Alexandra Burke says she won’t go out alone at night
Alexandra Burke has revealed that she will not go out at night unless she is with her partner or someone she feels safe with, over fears she may be attacked by a man in the dark.
The X-Factor winner spoke about her concerns in a new interview with Metro, in which she reflected on the premise of her new Paramount Plus drama Curfew.
The six-part series explores a fictional world in which men must obey a 7pm curfew or face jail time. Burke plays a teacher named Helen who supports the curfew, called ‘The Women’s Safety Act’.
Although Burke believes such a curfew would not work in the real world and would be unfair to the men who do not commit violence against women, she does feel the need to stay vigilant as a woman.
"If I’m honest with you, I don’t really go out and I’m not talking because I’ve got children," she told the publication. "I’ve got a lot of anxiety around women being out after a certain time, full stop."
Burke revealed she often feels anxious when she is alone in public. "I take London Transport but I don’t take it at night at all. I’ve taken it in a day to go to work, and I’ve been by myself the other day and I was fine, but at night, you wouldn’t catch me.
"I wouldn’t be out, and if I am, it’s with my partner or someone I feel safe with."
In a separate interview with The Mirror, Burke explained that she doesn’t think a men-only curfew would work because "not every man is the same". However, she believes the series will open up conversations about how unsafe women feel when night falls.
"It made me ask my partner, ‘How do women feel safe? How can women go out at night, not have to worry about what they’re wearing, not have to hold a key in their hand, not have to keep looking over their shoulder, not have anxiety or panic attacks about leaving their homes?’
"His answer was, ‘I don’t know’. And that’s the point of the show."
Safety concerns after dark is a top issue for many women. According to a 2022 report by the Office for National Statistics, women feel less safe than men in all settings after dark, and more women (27%) reported experiencing at least one form of harassment compared to men (16%).
The data also showed that more women stopped walking in quiet places such as parks or open spaces after dark due to feeling unsafe. This is echoed in a survey by Sports Direct, which found that more than half of women (56%) quit exercising completely in the winter.
For some women, lack of motivation and cold, wet weather is a deterrent to exercising outdoors, but safety is also a major concern. 71% of women said they struggled to find well-lit running routes when it’s dark, and almost half (44%) said they just don’t feel safe running outside during the winter.
Last year, Sport England's popular This Girl Can campaign launched a winter safety initiative to raise awareness of the safety issues faced by women in the winter. It came after a parliamentary roundtable that discussed how sports and physical activity can be made safer for women.
Kim Leadbeater MP, who attended the roundtable, said: "Helping women feel safe when getting active is not a singular responsibility; we need everyone to engage with the issue.
"We must all work together to keep the conversation going, while bringing on board individuals, groups and organisations across wider society to understand their role in making women feel safer when getting active."
Read more about women's safety:
It's That Time Of Year Again When Women Stop Exercising (HuffPost, 3-min read)
Most girls and young women do not feel completely safe in public spaces – survey (PA Media, 4-min read)
Laura Jackson shares experience of being followed: 'I've never been so sure something would happen' (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
