Gopi Thota

Safety- That Every Woman Should Know

 

Here's a disturbing thought: What if some of our everyday habits were actually compromising our safety? We know women aren't to blame for tragic assaults and kidnappings, but we nevertheless want to make sure we're doing everything in our power to stay safe. Awareness of Safety every woman should know. Share them with the women in your life today.women are subject to some form of physical assault, making it imperative that women have the tools and knowledge to protect themselves against threats of all kinds. Whether it’s in public, or at home, there are steps women can take to safeguard against potential threats.

 

• Women should always be aware of what’s happening around them. Whether a woman is walking to work, walking through a parking lot, or just exercising in her neighborhood, awareness is the best defense against personal safety threats. The worst thing you can do is have no idea who or what is around you. The more you pay attention, the less likely you are to be surprised. Also, if something does happen and you’re a witness, you’ll be able to provide better information to law enforcement.•

 

Always make eye contact. Women can tend to be intimidated by unfamiliar people, and instead of making eye contact, will look down. One of the ways to scare off a potential attacker is to give them reason to believe they could be identified, by maintaining eye contact. The best thing you can do is let others know that you see them and could identify them if need be. 

 

• Consider carrying a personal alarm, which is essentially a wireless alarm system that is small enough to be carried in a purse, or in the palm of a woman’s hand. A personal alarm can often be activated with the touch of one button, and can be used to draw attention to a dangerous situation, or scare off an attacker.

 

• Never open the door for strangers, regardless of whether they claim to be a service person, police officer or any other professional. Women should always verify identity, and not be afraid to appear rude by refusing to open the door.

 

• Women should be aware of what they’re putting on social media. Many predators use social media to gain insight into the lives of potential victims—including where they’ll be and when, when they’ll be home alone, and what routines they might have. Never put this type of information on any social media account.

 

• Choose the elevator over the stairs. While women are often told time and time again that it’s healthier to “take the stairs,” in actuality, many predators hide in stairwells, and it’s safer for women to choose the elevator. If a woman is in an elevator and she feels uncomfortable with someone who gets on, she should immediately leave.

 

• Women should frequently change their routines. This could be outdoor exercise routines, work parking places, or even something like grabbing food at lunch. Routines and patterns make it easier for predators to target women.

 

• Limit your distractions. If you’re walking through a deserted parking lot, is it really necessary to send a text right that moment? If you’re focused solely on your phone and checking your email, you’re not going to notice if something, or someone, looks out of place.

 

• If walking by yourself, get off your cell phone. A lot of people think that being on the phone is safe because the person on the other line can call 100 police helpline, but that rarely works out. Chatting can distract you; it's better to be aware of your surroundings. That said… If walking by yourself, hold your cell phone and be ready to make an emergency call. Many phones now have a button on the screen to dial 100 immediately. Go one step further and preset one of the buttons on your phone to call the emergency number.

 

• Look underneath your car before approaching it in a parking garage or lot at night. If you return to your car and see that a van is parked right next to the driver's side, enter through the passenger side. Predators often use vans and will disguise it as a family car. You return to your car and it has a flat tire. Back away. Return to wherever you came from (restaurant, store, etc) and call for help. Once assistance arrives, approach your car. If someone comes up to you (even if they are a woman) and wants to offer help, politely say, "No thank you." If a man, he could be a predator. If a woman, she could be the lurer.

 

• When leaving the mall late at night, ask a security guard to walk you to your car. Do not go up to just any security guard. Go directly to the kiosk and ask for them to assign an officer to escort you. Predators sometimes dress up like men of the law.

 

• When the pharmacist asks you to confirm your home address, whisper it to them. Broadcasting your home address among strangers on the line could compromise your safety.

 

• Ditto if you're checking in to a hotel room. If the person at the front desk says your room number out loud, ask them to give you a new room and write the number on a piece of paper. Or when you check-in, ask upfront that they not say your room number out loud. Your room number should be your business only. Before entering your hotel room, make sure no one is lingering in the hallway. Always immediately lock your hotel room door after you enter. When traveling, do not walk with your map in your hand. It is a dead giveaway that you are a tourist. Therefore, you are an easy target. If you call for room service, and you get a knock on your door, do not immediately open. Ask: "Who is it?" Make the person on the other side of the door tell you who they are before you open it.

 

• When asking for directions and someone offers to show you the way by having you follow them, do not go. Just ask for them to point you in the right direction. Often, predators just want to get you to a place less crowded where your screams can't be heard.

 

• If someone tries to grab you, twist your arm up and down and yell, "Stop!" Do anything you can to draw attention to yourself.

 

• Always pour your own drink at a party and bring it with you everywhere...even to the bathroom. This will make it a lot harder for someone to drug you via you drink. Watch the bartender as he or she pours your drink. To be extra safe, drink wine instead of a cocktail. Mixed drinks take longer to make. You could be easily distracted and miss the bartender (who could be working with the predator) or someone else slipping something into your drink.

 

• When going out with your girlfriends, decide beforehand that you will stick together. Do not let your friend go off alone with a guy.

 

• Don't put your name on your apartment buzzer. If you're expecting guests, just let them know which number to push. This way, only people who know you know exactly where you live.

 

• If someone is chasing after you, run away in a zig zag pattern. This will exhaust your attacker.

 

• Don't check-in on Foursquare or Facebook when you arrive somewhere. Instead, check in as you leave. This way no one will be able to digitally stalk you and know your every move or when you're not home. Along the same lines, avoid tweeting or Facebooking from vacation, especially if your account is public, as it's a way of letting the world know that your home is unoccupied.

 

• When you move into a new place, check your smoke detector for a hidden camera. Your landlord could be spying on you.

 

• Walk with purpose. Stand tall and keep your posture so that it represents authority. The less you look like a victim, the less likely someone will target you as such. So, pull your shoulders back, keep your back straight and your stomach in and walk in a way that lets the world know that you will not go down without a fight.

 

• If you see something suspicious, report it. Don’t worry about whether you’re overreacting or being overcautious. If you think something is out of place, make a call to the authorities. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. That’s what the police are there for. It’s better all the way around if they can be proactive instead of reactive.

 

• If you have to defend yourself, aim for body parts on your attacker that are tender and cannot be strengthened. If you find yourself in a position where you have to defend yourself, you want to aim wherever it’s going to hurt the most regardless of the attacker’s strength and size. These areas are the eyes, nose, throat, groin and shin. You can’t toughen them up so it doesn’t matter if he’s twice your size; hit him in one of these spots and he’s going to feel some pain.

 

• . Set boundaries and enforce them. If someone comes too close for comfort, tell them and force them to move back and give you your space. Don’t worry about whether you’ll come across as short or impolite. If your safety is at stake, it’s no time to be nice.•

 

. If someone tries to force you to a different location, do not go. Research has shown over and over again that if someone intends to move you, they also intend for you to not make it out alive. Whatever you do, never get in a vehicle with someone regardless of what they tell you because it isn’t going to be good.•

 

. Don’t open your house door without knowing who is on the other side. Even if it’s someone who claims to be from the electric company, if you’re not expecting them then make them wait while you call yourself and verify their identity. The minute you open your door, that person has access not only to your home, but to you and your family as well.

 

• Don’t leave things lying around the yard that someone could use to access your home. If you’re working on repainting the exterior of your house, take the ladder in at night. Yes, it’s a pain, but it’s much less painful than someone gaining entry when you’re lost in dreamland and can’t protect yourself.

 

• . Keep the bushes around your house trimmed so that someone doesn’t have a place to hide. Better yet, when you plant bushes beneath your windows, make sure they’re thorny and would hurt if someone got too close to them. Make your home unfriendly to anyone who wants to access it without your permission.

 

• If you have a garage door opener in your car, keep it out of sight when you park in the driveway. If someone knows that all they have to do to get into your house is gain entry to your vehicle, your safety is at risk. Don’t keep the opener on your visor and make sure you lock your car doors at all times.

 

• Use wooden dowels in your sliding doors and windows. Don’t make it too easy for someone to just slide open a window or door and let themselves in. The dowel is easy to move in the event you have a fire and need to escape, but it will also keep them from being opened more than an inch or two so no one can fit their body through the opening.

 

• Watch your use of social media. Some people put everything on Facebook, from what they ate to how they did their hair today. Remember that the more information you give out, the more someone else will know your schedule and can figure out when you’re most vulnerable.

 

• Take a self-defense class. You can never know too much when it comes to defending yourself or your family from someone who has bad intentions. Take the time to learn new ways to fend off an attacker and make sure you practice them regularly.

 

• Carry a weapon only if you’re trained and willing to use it.Some women choose to carry pepper spray or a firearm as a method of defense. While that’s fine, make sure that you know how to use your weapon of choice properly and effectively. Also, don’t carry anything if you’re not willing to use it because then it just becomes something that the bad guy can take and use against you.

 

• Trust your gut. If you feel like something is out of place, trust your instinct. Your sixth sense is actually your mind picking up on miniscule things that your brain doesn’t exactly register. So, if the hair on the back of your neck starts to raise, pay attention because something isn’t right.

 

• Never, ever give up! No matter what happens, never stop fighting. Unleash your inner bitch and let her go. If you’re in a fight for your life, make sure you’re the one who wins. It’s time to play dirty and let the cards fall where they may. Also, realize that even if you’re injured (which you most likely would be in a self-defense situation), it doesn’t mean it’s a critical injury. Just keep fighting and have faith that you will persevere. The only thing that’s important is that, at the end of the day, you’re the one who lives to see another day. You want to make sure you come home every night and get the time you expect and deserve with your family and friends. Don’t let someone else rob you of your dreams and goals. If they choose you as a target, make sure they know that they just made a critical error in judgment.