women traveling alone

[Reynolds, Laurie]

 For those of you who have walked el Camino in recent years... is there
any reason why two women would NOT be safe traveling alone?

Hi, Maria,
I have posted my response to this question before, and I don't want to seem
alarmist, because I think that women are generally very safe on the Camino.
But in both 2000 and 2002, when I walked with another 50-ish female, we saw
exhibitionists.  The occurrences were mostly all in Navarra or close to it,
and I think I remember reading some medieval commentary on the habits of
males in Navarra that suggested this was a longstanding occurrence in that
region.  For us, it was always in a remote place -- coming down from the
Alto del Perdon outside Pamplona, leaving a small town near Puente la Reina
(Maneru, I believe was its name).  Most distasteful of all, I think, was the
man we saw in the woods right outside Santiago. Other women walking alone or
with another woman told of similar things --walking around the reservoir
outside Logrono, in the hills before Viana, in the fields before arriving at
Los Arcos.

My soapbox plea is that if this happens to you, report it, either to the
hospitalero, to the police, to somebody, and as close to where the incident
happened as you can.  I remember that we had forgotten to tell the people in
Los Arcos about the incident our Canadian friend had had, and as we were
leaving early in the morning, I "reported" it to the only person up and
around, the street cleaner.  And he must have passed the information along,
because we later heard that the Guardia Civil was driving around looking for
a man in a red car, etc..., matching the information I had conveyed.
Outside Santiago, we took down the license plate of the (very fancy) car and
reported it to the Guardia Civil we saw in the main square.  They said they
would find out his address and make a visit to his home-- though they are
unlikely to prosecute these guys, the embarrassment might reduce the
incidence.

All of the refugios have forms you can fill out, and believe me, the folks
whose livelihood depends on the Camino are most interested in making sure
that it remains a safe place.

On the positive side, though I'm not a psychologist, I've been told that the
men who do this kind of thing are never, or almost never, going to engage in
sexual assault.  But it is distasteful and kind of creepy to have it happen
to you.  So although I wouldn't worry about it, I think it's not a bad idea
to walk near someone when things start getting remote.

Buen camino, Laurie