Last Wednesday, 21-year-old Amelia Bambridge was at a beach party on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong. According to her sister, she had been saving for her trip, which began in Vietnam, for two years and was having “the best time ever”. CCTV footage shows her arriving at the party around 2am and friends report seeing her there at 3am. She has not been seen again since.

Two hundred soldiers and police officers have been involved in the subsequent search for Amelia, who is from Sussex. Her family have arrived on the island and six local men are being questioned. On the beach where she was last seen, her bag, phone and credit cards have been found.

On Monday, her father says he hopes for a miracle , but doesn’t expect to see his daughter alive again. Now Cambodian police fear she has drowned after claiming searches on land and sea had failed to provide any information about her disappearance. However, the police have vowed that the hunt will continue until she is found.

In recent years we’ve seen a recurrent trend of young, female, British backpackers going missing while travelling abroad, or being sexually assaulted and even murdered. In 2018, 22-year-old Essex backpacker Grace Millane was murdered in New Zealand and in 2016, Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, from Derbyshire, was stabbed to death at her Australian hostel in front of dozens of witnesses. In 2014, Hannah Witheridge, 21, from Norfolk, was murdered while backpacking in Thailand along with her male friend, David Miller. Before her death, Hannah was also raped.

The day after I turned 21, I went to Costa Rica for a week by myself. My mum’s friend was living a few miles away from my accommodation, but I spent a lot of time without her. I grew up with a strict, cautious dad and his safety rules had stuck. I insisted on seatbelts in cars, helmets on bikes, I didn’t carry lots of money on me and I listened to my instinct when it came to things I did and didn’t do. Amelia’s father also says he “spoke to her about safety, safety, safety, safety,” .

But even after taking those actions, I was never truly safe. My bikini top and shorts could have been deemed provocative, “asking for it”. A two minute walk from a restaurant to my room after dark may also have been an empty dirt path with waiting, watching eyes. The camera I wore around my neck was a beacon blaring out my backpacker status.

I was young, not stupid, and had anything happened to me, I wouldn’t have deserved it. It wouldn’t have been my fault. Wearing the clothes I wanted and walking the route I wanted should have been a right, not a risk. But I was always at the mercy of a terrible decision by an awful stranger or a violent group of men.

Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Show all 11 1 /11 Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Officials and rescuers meet during a search operation for British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who went missing after a beach party in Cambodia on the island of Koh Rong in the early hours of 24 October 2019. Sihanoukville province authority police via AP Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort In this photo released by Cambodian National Police on October 27, 2019, officials and rescuers meet during a search operation for the missing British woman, Amelia Bambridge in Koh Rong island in Sihanoukville province. - Cambodia deployed soldiers, police and divers to scour an island popular with backpackers after a British tourist went missing there four days ago, an official told AFP on October 28. (Photo by Handout / cambodian national police / AFP) (Photo by HANDOUT/cambodian national police/AFP via Getty Images) HANDOUT Cambodian National Police/AFP Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort In this photo taken October 27, 2019, Sihanoukville Governor Kuoch Chamroeun (C) and officials look over the shore of Koh Rong island during a search and rescue operation for missing British woman Amelia Bambridge. - Cambodia deployed soldiers, police and divers to scour an island popular with backpackers after a British tourist went missing there four days ago, an official told AFP on October 28. (Photo by Marady / AFP) (Photo by MARADY/AFP via Getty Images) MARADY Marady/AFP via Getty Images Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated family handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on Wednesday night. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday October 28, 2019. Staff at Police Beach, a private venue that stages regular events, found Ms Bambridge???s purple rucksack, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, the following morning. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Family Handout/LBT/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Family Handout/LBT Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort In this photo released by Cambodian National Police on October 27, 2019 foreign divers prepare to search for the missing British woman, Amelia Bambridge in Koh Rong island in Sihanoukville province. - Cambodia deployed soldiers, police and divers to scour an island popular with backpackers after a British tourist went missing there four days ago, an official told AFP on October 28. (Photo by Handout / cambodian national police / AFP) (Photo by HANDOUT/cambodian national police/AFP via Getty Images) HANDOUT Cambodian National Police/AFP Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated family handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on Wednesday night. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday October 28, 2019. Staff at Police Beach, a private venue that stages regular events, found Ms Bambridge???s purple rucksack, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, the following morning. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Family Handout/LBT/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Family Handout/LBT Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust of Amelia Bambridge, 21, who has gone missing in Cambodia. She was last seen by friends on the island of Koh Rong on Wednesday. PA Photo. Issue date: Saturday October 26, 2019. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Lucie Blackman Trust Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated family handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on Wednesday night. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday October 28, 2019. Staff at Police Beach, a private venue that stages regular events, found Ms Bambridge???s purple rucksack, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, the following morning. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Family Handout/LBT/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Family Handout/LBT Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated family handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on Wednesday night. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday October 28, 2019. Staff at Police Beach, a private venue that stages regular events, found Ms Bambridge???s purple rucksack, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, the following morning. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Family Handout/LBT/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Family Handout/LBT Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated family handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on Wednesday night. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday October 28, 2019. Staff at Police Beach, a private venue that stages regular events, found Ms Bambridge???s purple rucksack, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, the following morning. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Family Handout/LBT/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Family Handout/LBT Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Amelia Bambridge: British backpacker missing from Cambodia resort Undated family handout photo issued by the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing, West Sussex, who was last seen on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong late on Wednesday night. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday October 28, 2019. Staff at Police Beach, a private venue that stages regular events, found Ms Bambridge???s purple rucksack, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, the following morning. See PA story MISSING Cambodia. Photo credit should read: Family Handout/LBT/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Family Handout/LBT Family handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/PA

Amelia was not alone the night she went missing. She left for the party with six friends and Mia was surrounded by around 30 people as she was stabbed. It goes to show that the danger I was in at the same age as both girls was not simply because I was travelling solo. It was because I was travelling as a woman.

The same applies for travelling here in the UK. I’d never get on an empty tube, tram or train carriage. A friend of mine was once set upon by a group of men who boarded her previously empty train carriage and blocked CCTV cameras.

I'd never jump into a taxi on the street, but instead rely on apps that allow me to book and then share my journey, ETA and driver details with my husband. A friend of a friend was recently in a taxi when the driver locked the doors and drove her to the top floor of an empty multi-storey car park.

If I need to walk in quiet areas of my hometown Leeds after dark, I’ll send my whereabouts to my husband via the location tracker function on Facebook Messenger. I do what I can to reduce risk wherever possible, even if it costs me money or time. It’s about doing the best I can in situations where I have inherently less power, simply because of my gender.

And it is because of my gender. My husband admits he’s never felt in danger in a taxi or on other public transport in this country. Abroad, he is worried about language barriers causing unintentional offence, but not attack. Several other male friends echo his sentiments. One told me how he walks home from work and town after dark all the time. While a female friend messaged me saying how much she fancies going for a run, but can’t because it will be dark when she finishes work. The contrast is startling, the injustice indisputable.

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Now at the opposite end of my 20s, I’m preparing for a solo trip to Rio next month. I plan to only get taxis arranged by my hotel. I won’t rely on free wifi spots, instead paying for data at all times. I’ll memorise the basic phrases so as not to draw attention to myself as a tourist unnecessarily when passing shops or groups of locals. I won’t drink, I’ll dress neutrally, but even still just being there will be a risk. Then again, so too will coming home. There isn’t a place where being a woman isn’t inherently dangerous.