This evening I went for a run in a local park.
I had hardly got started when I heard crying and yelling from behind some bushes and a woman’s voice shouting “get off me” repeatedly.
I ran around behind the bushes to find a man nonchalently calling his dog and a woman lying sobbing on the ground. I went over to her and asked her what had happened at which point the man came over and said she had slipped over. She said he’d kicked her over, at which point I had to restrain myself from doing the same to him just to see how he liked it.
I helped her up and asked if she wanted to come with me, I was in no mood to take any nonsense from him if she chose to, but she refused and thanked me but said she’d be OK. I helped her pick up some of her things and, since she was still refusing any help, I felt I couldn’t do a lot more. The man seemed to be her partner and wasn’t being aggressive, though she was still sobbing.
I left the scene and met the park warden (complete with van, dog and flak jacket; a commentary on society, I thought) and told him what I’d seen and he went to investigate.
I’m not sure there was a lot more I could do without forcing the woman to do something against her will, but I wish I could have done something to make sure she was OK.
Funnily enough, at no point did I feel threatened by the man. I was in no mood to be trifled with and would have gladly given him some information he would have found it difficult to refuse.
Sometimes I think the world really sucks.