Woman Shares The Simple Defense She Uses Whenever A Man Makes Her Feel Unsafe

Unwanted attention from men, such as catcalling, inappropriate comments, or other forms of harassment, is unfortunately a widespread issue affecting many women.

Many of these encounters leave women feeling uncomfortable, humiliated, and even unsafe.

Thankfully, one woman shared her highly effective trick for getting a man to back off when he makes you feel uneasy. She swears by the trick and claims that it scares men away before they can even disrespect your boundaries.

The woman shared her brilliant trick which involved saying, ‘Leave me alone or I’m going to scream’ to anyone who makes her feel unsafe.

In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 1 million times, Penny Penkowski revealed the one thing she thought most men did not like about women: when they scream.

“If a man is bothering you or harassing you, trying to sit at your table, or trying to sit next to you on a completely empty bus… say this one time or the threat does not work,” Penkowski urged. "You say, ‘Leave me alone or I’m going to scream.’”

Penkowski went on to say that if the threat of a scream didn't scare him off, “scream bloody murder like you are being killed on the spot.”

She encouraged anyone feeling threatened to continue screaming until the threat abated. “This could be on public transit, this could be in a school, this could be in a government building… I don’t care,” Penkowski said.

“Absolutely none of those things should matter when your safety is at risk. You threaten once with screaming and then you scream your... lungs out.”

Other people agreed with the advice, echoing the fact that screaming is effective when attempting to get a man harassing you to go away.

“I remember my elementary gym teacher went around and taught ALL of us how to properly scream until we got it right specifically for this reason,” one TikTok user shared. “I heard it is important to scream ‘I don't know you,’ because if other men think it's your partner they're way more unlikely to help,” another user advised.

“This made me uncomfortable until I realized that I have internalized the expectation to be quiet and small over my own comfort,” another user commented. “Imagine the release you’d get, too. Screaming is so cathartic. Instead of internalizing the fear, we just scream it out AND they leave us alone!” another added.

You should prioritize your safety above all other concerns.

While all men respond differently to women hollering at them to leave them alone while they are crossing a boundary, many of them likely will not want to bring any additional attention to the situation and fear getting into legal trouble.

Screaming, especially in public spaces where others can witness and intervene, is extremely effective when you want anyone to get off your back.

Woman Shares The Simple Defense She Uses Whenever A Man Makes Her Feel Unsafe

Going out of our comfort zones may actually keep us safe.

The woman shared her brilliant trick which involved saying, ‘Leave me alone or I’m going to scream’ to anyone who makes her feel unsafe.

Other people agreed with the advice, echoing the fact that screaming is effective when attempting to get a man harassing you to go away.

You should prioritize your safety above all other concerns.

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