Solo Travel is a Feminist Issue

ByVictoria Philpott Last Updated:

“Why was she backpacking alone?”

“What was she doing meeting a man on Tinder?”

The victim blaming I’ve seen online this week, for Grace Millane, the British backpacker murdered in New Zealand, has been disgusting. Suggestions that a 22-year-old woman was in some way asking for it, or that it was inevitable, that if she dared to travel and to use the technology available to us now to enrich the experience, she deserved what she got.

We don’t know the exact circumstances of her death, but it wasn’t travel that killed her, or New Zealand, or Tinder, or what she wore – it was, by all accounts, that man.

And now, the case will be used to suggest that women shouldn’t travel alone, for oppressors to say:

“Look, this is what will happen if you travel solo as a woman”.

Solo female travellers

In all my travels, from spending a week in luxury in Barbados to travelling solo around Papua New Guinea, there have been raised eyebrows and confusion at the fact I’m travelling alone.

“No husband?”

Best places to go backpacking

People feel sorry for you. Like it wasn’t a conscious choice to travel the world care free and to think of no one but yourself. They pity you, or assume there must be some sort of problem.

A female actually choosing to travel alone is not only unthinkable in a lot of the Third World, but also in the UK. I remember when I started my three years of solo travel, with six weeks in Mexico. Friends and family worried if I would be ok.

“Mexico? By yourself?”

And yes, I survived. As millions of other solo female travellers have as they travel the world to understand different cultures. To see the world’s most impressive landscapes. To meet people and to experience a life so different to their own.

I’m sure the only difference between Grace and I is, I didn’t meet a murderer.

Women travelling solo

The comments I’ve seen about Grace are just the same as the comments left for the two Argentinian backpackers Maria Coni, 22, and Marina Menegazzo, 21, who were sexually assaulted and killed in February 2016, while traveling in Ecuador.

Full of blame for the intrepid women.

The pair were reportedly bludgeoned across the head by two men who had offered them a place to stay after they were running out of money. An offer I know for a fact my male travel friends would take up, thinking of it as a ‘cultural experience’.

“#viajasolo” – Spanish for ‘I travel alone’ – was picked up all over the world in the wake of the brutal deaths, to show solidarity for the independent, strong and unlimited women who’d dared to do what many men do without hesitation: trust others. 

The fact that the women weren’t even travelling alone, they were together, seemed to have escaped the media who criticised them.

‘Alone’ just meant: without a male.

What do female backpackers need to be equal to men?

Why is it more dangerous for women to hitchhike? To stay in hotels? To accept invites for meals? To make friends.

Why are the cultural experiences available to men, not available to us, for fear of gendered violence?

It’s the privilege of growing up as a male, rather than a female, that makes you not question the danger.

I was looking at the line up for the annual Adventure Show in London last week. Going off typically female / male names, there are 49 talks, with 13 of them from women. Why aren’t there more women adventuring, and wanting to regale their tales to inspire others?

I had some criticism on an article I wrote about sleeping on trains in Vietnam. At the time, I was travelling with my ex-boyfriend, yet still, as I lay awake in a cabin with him above me sleeping, and two strangers in the other two beds, I worried about my safety. As I say in the article I weighed up my physical strength against the other men, I made an exit strategy if either of them had a tool for suppression, and I made sure to stay alert as my ex slept, so I could defend myself.

Neither man had done anything to suggest danger, other than be a man I didn’t know.

A commenter called ‘Matt’ – so let’s assume he’s a guy – said I was a racist and sexist and ‘playing the victim’. No ‘Matt’. I was a female in a vulnerable position. It’s lovely that you don’t have to worry about things like this, but lying in a sleeper cabin, in a room where I know one guy wasn’t registered to even be on the train, is a worrying situation.

Imagine the comments if the men had done something to me.

“Why did she fall asleep?”

“What was she wearing?”

“Why was she in a cabin with three men?”

“HAD SHE BEEN DRINKING?”

Best destinations for solo female travellers

God you see these lists doing the rounds all over the internet. When the truth is 80% (guesstimate) of the world is the same – you have your sketchy areas, and your safe, in any country and city. Generally, you’re going to be ok when you follow the rules of safety you’ve inherently learnt from childhood.

Unless you happen to meet a psycho who gives you no chance of survival – which happens at home, more than it does abroad.

And anyway, I’ll bet you that New Zealand is on most, if not all of these lists. Statistically and factually, it’s a safe place, which was probably one of the considerations Grace Millane took in when she decided to travel there.

Is this usually well-meaning travel advice just another way to try and control women? To use fear to tell them where to go so they won’t get raped and murdered?

The world is as safe as it is dangerous, and unfortunately, it’s usually not a country that will kill you, but a fatal encounter with a person in it.

Female solo travel in numbers

If you look at the figures, the fact is, travelling solo as a female is statistically relatively safe.

“According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), in 2013-14 there were 106 reported rapes of British nationals abroad and 152 reported sexual assaults. The Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales, released by the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Office for National Statistics in 2013, revealed that 85,000 women are raped in England and Wales every year, of whom around 15% report the incident to police.”

– The Guardian, Why is travelling alone still considered a risky, frivolous pursuit for women?

If I look back to all the countries I’ve ever been to, the only times I’ve ever felt at risk, was in London, in New Orleans, and in Caye Caulker in Belize – only three places out of hundreds. And it wasn’t the places, it was the people around me, and the hyped media stories I read while I was there.

I’ve travelled to Central America, to Africa and to Papua New Guinea. The kind of places where if something had happened to me that made national news, there would be commenters asking:

“Well, what did she expect?”

What could’ve saved Grace, Maria and Marina?

Seriously?

What, not travelling? So just stay at home. In actual fact, the home is the most dangerous place for a woman – statistically.

The answer is: NOT MEETING ABSOLUTE PSYCHOS who decided to murder innocent women.

Who thought it was ok to kill.

The often-used recommendations for us women out there to not get murdered include:

– Don’t go out late at night

“So you’re meant to stay in your room and not soak up the night time atmosphere?”

– Don’t wear short skirts

“It’s hot.”

– Don’t talk to strangers

“That’s kinda the point of travelling.”

– Don’t drink too much

“So, tell me, how much is too much?”

– Always let a friend know where you are.

“I’m travelling solo, it’s kinda the point.”

– Wear a wedding ring

“Oh, so they know I BELONG TO SOMEONE.”

Instead of these recommendations, why don’t you just not murder me. 

Solo travel as a female

  • – You’re wolf whistled in the street, in order to get your attention.
  • – You’re judged on what you wear.
  • – You’re stared at.
  • – Unabashed nonchalant ogling is the norm. 
  • – You’ll hear hissing, clacking and whistling as you walk the streets. 
  • – Verbal aggression is normal, especially if you’re rejecting advances.
  • – You’re always asked about children – are men?

If anyone does any of the things above to you, they think they’re better than you and absolutely do not respect you. And, in my experience, it will always be the men.

Low level misogyny as you travel is everywhere.

PNG Mount Hagen

My code of travel

I live with the expectation that something bad will happen, and this has served me well in the fact that nothing particularly ever has, but it’s also robbed me of what I’m sure could’ve been some incredible experiences around the world.

Travelling to Papua New Guinea

I love the idea of learning about a destination through the locals, but unfortunately unless I have a personal connection, or there’s some website to verify authenticity and safety, or I’m in a group – there’s no way I’m going to anyone’s house.

I have met people from Tinder as I’ve travelled though. I have gone out with people I’ve only known half an hour, I’ve slept in dorms, I’ve drank, I’ve even been drunk, I’ve worn short skirts, and I’ve had the best time meeting new people and seeking new experiences.

Women, go forth and travel

It’s a scary thing to trailblaze: to be a confident woman travelling solo abroad. You can’t just retire back to your bed at night and congratulate yourself on a day well lived, you have to stay alert and have the burden of worrying about your safety. 

I’m sure some women don’t even realise they’re doing it. I didn’t, until I spoke to males about how they felt in certain situations.

What is Papua New Guinea Like

I’ve followed Grace’s case intently. I’m so sad for her family and friends, a life pointlessly snubbed out for a reason we don’t yet know and will probably ever understand. Thanks to one man.

I really hope her case doesn’t put anyone thinking of travelling, going though. The world is an amazing place, and as the statistics prove, it’s just not as dangerous as the media suggests. Murders of tourists abroad get a huge amount of coverage because it’s such an anomaly.

Thousands of women go travelling every day and come back having achieved their dreams and enriched their lives. Sending the message to women that it’s too dangerous to travel, limits their horizons and prospects. As they have been for the history of womankind.

Anyone who’s been shook by this horrific case, I urge you to travel with empowerment and stay curious and strong.

Female solo travel is NOT the problem here. It’s violence against women, and the continuing narrative that still, despite being the victim, women are to blame.

I’d love to know your thoughts – either on my Facebook post, or in the comments below.
What do you think about solo female travel? 

Statement from Grace’s father, David Millane, and her family

Wednesday, 12 December 2018 – 4:40pm
Auckland City

“Grace went off to travel the world in mid-October and arrived in New Zealand on the 20th November.

By the amount of pictures and messages we received she clearly loved this country, its people and the lifestyle.

After the disappearance of Grace on 1st December 2018 our whole world  turned upside down. 

We all hope that what has happened to Grace will not deter even one person from venturing out into the world and discovering their own OE (overseas experience).

Finally we would like to thank the people of New Zealand for their outpouring of love, numerous messages, tributes and compassion.

Grace was not born here and only managed to stay a few weeks, but you have taken her to your hearts and in some small way she will forever be a Kiwi.

My brother Martin and I leave for the UK this weekend to take her home.”

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Victoria Philpott

Hi, I'm VickyFlipFlop! I wrote this. You can find me on all the social media @VickyFlipFlop. I love adventure, spontaneity, trying new things and a spicy margarita. I also love writing about the places I've been to inspire others. Enjoy!