The formula was simple for student engineer Claire*, who worked nights in a Glasgow bar. If she earned enough money in tips, she would take a taxi home – if not, she would get home as fast as she could on foot.
“I would often work the closing shift, and my tip money would go towards a taxi because walking home could be really scary,” she says. “If I didn’t make enough tips, or was particularly skint that month, it would often be a case of running.”
Her fears weren’t unfounded – more than once, she felt threatened on the short walk home. “I remember one time all the streets were completely empty and I noticed there was a male figure in the distance behind me,” she explains. “I quickened my step, but he started closing in on me, so I ran until I was home. I was totally terrified because a few weeks earlier a girl had been raped in the bin sheds of my building.”
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