Hello Puji, thanks for sharing your story. I think as women we need to reflect about all the ‘small acts’ of violence that are perpetrated daily but we tend to overlook (the other day a waiter in a Southern Italian restaurant started straightening the collar of my dress because it wasn’t tidy — I was petrified and immediately wondered if he’d have done the same with a man). It is so so important to recognise when an act is not just ‘gallantry’ but it hides more complex, nastier and violent states of mind.

As a woman solo traveler, I have met some men who freaked me out and did exactly what you did: no sleeping, leaving earlier than expected and feeling that I was lucky that time — but what about the next? This is not to say that all the men I met were abusive, not at all. However, that the amount of times women find themselves in front of this sort of situation does not compare to the amount of time men have to deal with something like this. Your article has seven important lessons that I hope will be learned one day.

Wishing you all the best and I hope you’re ok.