Recently, SafeHer for Women launched as an Uber-type service that will be driven by women, for women. The company is founded by Michael Pelletz, a former Uber driver, who had a scary incident dealing with a drunk male passenger, and found himself wondering if that fear is what women experience daily.
Pelletz and his wife Kelly thus founded SafeHer solely for the purpose of women’s safety. Pelletz has stated that three to four times a day, people he has told about SafeHer have given a “teary-eyed thanks… for truly understanding what fears are in the minds of women.”
Women will finally have an option where they do not have to fear about being raped like one teen girl in Hawaii, kidnapped like a woman in Los Angeles, or assaulted like a woman in Boston. Sounds like a great, uncontroversial idea, right?
Nope. Because who gets left out of this? Men. And, looking at the comments section on an article covering this app, they won’t let you forget it.
For probably the first times in their lives, something isn’t about men. Men feel “discriminated” against. Men are more infuriated at the women who fear men and seek safety than they are at the men responsible for this fear.
No, not all men attack women. But as women, we have to assume that they do. We are conditioned to be cautious. Why? Maybe it’s because of the date rape nail polish that’s been making the news lately, basically hinting at women that we should expect to be drugged and taken advantage of. Maybe it’s because we’re constantly being taught to watch our drinks, always use the buddy system, or walk with our keys out to prevent sexual assault. Maybe it’s because both rape and sexual assault are so normalized in our culture, and society’s attitude is that it’s up to us women to prevent it. And by preventing it, we’re not stopping it, but instead making sure it happens to someone else.
Mocking and blaming women for our rational fears is just another deeply misogynistic aspect of our culture that men like these SafeHer critics are sadly doing. There’s an internalized, socially driven, probably subconscious hatred for women behind the comments posted above. Men like these two direct their anger towards women who feel uncomfortable walking home alone instead of realizing why it is that women are scared. It’s a form of victim-blaming. This all-female service would have no effect on them whatsoever — options like Uber, Lyft, or regular taxis are always available. So what is their criticism focused on? They don’t like how women are trying to feel safe and comfortable. Misogyny at it’s finest.
I applaud Michael and Kelly Pelletz for the lengths they are going through to create a safe space for women, because clearly not much else is efficiently being done to protect women. The fact that we find need in developing an all-female driving app is a clear representation of how bad it is for women in America today. However, SafeHer also provides a positive outlook on how we are finally having a conversation on what measures can be taken to make women feel safe.