diff --git a/cssselect/xpath.py b/cssselect/xpath.py
index f51cfb4..2f546e6 100644
--- a/cssselect/xpath.py
+++ b/cssselect/xpath.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 import re
 import typing
+import warnings
 from typing import Optional
 
 from cssselect.parser import (
@@ -37,6 +38,17 @@
 )
 
 
+@typing.no_type_check
+def _unicode_safe_getattr(obj, name, default=None):
+    warnings.warn(
+        "_unicode_safe_getattr is deprecated and will be removed in the"
+        " next release, use getattr() instead",
+        DeprecationWarning,
+        stacklevel=2,
+    )
+    return getattr(obj, name, default)
+
+
 class ExpressionError(SelectorError, RuntimeError):
     """Unknown or unsupported selector (eg. pseudo-class)."""