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Sarai Sierra, aged 33, was murdered while on her first trip abroad to Istanbul, Turkey last month.
In response to news reports on this tragedy, many people were quick to comment on the irresponsibility of women who travel independently. With condescension, they questioned Sierra’s common sense, affirmed the vulnerability of women traveling without male companions, and scathingly discouraged females from engaging in solo travel.
This, of course, resulted in backlash from independent female travelers and other advocates for solo travel. Twitter feeds teemed with blog posts and articles dedicated to “Safety Tips For Female Travelers” and “Why Traveling Alone As A Woman Is The Best Thing You’ll Ever Do,” all aimed at proving these internet commenters wrong. The hashtag #WeGoSolo was created as a way of promoting awareness of female traveler independence and linking readers to all kinds of resources on women and travel safety.
What bothers me is I see a lot of these blogs, tips, and articles aimed strictly at women. At least once a day I come across a post dedicated to the “Ten Things Women Should Be Aware Of When They Travel,” but never do I ever see similar posts on precautions for male travelers.
To say that a woman traveling on her own is unsafe because she is a woman is sexist. In my opinion, dedicating entire articles to only women’s safety tips is also, in a way, sexist. Are these articles, tips, and advice columns helpful? Absolutely. Women especially may be apprehensive to travel on their own because of the way mass media portray women’s roles around the world. Everyone can use a little more encouragement, a little more “girl power,” from seasoned, solo female travelers to get them going. However, the more we single out women with these titles, the more the word “female” or “woman” is connected to the word “safe,” the more the world will continue to think a woman is incapable of traveling at all.
Safety while traveling alone is not, and should not ever be, a gender-specific issue. Travel safety is relevant to us all.
Often, we are so focused on the fragility of the female traveler that tales of men in dangerous situations while abroad seem ‘anomalous.’ But they are constantly being told. For example, Matador contributor Bart Schaneman wrote an article about a man who was drugged and taken advantage of while traveling through Vietnam. Jon Brandt and his travel companions were robbed after their bus was hijacked in Quito, Ecuador. In college, I had a friend who decided to hang out with a group of amiable out-of-towners (male and female) who were visiting Charleston for the night. They went to a club, where they drugged him. When he woke up in the club’s doorway, brutally beaten and missing his wallet and cell phone, he was thrown in jail for the night because he couldn’t pay the exorbitant tab left by his ‘friends.’ This was in his own backyard; he hadn’t even gone somewhere unfamiliar.
The worst story I ever heard was about the son of a neighbor who lived down the street from me. Henry Lo was a smart kid, a math major at William’s College, a nice boy I remember playing on the playground with in grammar school. He was killed in an avalanche while hiking through the Swiss Alps. His death was tragic and unexpected, much like Sierra’s — except no one commented on the foolishness of Lo for traveling abroad and choosing to participate in such a risky adventure. They were more concerned with the loss of someone they cared about, someone they missed very much.
Is it about gender vulnerability? Is it about victimization? Is it about keeping your wits about you? Preparing for all circumstances, taking self-defense classes, carrying a knife, carrying a gun…? Is there any way we as travelers can completely protect ourselves at home or abroad?
Of course, using common sense will increase your chances of returning home in one piece. It’s no guarantee, but being vigilant about your surroundings, sticking to well-lit streets and crowded areas, researching rough parts of town and country-based crime ahead of time, keeping a close eye on your belongings, your drink, and the people you come into contact with will at least help you feel prepared in the rare case you encounter potential harm. There are millions of ways both men and women can use their travel savvy to avoid unfortunate circumstances.
And most travelers know that every time you travel, whether alone or in a group, you take a risk. You’re put into an unfamiliar arena, and it’s up to you to get through your journey while making it as pleasurable as possible. Despite your preparations, and possible reservations, more often than not you return unscathed.
According to an article on fear by David Cain,
…there are all sorts of unpleasant scenarios that can happen. But there is no way you can cordon off enough of life to eliminate the risk of pain, and that’s what our fears are trying to do…. Fear of the future is fear of the past. You can’t fear the future because you don’t know the future. You’re just deathly afraid that certain parts of the past will happen again.
You can be over-prepared, under-prepared, angry, disturbed, adventurous, physically fit…but don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from doing the things you’ve always wanted to do. If I gave up on the prospect of traveling alone because someone else did the same thing and ran into trouble, I’d never have experienced the totally awesome and crazy things that have happened to me while traveling abroad.
Let’s stop making travel safety a gendered issue. Instead, let’s keep doing the things we’ve been doing — booking flights to new and exciting places, talking with locals who may or may not be nice to us, sampling food that smells or looks weird, opening ourselves up to new opportunities. If we let other people’s opinions dictate how to travel, it becomes their experience, and not our own. Female travelers, be safe. Male travelers, be safe. But more importantly, keep traveling — because the best way to influence others is by doing. 
Katka Lapelosa
Katka Lapelosa is a tour operator living in New York. She writes for Thought Catalog, Travel Fashion Girl, BakPak Guide, Where's Cool?, Venus Zine and more. You can read more about her experiences on www.KatkaTravels.com.
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Kat, just here to echo what many have already said – You CAN write!
Each and every piece from you compels me to slow down, take it all in.
I also echo those who believe that while travel (Hell, while Life!) has inherent dangers and are not gender specific, women do have (IMHO) issues that men do not. Men are not groped (at least with any regularity) while On the Road… much of my own travel is in Asia/India and that happens there with a regularity that is appalling.
I stand behind every woman blogger who has rallied in the wake of the death of Sarai. This issue was perhaps reignited by the horrendous rape/murder on the bus in India. This issue, for me, is much less about “safety” per se as it is about dignity.
Write on! Kat
Thanks Scott! I really hope this article does not come across as denying the existence of specific safety issues female travellers encounter; I have had my fair share of instances too. I was just responding to those terrible comments people were making about Sarai to show that women travellers aren’t the problem, because bad things happen to guys too. There is perhaps a better article aimed specifically at the issues surrounding the controversy here http://twenty-somethingtravel.com/2013/02/female-solo-travel-is-not-the-problem/ But for those countries where women are not treated very well, other than avoiding them altogether, do you deny yourself the experience based on the person you are? I think that is the aim of #WeGoSolo, to show women AND men that we can, and will continue, to travel
Hi Katka
Thanks for your post. I believe your title misleading as travel safety does relate directly to gender. To try and avoid being sexist one can highlight general safety issues pertaining to both genders but it is responsible to point out those that would affect women directly, and likewise, men because, depending on the destination, there are issues that affect each gender differently.
However, I believe solo travel is rather a state of mind than a gender issue. I have travelled extensively, particularly in Africa and what interests me is that the women travelling alone are often more confident than the men travelling alone who sometimes seem completely unaware of potential threats – which makes them more vulnerable – or overly concerned about them which again makes them more vulnerable. The confidence I have seen in woman travelling alone puts them in much better stead.
Hi Katka
Thanks for your post. I believe your title misleading as travel safety does relate directly to gender. To try and avoid being sexist one can highlight general safety issues pertaining to both genders but it is responsible to point out those that would affect women directly, and likewise, men because, depending on the destination, there are issues that affect each gender differently.
However, I believe solo travel is rather a state of mind than a gender issue. I have travelled extensively, particularly in Africa and what interests me is that the women travelling alone are often more confident than the men travelling alone who sometimes seem completely unaware of potential threats – which makes them more vulnerable – or overly concerned about them which again makes them more vulnerable. The confidence I have seen in woman travelling alone puts them in much better stead.
Hi Katka
Thanks for your post. I believe your title misleading as travel safety does relate directly to gender. To try and avoid being sexist one can highlight general safety issues pertaining to both genders but it is responsible to point out those that would affect women directly, and likewise, men because, depending on the destination, there are issues that affect each gender differently.
However, I believe solo travel is rather a state of mind than a gender issue. I have travelled extensively, particularly in Africa and what interests me is that the women travelling alone are often more confident than the men travelling alone who sometimes seem completely unaware of potential threats – which makes them more vulnerable – or overly concerned about them which again makes them more vulnerable. The confidence I have seen in woman travelling alone puts them in much better stead.
Being a frequent overseas traveller, the situation with Sierra really hit home. I’m a business traveller, so I’m usually with coworkers, but I do venture off alone or go on solo mini-vacays while in-country.
I think women are at a somewhat higher risk in some situations. Men rarely have to worry about rape while overseas and they’re generally bigger and stronger than women. Although I recognize the risks, I can’t sit around and miss out on amazing, life changing travel opportunities because of my gender. Why should men be the only ones who get to experience the world?
This article is horrifying.
“To say that a woman traveling on her own is unsafe because she is a woman is sexist. In my opinion, dedicating entire articles to only women’s safety tips is also, in a way, sexist.”.
As a feminist, a solo traveler, and someone who is responsible for the health and safety of young female and male travelers living abroad – I could not agree less with this article.
Part of being a feminist is to live in reality – expecting things to be different just because we want them to be different is ignorant and a fantastic way to put yourself at risk. Like it or not, the reality is that we women have our own unique issues that we have to take into consideration and deal with while traveling.
Encouragement and “girl power” will not keep a woman safe in Saudi Arabia if she decides to forgo long sleeves and a head scarf because of her girl power attitude. Shunning local norms as a way to defy the gender reality or adhere to your position on feminist equality is not noble; it is ignorant and most likely disrespectful to your host community. Being an informed, adaptable, and therefore empowered traveler is what being a strong woman is about.
This is not sexist – this is called accepting the cultural norms of the countries we travel to and abiding to those norms which are different for men and women (local men and women, and guests).
We are guests in the places we travel. It is not for us to impose our feminist view points on our host countries during the few days or weeks that we are there. The point of travel is to visit new places, to learn to about their traditions and beliefs. It is irresponsible to think that if a woman goes to Siwa, Egypt dressed in short shorts and a tank top that she is going to open the eyes of the local culture – that walking around scantily clad is more empowering than the traditional cover of the local women. Wanting to prove how much ‘girl power’ one has by ignoring local beliefs on modesty and donning a bikini at the nearby spring is a joke. The reality is that a crowd of men will gather to ogle the woman – whereas if a man jumps in the spring in just his shorts, nobody bats an eye.
Encouragement and “girl power” is not going to keep a solo female traveler safe if she thinks that the laws of the land don’t apply to her just by her sheer will power.
You don’t have to like it but the reality is that travel safety absolutely is a gender issue, and when it comes to safety advice, it should remain a gender issue. Like it or not, different cultural rules apply to each of the sexes. Like it or not, females traveling alone in certain countries are subject to much more harassment than their male counterparts.
That is not to say that women shouldn’t travel solo – but an empowered woman is an informed woman. Know where you’re going, dress and act appropriately; show respect toward the local cultural norms – whether you agree with them or not.