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I don't know whether to continue discussion about practical aspects such as phone numbers and apps here or in a different thread. No doubt moderators will move comments if they think it appropriate.I downloaded the AlertCops app today (I have yet to receive the confirmation text code): but that's only for Spain. Does anyone know if there's an equivalent for Portugal?
Guarda civil is 062 - you’ll have to figure out how to give them the coordinates of where you are and they will be there shortly.
Wow... good work @peregrina2000 . It can happen anywhere really (1st time it happened to me walking but I wouldn't wish to count the times over my lifetime from the age of 8 & the first incident!)Wishing you a speedy recovery & out of isolation soonEvery time a woman posts about some kind of harrassment or other sexual incident in Portugal, some forum member typically observes that this sort of thing seems to happen more in Portugal than Spain. That has never sat well with me, just because I don’t think there is any real evidence that this is the case.
Now, with a few days of quarantine as I am locked indoors with covid, I decided to spend some time going through forum posts to see what I could see. This is NOT scientific, not conclusive, but I hope it dispels the notion that we hear about more incidents in Portugal than in Spain.
I scrolled through several pages of threads and noted all the threads that reported about an incident. I stopped after I found the first 25. Of those, 19 are reports in Spain, and 6 are in Portugal. I excluded all discussions about Denise. There are lots more people walking in Spain than in Portugal, sure, and so this tally isn’t at all surprising. But I do hope it will convince people that Portugal is not radically different than Spain in terms of female personal safety.
Wherever it happens, it is terrible and it is something we need to report. But, based on what I have seen, I think that women walking in Portugal are not at greater personal risk than those who walk in Spain. As I have noted in other places, my count is Spain 7 - Portugal 0. I continue to walk alone, but I try to remain alert, walking with the confidence that, statistically, I am much safer on the Camino than in my home town.
Wow .. good work @PereEvery time a woman posts about some kind of harrassment or other sexual incident in Portugal, some forum member typically observes that this sort of thing seems to happen more in Portugal than Spain. That has never sat well with me, just because I don’t think there is any real evidence that this is the case.
Now, with a few days of quarantine as I am locked indoors with covid, I decided to spend some time going through forum posts to see what I could see. This is NOT scientific, not conclusive, but I hope it dispels the notion that we hear about more incidents in Portugal than in Spain.
I scrolled through several pages of threads and noted all the threads that reported about an incident. I stopped after I found the first 25. Of those, 19 are reports in Spain, and 6 are in Portugal. I excluded all discussions about Denise. There are lots more people walking in Spain than in Portugal, sure, and so this tally isn’t at all surprising. But I do hope it will convince people that Portugal is not radically different than Spain in terms of female personal safety.
Wherever it happens, it is terrible and it is something we need to report. But, based on what I have seen, I think that women walking in Portugal are not at greater personal risk than those who walk in Spain. As I have noted in other places, my count is Spain 7 - Portugal 0. I continue to walk alone, but I try to remain alert, walking with the confidence that, statistically, I am much safer on the Camino than in my home town.
I'd like to confirm that undercover members of the Spanish police are present on the Camino. We had a very pleasant and helpful young man with us in the latter stages of the trek out to Finistera. We would have no idea that he was a 'policeman' until he told us so. I can only hope that this fact will give assurance to some of the pilgrims out there.Every time a woman posts about harrassment or other sexual incident in Portugal, some forum member typically observes that this sort of thing seems to happen more in Portugal than Spain. That has never sat well with me, just because I don’t think there is any real evidence that this is the case.
Now, with a few days of quarantine as I am locked indoors with covid, I decided to spend some time going through forum posts to see what I could see. This is NOT scientific, not conclusive, but I hope it dispels the notion that we hear about more incidents in Portugal than in Spain.
I scrolled through several pages of threads and noted all the threads that reported about an incident. I stopped after I found the first 25. Of those, 19 are reports in Spain, and 6 are in Portugal. I excluded all discussions about Denise. There are lots more people walking in Spain than in Portugal, sure, and so this tally isn’t at all surprising. But I do hope it will convince people that Portugal is not radically different than Spain in terms of female personal safety.
Wherever it happens, it is terrible and it is something we need to report. But, based on what I have seen, I think that women walking in Portugal are not at greater personal risk than those who walk in Spain. As I have noted in other places, my count is Spain 7 - Portugal 0. I continue to walk alone, but I try to remain alert, walking with the confidence that, statistically, I am much safer on the Camino than in my home town.
Some countries I've visited are high prevalence (Italy, Portugal), others median (Spain), others very low (Saudi Arabia).
Pilgrims would be much reassured if they knew the resources both the Guardia Civil and the GNR devote to Camino security.
I was one of those guilty parties that has posted there seems to be more problems in Portugal than Spain. It is a silly thing to do based on absolutely no knowledge than the random things I have seen in threads regarding harrassment. I can safely say I have probably never read every comment on these threads since they usually garner alot if interest and input. I for one apologize and want to thank you for opening my eyes. From now on I think I will just post what I think is indisputable advice to all. That being have the information and phone numbers to know who to call in an emergency. In Spain download the ALertCops app. Everyone should have this app on their phone. Finally I would say that if someone feels uncomfortable seek out other pilgrims to walk with, if you are starting to feel uneasy, wait for other pilgrims to come and walk with them if it is possible to do so. Pilgrimage s a wonderful place to be but we cannot lose ourselves in the fantasy that each person is as caring and giving as the pilgrims we would like to think we are as well as each citizen of the country we are walking in is as nice as the vast majority of the local people we meet on our caminos. Once again I apologize.Every time a woman posts about harrassment or other sexual incident in Portugal, some forum member typically observes that this sort of thing seems to happen more in Portugal than Spain. That has never sat well with me, just because I don’t think there is any real evidence that this is the case.
Now, with a few days of quarantine as I am locked indoors with covid, I decided to spend some time going through forum posts to see what I could see. This is NOT scientific, not conclusive, but I hope it dispels the notion that we hear about more incidents in Portugal than in Spain.
I scrolled through several pages of threads and noted all the threads that reported about an incident. I stopped after I found the first 25. Of those, 19 are reports in Spain, and 6 are in Portugal. I excluded all discussions about Denise. There are lots more people walking in Spain than in Portugal, sure, and so this tally isn’t at all surprising. But I do hope it will convince people that Portugal is not radically different than Spain in terms of female personal safety.
Wherever it happens, it is terrible and it is something we need to report. But, based on what I have seen, I think that women walking in Portugal are not at greater personal risk than those who walk in Spain. As I have noted in other places, my count is Spain 7 - Portugal 0. I continue to walk alone, but I try to remain alert, walking with the confidence that, statistically, I am much safer on the Camino than in my home town.
I'm not saying you needed to apologize, but it's rare, noble, and brave of you to do so if you feel you were wrong and want to say so. You've set a good example for all of us, because we all have something to apologize for, really.I was one of those guilty parties that has posted there seems to be more problems in Portugal than Spain. It is a silly thing to do based on absolutely no knowledge than the random things I have seen in threads regarding harrassment. I can safely say I have probably never read every comment on these threads since they usually garner alot if interest and input. I for one apologize and want to thank you for opening my eyes. From now on I think I will just post what I think is indisputable advice to all. That being have the information and phone numbers to know who to call in an emergency. In Spain download the ALertCops app. Everyone should have this app on their phone. Finally I would say that if someone feels uncomfortable seek out other pilgrims to walk with, if you are starting to feel uneasy, wait for other pilgrims to come and walk with them if it is possible to do so. Pilgrimage s a wonderful place to be but we cannot lose ourselves in the fantasy that each person is as caring and giving as the pilgrims we would like to think we are as well as each citizen of the country we are walking in is as nice as the vast majority of the local people we meet on our caminos. Once again I apologize.
Thank you for your kind words.I'm not saying you needed to apologize, but it's rare, noble, and brave of you to do so if you feel you were wrong and want to say so. You've set a good example for all of us, because we all have something to apologize for, really.
Actually what prompted me to go looking at the threads was when another moderator said the same thing. It’s not a case of blaming or apologies. And I am not making any claims about relative frequencies, just noting that the forum posts don’t support the impression. There may be statistical evidence out there, but since neither country treats these incidents as criminal infractions, I think it’s going to be impossible to get real data.I was one of those guilty parties that has posted there seems to be more problems in Portugal than Spain. It is a silly thing to do based on absolutely no knowledge than the random things I have seen in threads regarding harrassment.
For your international location, easy : have "What Three Words" app programed into your phone it will provide a unique three word answer that is within 5 metres of your location. CheersGuarda civil is 062- you’ll have to figure out how to give them the coordinates of where you are and they will be there shortly. Safe travels.
but since neither country treats these incidents as criminal infractions,
I noted that a few posts in this thread mention finding a way to know your exact location. I learned recently that you can do this very easily with Google Maps. Just hold your finger on the blue dot that shows where you are and after a few seconds the coordinates appear at the top. I was quite pleased when someone showed me this little trick!
There's an app called What Three Words that gives your precise location very quickly and easily. I don't know if the Iberian police are using it but a number of other countries emergency services are.
The best results come when you set the app to report the location's three words in the local language.For your international location, easy : have "What Three Words" app programed into your phone it will provide a unique three word answer that is within 5 metres of your location.
This is pretty much the AlertCops app.The way in which the police can be contacted in an emergency might also be improved. It would be useful to have an app which provided a button on a mobile phone's home-screen which when pushed would send an alert to the nearest police control room showing the location of the sender;
The police do patrol the camino and, I believe, even disguised as pilgrims.police patrols might be increased and their movements optimised to reduce response times.
I walked with a police officer between Bandeira and Ponte Ulla, on the second year I walked. She wasn't patrolling the trail (AFAIK), just walking for leisure. Was attached to the force in Valencia. She had just done the Invierno.The police do patrol the camino and, I believe, even disguised as pilgrims.
Men who do this don't care about the age of the women that they expose themselves to.I am perhaps too old for this discussion, but the during the time I have been on different caminos from 2005 -2018 I never experienced any flasher.
Thanks for clear talks. I am planning a camino (Frances as it looks now) walk in 2023, and plan to walk alone.Every time a woman posts about harrassment or other sexual incident in Portugal, some forum member typically observes that this sort of thing seems to happen more in Portugal than Spain. That has never sat well with me, just because I don’t think there is any real evidence that this is the case.
Now, with a few days of quarantine as I am locked indoors with covid, I decided to spend some time going through forum posts to see what I could see. This is NOT scientific, not conclusive, but I hope it dispels the notion that we hear about more incidents in Portugal than in Spain.
I scrolled through several pages of threads and noted all the threads that reported about an incident. I stopped after I found the first 25. Of those, 19 are reports in Spain, and 6 are in Portugal. I excluded all discussions about Denise. There are lots more people walking in Spain than in Portugal, sure, and so this tally isn’t at all surprising. But I do hope it will convince people that Portugal is not radically different than Spain in terms of female personal safety.
Wherever it happens, it is terrible and it is something we need to report. But, based on what I have seen, I think that women walking in Portugal are not at greater personal risk than those who walk in Spain. As I have noted in other places, my own personal count is Spain 7 - Portugal 0. I continue to walk alone, but I try to remain alert, walking with the confidence that, statistically, I am much safer on the Camino than in my home town.
Yes indeed! I take that position now in my own country after having my purse snatched from me as I was opening the trunk of my car in a monastery parking lot! I didn’t see him coming till he grabbed it! Yes, it can happen any where at anytime! No where is totally safe! Be alert out there ladies!For me, the only important takeaway is that women walking alone in either country should not let their guard down, should understand that there is a risk of this kind of behavior, and then make their decisions about walking based on their comfort levels.
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