A TikTok user has demonstrated why women might not want to hold their keys in between their fingers for safety when walking alone at night.
In the wake of Sarah Everard’s death, thousands of women have shared their tactics for feeling safe on social media.
Holding one’s keys between their fingers was one of the most popular strategies shared, with one tweet reading: “Like all of my female friends, I have walked with my keys between my fingers on the way to my car or home”.
Now, though, a woman who goes by the username @faesfx on TikTok, has demonstrated that holding keys like this could actually do more harm to you than to a potential attacker.
“I’ve seen a lot of women say that they are carrying their keys like this to feel safe,” she says, showing a key between two fingers to the camera.
“If I punch, that key is going back into me and is going to hurt me,” she continues.
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Instead, the TikTok user suggests taking your longest key and holding its base in between your fingers.
This, she explains, will be far more effective because “that key isn’t going anywhere”.
She demonstrates with a friend how holding the key this way could protect you if you are grabbed from behind.
The video has since garnered more than 2.6 million views with thousands of women thanking @faesfx for her tips.
She has since released a follow-up video to thank people for watching.
“This is just to say thank you for the interaction on this last video,” she said.
“Please do not use knives, pepper spray, or mess with chemicals,” she added, noting how these things are illegal in the UK.
She then offered another demonstration with a friend, showing how holding the longest key in between your fingers can be effective at protecting yourself from a potential attacker.
