Safe on the streets (at night)

Lots of people don’t particularly relish the prospect of having to go out in the evening or in the dark. Those unsafe feelings can be triggered by a range of factors: a group of people on the street, a deserted area, a dangerous stretch and so on. So, what do we do in these types of situations? We grasp our keys between our fingers and quicken our pace. We call someone — or we pretend to call someone. These things don’t make the situation any safer — they just lend us a false sense of security. True safety can only be guaranteed when someone comes to our aid when needed. And that applies to everyone.

Over the past few years, street harassment has been a growing problem, especially in (major) cities in the Netherlands. Catcalling, wolf whistling, verbal abuse, intimidation — mainly targeted at girls, women and LGBTQ+  people — have become increasingly common, and many people feel restricted in their freedom of movement as a result. Equality is one of the main values Dutch society aspires to, so it’s extremely important that help arrives quickly and effectively in street harassment situations. X-Guard is committed to bringing about a safer world through its future vision in which everyone’s safety is guaranteed. In an ideal world, carrying personal protection would be more than enough to create a safer environment. People who harass others on the street — or worse — would be deterred by the knowledge that everyone is safe everywhere, and that help will arrive as soon as someone needs it.

The street intimidation figures for two major cities certainly speak for themselves: In Amsterdam, 81% of women between 15 and 34 has experienced one of more forms of street harassment. In Rotterdam, this figure stands at 84%. The vast majority of these women (90%) have changed their behaviour as a result of these experiences. Only a small minority reports such intimidation to the police (source: straatintimidatie.nl).

Our five-step system below guarantees that someone will come to your aid as soon as you need it.