Solo female travellers and sexual harassment

Abstract:
This discussion paper looks into sexual harassment amongst solo female travellers, with how the travellers respond to it along with the ethnicities and destinations that are more targeted for sexual harassment.

Key Words: Solo female travellers, sexual harassment, constraints, solo travelling.

Discussion:
Tourism should be accessible for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity and age. However, many females face the risk of sexual harassment when embarking on solo travels. Solo travelling should be an empowering experience for women but with the risk of sexual harassment, it can also be constraining.

Solo female travel has grown in recent years due to the increase in opportunities for solo travelling. Many women have become motivated to travel on their own so that they can get out of their comfort zone and achieve a sense of individuality (Wilson and Little, 2005). In addition to this, women are motivated to travel as it means that they do not have to wait to see if friends and family are free. However, it can bring many constraints for them.

Solo female travellers are more targeted for sexual harassment (Su and Wu, 2020) due to the fact that they are travelling on their own and do not have friends and family looking out for them. Moreover, many public and tourist places are built for the enjoyment and consumption of men, meaning that women often feel out of place. On one hand, this can empower women to solo travel more to prove that they can travel and experience these places as well as men, however, it also highlights the inequality women face compared to men when wanting to solo travel.

Even though sexual harassment can happen to any female solo travelling, some ethnicities are more targeted for sexual harassment than others. The ethnic groups Black, Black British and Mixed were not only more likely to experience sexual harassment than other ethnic groups but they are also more targeted for stereotyping and racial profiling. These experiences can serve as constraints and shows the inequality for women travellers from these ethnic groups as they are more likely to experience unwanted attention from men. Women regardless of their ethnicity should be allowed to freely travel to wherever they would like to visit.

In addition to this, destinations can make an impact on where solo female travellers choose to visit. Solo female travellers want to feel safe at destinations and some destinations in the world are deemed more unsafe than others for women. Many women will often choose a “safe” destination to visit so that they can enjoy their experience and not have to worry about the activities they partake in and how they dress. However, there are many destinations that are known for being unsafe for solo female travellers. This can put a strain on where women choose to go to travel, as even if it is high on their travel list, they may avoid visiting.

With these factors impacting solo female travellers, it is no wonder that many of their friends and family have opinions on solo travelling. When women decide that they want to go travelling on their own, many of their friends and family disapprove of the decision as with the reports of sexual harassment and violence at certain destinations, they cannot be sure that they will be safe on their own. However, this can also lead to the aspiring traveller to think twice about solo travelling as the worriedness from close family and friends may rub off on them.

As solo female travellers as more targeted for sexual harassment, a lot of women have different responses to the situation. Many women often blame themselves for putting themselves into that situation (Wilson and Little, 2008) and think that the situation could have been avoided. On the other hand, women often change their habits when solo travelling such as avoiding eating out late at night and changing the way that they dress. This can hinder their travel experiences and may decrease their enjoyment at destinations that they really wanted to travel to.

These are some of the complexities that women have to face when solo travelling that can really decrease their tourism experience when travelling. Awareness needs to be made by destinations and the tourism industry so that women can feel free and safe to travel to destinations that they would like to visit.

References:
Su, C-P. and Wu, T-C. (2020) The Dark Side of Solo Female Travel: Negative Encounters with Male Strangers. Leisure Sciences, 42(3-4) 375-392. Available from https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=61eb3308-a860-4a89-b9a2-01c05232ddb4%40redis [accessed 13 May 2024].

Wilson, E. and Little, D.E. (2005) A “Relative Escape”? The Impact of Constraints on Women Who Travel Solo. Tourism Review International, 9(2) 155-175. Available from https://www.proquest.com/docview/2780038537?accountid=16461&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals [accessed 13 May 2024].

Wilson, E. and Little, D.E. (2008) The Solo Female Travel Experience: Exploring the ‘Geography of Women’s Fear’. Current Issues in Tourism, 11 167-186. Available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2167/cit342.0?casa_token=y2z4nDS3ENYAAAAA%3A8ZvkoXLYCShAcsAOQpZo0cF18Ts7bZQ-_aJnZIeXm-WOSDvKTtXR2Dwx_9EjrzMMW20UdNcQJ4Um [accessed 17 May 2024].

This commentary is going to further develop the discussion investigating the correlation between solo female travellers and sexual harassment, which is unfortunately extremely common, and a constraint often recognised by solo female travellers themselves.

While this an extremely common challenge, the barriers regarding solo females travelling are perpetuated through another interpersonal barrier, the representations of solo females travelling in the media, ranging from newspaper articles to social media to tourist guidebooks (Douglas and Barrett, 2020). The stereotypical representation is women who participate in solo travel are more vulnerable to experience some form of harm or unwanted attention (Douglas and Barrett, 2020) as this has been rooted into society and the direction of publicity within the media. The stories being shared by the media or in the news, typically only highlight the negative experiences associated with solo females travelling, which usually includes reference to some form of harassment or fear experienced by a woman. Although, there is also evidence of this in guidebooks or other related travel guides (Douglas and Barrett, 2020). It has become apparent a common theme within guidebooks is to mention the risks women may face when travelling in particular at “accommodation, food and beverage, attractions or transportation” providers (Tukenmez, 2023,16). The guidebooks also refer to the importance of women having to implement strategies to protect themselves. These include but not limited to using “common sense, intuition and pre-travel preparation” (Douglas and Barrett, 2020).

Having said this, the stories and experiences publicised fail to recognise and acknowledge the positive outcomes arising from females engaging in solo travelling, whether it is for leisure or business purposes. There are several reasons females may choose to participate in solo travel such as improving confidence, meeting people, exploring different places and gaining different experiences (Tukenmez, 2023). It is also important to remember that not every solo female travelling will be for leisure purposes, as it may be associated with business travel or for educational purposes (Tukenmez, 2023). Fortunately, social media is becoming more widely used by solo travellers, as a way of maintaining communication and sharing information with people they trust about their current location (Sharma et al., 2023), in other words a fear mitigation strategy. Furthermore, the increased content regarding solo travel is contributing to breaking the stigma, positive experiences and advice is being shared (Sharma et al, 2023) and there is greater education regarding how they can travel safely and maximise their time there.

References:
Douglas, R. and Barrett, A. E. (2020) Bounded Explorers: Online Construction of Solo Women Travelers. Sociological Forum, 35(3) 765-784. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/socf.12627?saml_referrer [Accessed: 20th May 2024].

Sharma, A., Arora, S. and Dash, D. N. (2023) Social Media And Blogging: A Windfall To Female Solo Travellers With Reference To India. Journal of Tourism and Sports Management, 5(3) 1602 – 1615. Available from: https://www.scitcentral.com/documents/69b533501d6bc1857e76aa9aaaca2aae.pdf [Accessed: 20th May 2024].

Tukenmez, E. G. (2023) Travel motivations and constraints of solo women travellers in Turkey. Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research, 2(3) 25-44. Available from: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=jometr [Accessed: 20th May 2024].

The sexualisation of women are both subjects and objects of the gaze of men in tourism. Using Urry’s conception of the tourist gaze, it was suggested that sex and tourism are a ‘natural’ part of the tourism experience and process (Jordan and Aitchison, 2008). It was pointed out by a Paraguayan student on Facebook that there is a double standard when asking why female travellers ‘travel alone’ and are blamed for actions. In 2013-2014 alone according to the Foreign and Commonwealth office there were 106 reported rapes abroad on British nationals, 152 reported sexual assaults (Bates, 2016). Women who walk on the beach alone at night exacerbate the issue or take the opportunity to sleep around can reflect to others pre-conceived ideas of western women (Spano, 1998). It could also be noted that trans women are often subject to being misgendered and experiencing sexual harassment when exploring pre and post transition tourism (Monterrubio et al, 2020). Whilst many women are recommended to lie, a famous American travel influencer explains three that are often told to men, ‘I have a boyfriend’, ‘someone is waiting for me’ and never giving away the destination of the accommodation (Burgess a, 2023). Suggesting that a character story should be created as creatively as possible to diffuse men from being interested in solo women travellers (Burgess b, 2023). While neoliberal capitalism and structural discrimination burden black women in travel, in some spaces it is seen as taboo and attempting to rebuke stereotypes, break moulds and foster inclusivity is the main aim for those of different races (Lawton, 2021).

Visiting a destination for women can foster growth and empowerment, which leads to resilience, adaptability and self-reliance (Mercury, undated). Women connect with those from various backgrounds. Women search for freedom, independence, empowerment and autonomy when travelling alone (Teng et al, 2023). Some companies cater to women’s needs and provide help from local naturalists and guides, it connects like-minded travellers and potential friends (Barrett, 2020). According to meetup, some of the largest women solo travel groups include Adventure Women UK, Travel Queen: Women looking for adventure, fun and travel and many more. Lonely planet, (2023) suggests that women should seek out female hosts with pets, staying in hotels with like-minded individuals, starting with an afternoon only as a solo traveller, go on a boat or bus trip to get to know others amongst other things. Women should consider the location of the hotel to save money on transport and ensure safety when walking home at night from busy/most friendly spots (Gonzalez, 2023).

Barrett, K. (2020) On her own: solo women travelers share top tips. National Geographic, 21 January. Available from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/8-tips-from-women-who-travel-solo [accessed 23 May].
Bates, L. (2016) Why is travelling alone still considered a risky, frivolous pursuit for women? The Guardian, 21 March. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2016/mar/21/travelling-alone-risky-women-sexist-attitudes [accessed 23 May].

Burgess, M. (2023) I'm a female solo traveller - here are three LIES I tell men wanting to chat. Daily Mail, 29 October. Available from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-12661373/Im-female-solo-traveller-three-LIES-tell-men-wanting-chat.html [accessed 23 May].

Jordan, F. and Aitchison, C. (2008) Tourism and the sexualisation of the gaze: Solo female tourists' experiences of gendered power, surveillance and embodiment. Leisure studies, 27 (3) 329-349. Available from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248997081_Tourism_and_the_sexualisation_of_the_gaze_Solo_female_tourists'_experiences_of_gendered_power_surveillance_and_embodiment [accessed 23 May].