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"Being a woman is just scary!"

That is the daunting belief of 20-year-old Mariann Garrick, whose fears about commuting in Jamaica have worsened following the suspected death of Anisa Dilworth, a first-year student at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica.

"Being a woman means it doesn't matter where we are. It don't matter if we're in an InDrive, an Uber, even a normal taxi at any time--there's still a case that somebody will take you away. So, we can't walk on the road, and as careful as we be, somebody can take us," said Garrick. Students and staff of the school protested at its main gate yesterday, calling for an end to violence against women.

Garrick, who moved from Clarendon to Kingston two years ago to pursue tertiary studies at UTech, Jamaica, told THE STAR that she has always felt unsafe navigating public transportation. But news that human remains believed to be Dilworth's were discovered just days after the 20-year-old entered an InDrive taxi has shaken her to the core.

"I was being vigilant before, but now even more. And it's not that every taxi man is bad, but you have to wonder," Garrick said. "As university students, sometimes we have late classes and have to leave campus at night. That makes it even more dangerous." Her voice heavy with worry, Garrick shared the everyday burden of simply trying to get home safely.

"When you leave school late, you have to worry--worry about who you're taking, what's going to happen, will I make it home to my family? All a dat. And it's exhausting, but at the same time it's the reality of being a woman," she said.

She also explained that even when travelling in the daytime, she feels little peace and recalled an incident where she took a taxi early one day, only to realise the driver was intoxicated.

"He was drunk like a bat, and mi just couldn't leave the car because I was afraid," she said, adding that precautions like sharing her location, taking note of licence plates, and sending them to family are now part of her daily routine. But even that doesn't erase the fear.

"The stress and the fear was always there especially when I am taking InDrive. Knowing that it's me and the man alone...I try to be vigilant because you have to really ensure that you're hyper-aware of where you are...but now I know no matter how aware you are, you might just not make it home," she said.

Garrick's sentiment echoes widely among other female students navigating life in the Corporate Area.

Kaya Francis, 26, who attends the Norman Manley Law School, moved from St Elizabeth and said she feels more at ease when travelling back home than she ever does in the Corporate Area.

"I don't ever feel safe taking public transportation. If it's the route I normally take, I might not feel as much fear depending on the time of day. But generally, I don't feel safe," she said.

Zubaidah Springer, a native of St Kitts and Nevis, who is also a student at Norman Manley Law School, told THE STAR that she deliberately avoids public transport altogether.

"Before I came, I was already kind of on edge. And when I came here, everybody was like, 'Don't take InDrive,' so I never do. Instead, I take Uber because it seems relatively safer," she said. "But it kinda seems like the same predicament because you still have to book a car with somebody you don't know and they could have a profile saying they are this person when they're not," said Springer.