Safety of women is back in the news. Walking home at night is often when they are most afraid. Strut Safe is a telephone number that provides companionship for those who walk alone home. It was launched in Edinburgh last January.
Alice Jackson remembers that night when she answered the call.
She says, "When you pick-up the phone you can always tell whether the person is afraid." It's their voice shaking or catching.
Alice was told by the caller that she was on her return journey.
She was certain that something would happen and was running to prepare herself.
"She said that she believed someone was following me."
Alice was given her name, age, birthday, address and a description of her appearance and all her clothing.
Alice said, "She was like, ‘That's all you're going to have,'"
"I still have the exact clothes she wore."
Alice, 22 years old, and Rachel Chung, her friend, came up with the idea for a telephone number that people could call if they were walking home alone at night in 2021.
They attended the vigil for Sarah Everard not long afterwards.
Alice says that they were "devastated and angry" and "purchased a cheap burner phone and asked people to help us answer it." The number was then posted in community groups.
Since then, Strut Safe takes calls every weekend.
Alice says that they might have lost their friends at the club, that their boyfriend hasn't picked up or that it's too late to call them.
Each of the Strut Safe volunteers that answer calls is interviewed, trained, and background-checked. Although they are there to help and offer reassurance, sometimes callers are in distress and may be concerned about their safety.
Alice: "They are in tears, really upset and you're coaching [them] through it."
"You'll be able to say, "Look, I'm there with you."
Volunteers like Alice are available to call the ambulance or alert the police if necessary.
"But, we'll always ask you, 'Are your happy for us to utilize this information to assist you if anything goes wrong?' She says.
People first heard of Strut Safe by word-of-mouth. Nowadays, most people share their number via social media. Alice said that the number of calls they get each weekend is variable.
She says there was a huge spike in calls after Sabina Nessa's death in September 2013. Ashling Murphy's murder last week has caused another spike in calls.
She says, "When these events happen people feel more secure."
Alice says that answering the phones at Strut Safe has opened her eyes to street violence and harassment.
"People who claim that this is a problem, who say that people are making this up to get attention, or that these things don’t really happen – listening in on these calls there is no denying that it is.”
Strut Safe is funded by donations. Alice admits that it is not an ideal solution.
She says, "To people saying Strut Safe is just stick plaster, we understand that. We can't solve all the problems."
"But, something exists now that wasn't there before, we are available for anyone who needs, and more change will hopefully happen."
Alice says it's a relief when a caller returns home safely.
"They'll say they can see my house right now or that I'm only a few minutes away. But I always reply, Don't worry. It's OK. I'll keep the phone.
"Just let me be in touch when you are at the door."
She will hear the sound of keys clicking, her mum asking, "Where have your been?" Or a dog bark.
The words "That's it now, thank you very much" followed.
"Sometimes, you get off a 20-minute phone call that was really emotional intense, really serious. You might have heard the caller crying at the end. The caller might have been crying at the end.
The phone will then ring again.
"Hi, I'm on my way home from work after a night out. My friend gave me this number because I needed to call someone.
She says, "And you just discover your flow again."
"Hi, thanks for calling. Are you alright? Are you still here?
The Strut Safe free helpline 0333 35 0026 is available from 7pm-3am on Fridays, Saturdays, and 7pm-1am Sundays
