Ronan, who stars in the forthcoming Oscar-tipped film Blitz, said the conversation is a reflection of how society treats women’s safety.
“I think there’s something really telling about the society that we’re in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives.”
The 30-year-old added that the conversation “felt very similar to like when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that, well, this is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100%.”
She said it was “amazing” that this moment is “opening a conversation” and “allowing more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience”.
The Lady Bird star went on to say she met a woman recently who told her: “‘It’s really interesting, after we watched that interview, myself and a few of my female friends were with my husband and we said, you know, this really reminds me of the fake phone call.’
“And her husband went, ‘What, fake phone call? What do you mean?’.
“And of course, you wouldn’t understand if you’ve not had to go through anything like that. But she somehow, throughout her life as a female, has gained these tools without ever talking to other women about it and understanding that this is sort of a survival tactic.”
The fake phone call refers to someone who suspects they are being followed by a potential attacker, and pretends to take a call on their mobile to protect themselves.
The hope is that the potential attacker will be deterred by the idea they are speaking on the phone to someone who would raise the alarm.