Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, or so the saying goes. But are we really that different? When it comes to safety, the precautions women take to be safe after a fun night out are completely different than men.

This is what two Red Deer College (RDC) third-year BScN students found out after hosting an information and white board exercise at The Forum in RDC on January 30, 2018.

The purpose of the exercise was to raise awareness between the existing gender differences on what people do each and every day to stay safe.

There was great student participation during the white board exercise, said the two RDC students. The exercise allowed the pair to work within the student population, gather data, have meaningful discussions and bring awareness to issues surrounding sexual assault.

Female students indicated they do things like lock their doors, keep their cellphone available, “avoid dark alleys” and “don’t wear revealing clothing,” to be safe. Male students wrote things like use an uber or cab and “appear approachable.”

This event was a precursor to a reflection event planned for International Women’s Day also to be held at RDC. The This is What I Was Wearing When It Happened exhibit will bring awareness to the issue of victim blaming and the stigma surrounding women’s clothing as the reason why they were sexually assaulted.