Personal Safety Tips

There are a lot of important things that you can do to prevent yourself from being attacked by someone and a lot of different things that you can carry on your person to help defend yourself.

When you leave the grocery store (this is mostly for women, but men should remember, too) or any other kind of store and are on your way to your vehicle, get out your keys immediately as you go to leave. Do not let yourself be caught at your vehicle fumbling for your car keys, because this is the moment most attackers are looking for. This is their opening. Deny it and try to have your keys out before you even leave the store. If you forget and are caught with them in hand as they attack you, put the ends of the keys between your fingers and stab with them. If you carry your keys on a lanyard around your neck, take it off your neck and swing them at the person’s face.

Never forget the groin kick. It may seem funny in movies and on television shows, but you can really damage someone for life by doing this to them and it causes an excruciating amount of pain in most people, even women. Do not do this when wrestling around with friends; it is a self-defense technique only.

Women can also use their handbag to defend themselves, but soft-sided bags are not nearly as effective as those that are hard and are made of heavy materials like metal.

Try not to walk in the dark anywhere by yourself and even if you have a friend with you, it’s probably not a good idea. Two girls walking by themselves might seem safe because they’re using “the buddy system”, but in reality, double kidnappings such as this happen all the time. The other girl is not considered a threat by most men and is quickly shoved aside.

Something a lot of women do not know is that in some states, you are not required to pull over for an unmarked police vehicle in an unlit area, such as a highway in the middle of the night in a rural area, and etcetera. Anyone can get a light that looks like one from an unmarked police vehicle. Wait until you get to a brightly lit area with people close by before you pull over.

This is probably common sense to most people, but do not display your valuables in public places, especially in sketchy neighborhoods or gas stations. Keep your iPod or Blackberry well concealed, since these are obvious marks of someone who has money to spend.

Jennifer Fairbanks is a community supporter and researcher in violence against women along with her side business family violence prevention fund.