Planning a trip

I just got approved to study abroad in Paris over spring break and had an interesting conversation regarding women traveling in Paris. A friend told me the good thing about Paris is that it has low statistics for female rape, a fact that I was unaware of. It got me thinking how sick it is that we have to even think, or have these statistics because of how prevalent rape is in all cultures. We never think of these statistics in male terms either. It's always the question of if a place is safe for women traveling alone, but as we know, women are not the only victims. While this statistic should give me comfort, I was more pissed off that when traveling to a city, I have to have these ideas floating in my head, and I have to be on my guard because poor, defenseless, women are traveling by themselves and are easy targets. That last sentence had poor structure and I'm rambling now so I will end by saying that it sucks we have to think in these terms.