Being a woman is not easy, because we need to watch our own back. Personal safety of a woman is not really handled the right way in our society. Instead of creating awareness among public, we focus on draping our girls in blankets and keeping them confined at home.
Just because the number of uncultured men are high in our society, doesn’t mean that women shouldn’t go out of the house. If girls are restricted to move around, it’s less likely that we get the kind of education, career, and other life experiences we deserve. And this is one of the major reasons for gender gap in our country.
So, here are a few ways in which you need to be prepared to handle any kind of assault on you. You don’t need to think twice before going for a late night movie, working night shifts, or an early morning walk through the park.
How to prevent possible attacks?
- Avoid going out with complete strangers.
- Do not accept eatables or drinks from strangers if you’re alone.
- Avoid going to shady corners alone.
- Do not share your personal information regarding your address and family with strangers.
- Save numbers of police station and other emergency rescue teams as your speed dial numbers.
- Download and keep SOS emergency apps on your phone that will help you alert your friends and family when you’re in danger.
- If you’re at a party, do not leave your drink or food unattended for a long time.
- Carry a pepper spray and small pen knife with you in your purse.
Self Defense when you’re traveling alone- Important things to remember
- If you’re traveling alone, avoid taking a lot of cash with you, always keep your mobile phone in your hands, avoiding talking a lot to strangers.
- It’s always better to take a taxi or cab from an authorized service provider. Make sure that the driver is the same person as told by the service provider and he has good ratings and reviews.
- Note the number of the car and other details regarding it and send it to your family and friends.
- It’s not a good idea to share the cab or opt for uber pool or ola share, when you’re traveling alone at night. Even if you’re sharing the cab with someone, make sure that the person behaves well. In case of any problems, contact the cops right away.
- If you think your driver is acting a bit fishy, ask him to drop you in the safest place that you see outside where there’s enough light and crowd. It’s best that you book another cab.
- If you’re going to be driving alone through isolated roads, make sure that the vehicle has enough fuel. This will save you from unwanted stops in petrol bunks and gas stations.
- Do not stop your vehicle no matter what, if you’re driving alone in isolated roads at night. If you see an accidents, or someone fallen on the road, call the police and report it without stopping your vehicle.
- Make sure have your phone and your handbag with your wallet, pepper spray and pen knife while you get out of your bus to go to washroom, while you’re traveling.
- Do not open your bags and expose your valuables to people around you. This may attract thieves and muggers. Carry your important things in a handbag.
- Don’t cling on to your handbag too much which will obviously make everyone think that you have valuables win the bag.
- Don’t act too nervous if you feel fishy about someone near you. Make a phone call to your parents or friends and tell them where you are and who are around you, this will help you relax. Also, the fishy stranger might get nervous about approaching you since you have told someone close to you about where exactly you are and who all are there around you.
- If you really don’t want to call anyone, and you think the situation isn’t that bad, you can just act as if you’re talking to someone close and convey the same information as mentioned in the previous point.
- Avoid unwanted encounters with people in trains, buses, or on the way of your journey. If you’re alone, it’s best to avoid distractions from a group of predators.
- If you’re in a train, try to be around families with women and children. In case of any issues, tell them what’s going on and seek help.
- If you’re traveling overnight in a bus alone, make sure that you get a ladies seat. Stay away from anyone who is too interested in your personal matters or someone who is too friendly.
- Not just men, even women cannot be trusted with personal information while you’re traveling since many traps includes women as well. Do not go with anyone to washroom or any place if you don’t know the lady.
Why self defense training for personal safety?
Try to get self defense training or if not try to learn about them by watching videos online. There are plenty of them. These will help you to learn what to do if someone attacks you or tries to get hold of you. The basic rule of self defense moves is that you aim for the weakest parts of the predator. For example, eyes, nose, groin, and knees are the places you could attack.
Which is the best personal safety app?
There are many personal safety apps which can be downloaded on your android or iOS phone. These apps have many features that will help you during an attack. Such apps use GPS of your phone to send your location to separately saved contacts, in case of emergency.
If you’re attacked by someone and you aren’t able to scream because of the shock or because someone has forcibly closed your mouth, don’t worry. There are apps that will continuously make alarm noise or screams to catch the attention of people around.
Some of these apps can continuously click pictures and take videos of what’s happening around you. They can also send alert messages along with your location to police station and other emergency helpline numbers.
To know more about personal safety apps and to download them read Top 5 Personal Security Apps for Your Safety
Also read Tips for dealing with bullying and harassment at work place
