Ways to Stay Safe In Public
September 4, 2018
I feel vulnerable in public. Whether I’m at the movies or the grocery store, wearing shorts or baggy pants, I don’t feel safe if I am alone. I can feel the eyes of men staring at me and nothing makes me more uncomfortable. I try layering when I feel uncomfortable and I bring a pocket knife with me to feel safer. People our age are huge targets nowadays. It’s a sad world we live in when you can’t feel comfortable in your own skin. I found this Facebook post and I feel safer knowing what I should look out for.
Rapists and date rapists target women with specific physical features and behavior to make the crime easier for them. Long hair that’s either in a braid, bun, ponytail, or down makes it easy for them to grab your hair; women with short hair aren’t normally targets. Any clothing that looks easy to take off is also taken into consideration. Some rapists carry around scissors to easily remove clothing. Women who are distracted with their phone, rummaging through their purses, or busy doing something else are already distracted and, therefore, easy targets. The number one place abductions occur is parking lots of grocery stores, then office parking lots or garages, and public restrooms.
Also, women holding objects that can be used as weapons from a distance, such as umbrellas, are not looked at as a simple target. Yelling, talking to them, or threatening them with something like pepper spray will drive them away because they’re out for an easy target, not someone who will cause problems and risk them getting caught.
These vile men look for women who won’t fight back because it’s a huge discouragement when it isn’t easy. If you do have to fight, try to outsmart them instead of fighting back with all of your strength because it most likely won’t be enough to free yourself. Pinching sensitive areas, like the underarm or inner thigh, as hard as possible or strikes to the groin can set the attacker off. If someone asks for your purse, bag, or wallet, throw it in one direction and run in the other because they’re most likely more interested in your valuables and money than you. If you are put into the back of a trunk, kick the tail light and break it so you can stick your arm out of it to draw attention. If you have a tendency to sit in your car in a busy parking lot and text your friends or write something down, get out of that habit. Reason being anyone can try and get in your car and tell you to drive at gunpoint.
This world is a scary place to live in this day and age. It’s sad that you can’t trust anyone anymore. That being said, please look out for yourself, your loved ones, and other people in your life. Share these tips with anyone who you think will benefit by them and say safe!