A woman in Japan shared her experience of being followed by a stranger while living alone and offered safety advice to single women. The convenience shop worker wrote on X that women living alone who buy a single serving of ice cream at night are potential targets for criminals. She said such innocent actions can reveal personal details.
For example, your home is probably within walking distance otherwise your ice cream would melt before you got there. The single portion also suggests you are likely to be living alone. She advised single women to wait until daytime and to buy a larger-sized tub of ice cream.
The list of other items she suggests single women should not buy to protect their safety include instant meals for one and curtains with “cute” patterns. “The key to preventing crime is to think from the criminal’s perspective,” she wrote. One online observer questioned whether she was being particularly sensitive, arguing that buying ice cream is not a big deal.
She countered by emphasising that for single women, dangerous situations often arise from seemingly trivial actions. “You might think you’re being too cautious, but when it comes to your safety, you can never be too careful. It’s better to be safe than to become a victim.
“I hope more people become aware of the importance of crime prevention and are better able to protect their safety,” she said. Crimes such as rape and robbery are among the most common threats faced by women. In Japan, 90 per.
