Just ignore her

Things have come to a pretty pass when police are warning men against even talking to women but that's what is happening in Scotland.

The comments are contained in a Strathclyde Police leaflet entitled 'Staying Safe'. The section entitled 'How men can help women' states: "Men can sometimes frighten women without meaning to. A woman may be nervous when she is out on her own - especially after dark or in a lonely or enclosed place, or on buses or trains."

It adds: "Resist chatting to a woman who is waiting, for example, at an isolated bus stop. She won't know that you mean her no harm. Remember that a woman may also feel threatened by what you think are admiring looks."

The leaflet reiterates previous advice that men who find themselves walking in the same direction as a woman should cross the street to reassure her that she is not being followed.

They stop short of saying, if a man thinks a woman may be in trouble and needing help he should also give her a wide berth in case he becomes negatively implicated. Of course, that couldn't be included in a pamphlet about how to 'help' women. It is nevertheless the message men are getting.