This is just another typical case of the press grossly overgeneralising, again. Because, of course, one girl murdered overseas = OMGDanger!Danger!Everywhere.
That said, young women travelling overseas--often for the first time without parental supervision--can behave in remarkably stupid ways. Cultural senitivity (if it ever existed) tends to get thrown out the window after the third or fourth shooter. Throw guys into the mix (worse yet, guys from vastly different cultures who are going to interpret such behaviour in a different way than the girl expects) and trouble often follows.
And based on what I see of young tourists here (living in one of the world's top youth tourism destinations), young people travelling in groups are more likely to get into trouble than youngsters on their own. And guys get into trouble, too. There are some parts of the world that just don't seem safe at all anymore, based on recent attacks on tourists of all kinds. But a young woman on her own in a foreign country is going to be a target, that's just a fact of life. It's not to do with her, it's the just the nature of some men.
I don't mean to diminsh the risks to women in their home countries. But at home you know the culture, you know the lay of the land, you've developed some degree of street smarts for coping with situations, and you're not alone.
The article would have been much more valuable if it had focused on rising attacks on tourists (of all ages and both genders) in parts of the world once considered fairly safe, such as Mexico and some parts of the Caribbean. And some focus on responsible behaviour on the part of (all) tourists wouldn't go amiss, either.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2007-04-25 01:17 am (UTC)That said, young women travelling overseas--often for the first time without parental supervision--can behave in remarkably stupid ways. Cultural senitivity (if it ever existed) tends to get thrown out the window after the third or fourth shooter. Throw guys into the mix (worse yet, guys from vastly different cultures who are going to interpret such behaviour in a different way than the girl expects) and trouble often follows.
And based on what I see of young tourists here (living in one of the world's top youth tourism destinations), young people travelling in groups are more likely to get into trouble than youngsters on their own. And guys get into trouble, too. There are some parts of the world that just don't seem safe at all anymore, based on recent attacks on tourists of all kinds. But a young woman on her own in a foreign country is going to be a target, that's just a fact of life. It's not to do with her, it's the just the nature of some men.
I don't mean to diminsh the risks to women in their home countries. But at home you know the culture, you know the lay of the land, you've developed some degree of street smarts for coping with situations, and you're not alone.
The article would have been much more valuable if it had focused on rising attacks on tourists (of all ages and both genders) in parts of the world once considered fairly safe, such as Mexico and some parts of the Caribbean. And some focus on responsible behaviour on the part of (all) tourists wouldn't go amiss, either.