and stability and is free to browse.

Cutting a day trip short, changing your route or switching hotels because something feels off is the most sensible call, and you do not owe anyone an explanation for it. The point of the trip is the trip, not proving something on behalf of independent women everywhere. Adjust and move on.

Don’t let any of this discourage you from going it alone and having amazing experiences. You are about as likely to be harassed in a British city centre as anywhere else in the world. Women travel alone through countries with grim reputations all the time and come home having met some of the most generous people of their lives. Don’t let fear take over. Just make sure you’re prepared. The preparation itself builds confidence, and that makes you more resilient and less of a target.