Growing up as a woman, you’re faced with challenges and anxieties that simply don’t apply to men.

By the time it’s safe enough to go out on your own, you’re not sure you want to. Sexual assault is scarily common, and figures estimate that one in five women in the US experience completed or attempted rape during their lifetime.

Walking alone can be scary for women, especially when darkness falls. But many women feel determined not to lock themselves away in the evenings because of a fear that should never exist in the first place.

Unfortunately, stepping onto the streets at night is always a gamble with your safety.

When one New York woman walked alone in the city, she realized something unnerving: she was being followed by three strangers.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to know whether you have a stalker, or whether people happen to be headed in the same direction as you. But in this woman’s case, she knew.

Thinking fast, the woman approached a man walking near the train station. His name was Dane Weeks.

I will be 39 in 20 days 😳😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/0HSzyJ53HS

— 👑 Mr. Weeks 👑 (@WonderKing82) August 4, 2021

She walked right up to Dane and embraced him, before he even knew what was happening. She didn’t allow him to react, whispering that she was being stalked, and begging him to help.

Dane shared the encounter on his Twitter account:

“I’m walking to the train a few minutes ago and a woman walked right up to me and gave me a tight hug and whispered quickly, “please act like you know me 3 guys are following me for a while” I played along then walked her 3 blocks home. What an experience for the both of us.“

Dane was nervous, not sure whether he wanted to get involved – but he knew he had to, for the woman’s safety.

He recalled:

“I’m not going to act like I didn’t hesitate because we’re in New York, people set you up real quick. Her hug was too real to be fake, and three men was following behind at a distance. As walked and talk i realized she was terrified, she kept saying i have to get home to her son.”

The woman was grateful for Dane’s fast response. After all, if he’d have shrugged her off, her stalkers would have realized that she had noticed them and was trying to get away – and that could have prompted them to act faster.

Dane added that the woman held onto his hand after hugging him, as he walked her back to her apartment.

He said:

“She apologized for the inconvenience, and I had to tell her it was my pleasure no inconvenience.”

It could have ended there, when Dane dropped the woman off at her door. But it didn’t, because Dane cared enough about a stranger’s safety that he extended an incredibly kind offer:

“We exchanged numbers, I told her my boyfriend & I would meet her at the train anytime if we’re home. The route she have to take home she has to walk under the train tracks, no other way, plus its dark. She said she would call again, I hope she do. I will call tomorrow to check in.”

Say hello to “Rocky” pic.twitter.com/ku8QvrgHBH

— 👑 Black Professor 👑 (@WonderKing82) July 26, 2021

Thank goodness for men like Dane – but it’s frustrating that women even need to protect themselves from people on the street in the first place.

Have you ever been followed home? Share your story in the comments below.

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Source: nsvrc, Spotlight, Bored Panda