A few days ago, 33-year-old Sarah Everard went missing after leaving for home from her friend’s place in London.
It was approximately a 50-minute walk, but she couldn’t complete it. Some time later, her body was found a few miles away from the spot she was last seen at.
This has sparked outrage in the UK as the need to prioritise women’s safety has become a huge topic of discussion again.
Now, amid all this, women across the world have been sharing something. It’s a simple line. 6 words: Text me when you reach home.
We will discuss it further but before that, let us see how this started. It started after personal trainer, Lucy, shared this post on Instagram.
Seems basic, right? Well, this post has more than 2 million likes and there is a reason for that: It’s relatable. And that is the sad reality of our times. As Lucy mentions in the post:
The deep sense of connection is one of fear.
This is so true. There is an inherent bond all women share that is founded on trauma, it’s founded on terror, it’s founded on the fight against terror that we are all fighting each day. From the moment we wake up to the moment we sleep.
I don’t need to talk to a woman to know that she goes from one side of the road to another when a group of men walks from behind at night.
I don’t need to know her name to know that she puts on extra layers when stepping out in public, lest she “invites” harrasment.
Lastly, I don’t need to know about her life to know that just like me, she also tells her friends, “Text me when you get home”, and waits eagerly for them to say that they have.
Every woman has sent or received this message and at this point. It just comes mechanically to us.
We could be drinking, about to sleep, late for work, early for a date, in a supermarket, at home – it doesn’t matter. If we know that our woman friend is travelling, this is one text we will always leave her with.
And not getting an answer to this message is one of our biggest fears. A fear we live with, every day.
That’s the emotion this line evokes in me and here’s what the internet feels about it.