If you haven’t already added running alone in broad daylight to the things women apparently can’t do because they might get attacked, you can add it now. A woman in Rocky River, Ohio reported being attacked by an unknown man in a black hoodie while she was running on a semi-secluded trail in the city, per WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio.
The woman, whose name is Vani Shukla, told Fox 8 News in Cleveland that she was in the middle of a 20-mile run when she felt herself being attacked from behind. She was alone on the last stretch of her run when, according to Shukla, she felt herself being strangled from behind.
She blacked out and, a few minutes later, woke up and called 911. Now, in the comments under a TikTok that News 5 Cleveland shared about the attack, women are agreeing that they would still “choose the bear” when it comes to the quandary of finding either a man or a bear in the woods alone.
@news5cleveland Metroparks Police are investigating a violent attack in the Rocky River Reservation that left a woman hospitalized. #RockyRiver #News5 ♬ original sound – news5cleveland
The woman was attacked while running alone.
After she was rushed to a hospital, doctors determined that Shukla had a broken nose and bruises on her face and upper body. She told Fox 8 News that she was able to run through the woods and call for help after she woke up, but authorities did not catch her assailant at the time of her 911 call or shortly after.
“I tried to reach for my phone to, like, hit the power button because if you hit it a number of times, it will call 911, but I couldn’t breathe,” she told the outlet. “He kept his hands on me and then he turned me around, slammed me on the pavement. He was down there too and his hands were still around my neck and I lost consciousness.”
On the TikTok video about the attack that News 5 Cleveland posted, other women wrote that they understand all too well the dangers of being a woman and being alone and vulnerable in nearly any setting.
“Women are ALWAYS cautious,” one woman commented, after quoting a warning for women to be cautious while out alone. “From the time we’re children we’re cautious. Caution only goes so far.”
Another woman wrote, “The bear. Always the bear. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
“We literally can’t do anything alone anymore,” someone else wrote under the video.
Others shared frustration that it’s hard for women to do some everyday tasks or activities without the fear of being attacked or targeted in some way by a man.
“This is infuriating,” a woman commented. “Seems like everyday we are hearing about a violent attack on a woman for merely existing. We can’t exercise, take public transportation or in my case, walk into a grocery store. We have to always be present, vigilant and prepared to be attacked. Sometimes I hate this place.”
Although Shukla survived her attack and even got away minutes after she was slammed to the ground while being strangled, the outcome could have been far different. Now, per Cleveland’s WKYC, members of a local running group in Rocky River have started a buddy system.
But, according to many runners, particularly women, the fact that there needs to be a buddy system at all is the bigger issue.
