The other day, a female friend shared with me what is, to most women, a run-of-the-mill experience. She’d been heading home through her local park, at dusk, when she noticed a man walking behind her, a bit too close for comfort. “The whole way, I was debating with myself whether I should turn around to face him so he knew I was aware, or to show him that he was being thoughtless and needed to drop back,” she said. Obviously, she had her phone and keys in hand, too. Nothing out of the ordinary, then.In fairness, I have noticed more men crossing the road to keep their distance, making an effort to demonstrate that they don’t pose a danger after dark. Most won’t (women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know than by a stranger). But they might? And how do we know? It means we’re in self-defence mode the whole time, like coiled springs.We know that blokes don’t have to think about this stuff in the same way, but it never hurts to remind them. That’s what Saoirse Ronan did on The Graham Norton Show over the weekend, on which she appeared alongside fellow actors Eddie Redmayne, Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington. When Redmayne mentioned being taught how to use his phone as a weapon, during training for his latest film, Mescal joked that he wouldn’t consider pulling his mobile out if he was in danger.“Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go… ‘phone’,” he laughed, gesturing to demonstrate the time it would take to retrieve his phone from his pocket.Who is actually going to think about that? Half the population, pal, that’s who. Not that our clothes have pockets.“That’s what girls have to think about all the time,” said Ronan (her face very nearly hiding her frustration), followed by a small, awkward silence. “Am I right ladies?”The clip has gone viral. It’s one of those moments, isn’t it? Like thinking up the perfect riposte at the exact moment you need to use it and actually managing to articulate it without tripping over your own tongue. So often, when someone says something that denies our experience, we stay quiet to avoid confrontation, or because it’s hard to know what to say. Then the chance has gone, we’ve missed our window and can only kick ourselves in hindsight. No wonder Ronan’s interjection has hit such a chord. As the only woman on the sofa, in the spotlight, she still pulled it out of the bag. Take a bow.