There’s undoubtedly a lot of good in the world. Unfortunately, there’s quite a bit of bad as well. This is particularly true for women, who are vulnerable to danger both in and outside of their homes.
For this reason, as women, we must take extra measures to ensure our safety throughout the course of our lives. Curious as to what these measures are? Here are the top 10 safety tips for women to utilize.
The Top Safety Tips for Women
Fortunately, whether you’re sitting at home alone or walking the streets at night, there are plenty of ways to keep yourself safe. The best methods include the following.
1. Maintain Awareness
First and foremost, you must maintain awareness at all times, particularly when you’re out in public. Your eyes and your ears must both be attuned to what is happening around you. When you fail to take in your surroundings, you leave yourself vulnerable.
For instance, when walking to your car late at night, you would be best served by leaving your phone in your pocket. Looking at your phone impairs your awareness of your surroundings, giving you little time to react in the event that you’re met with trouble.
Get to your car and get back home. Then you’ll have plenty of time to look at your phone and to do whatever else you need to do.
2. Answer the Doorbell
Old wisdom goes that, if the doorbell is rung past dark, you should ignore it. While the logic behind this makes sense, it’s not quite rooted in reality.
See, many intruders ring doorbells to ensure that homeowners aren’t home. If no one answers, they assume the house is empty, prompting them to break into it later in the night.
So, if you want to keep intruders out of your house, you should answer the doorbell. If it’s rung past dark, you might even want to think about calling the police.
3. Listen to Your Heart
Everyone has instincts. Everyone gets that feeling in their gut when they think that something’s amiss. You’re advised to trust this feeling and to listen to your heart in every situation you encounter.
For example, let’s say a strange man asks you for help with something. You feel uneasy about it, but also don’t want to come across as rude. For this reason, you decide to help him.
This is a mistake!
You’re under no obligation to help anyone with anything, particularly if that person makes you feel uncomfortable. The reason that you feel uneasy is that your brain is triggering a stress response. In other words, your body is telling you that something’s not right.
Don’t worry about being polite. Say, “Sorry, I can’t,” and walk toward the closest group of people you can find.
4. Keep Your Doors Locked at All Times
Home alone? Whether it’s the middle of the day or the middle of the night, you’re advised to keep your doors locked.
While most home intrusions occur at night, it’s not unheard of for an intruder to make his or her way into a home by the light of the day. Some unseemly individuals will even break into a home early in the day so that they can accost the homeowners later that night.
5. Plan Strategically
It’s a sad reality, but the truth of the matter is that, when you’re out in public, you need to have everything planned out. By planning your actions throughout the day, you reduce the risk of something going awry.
For instance, when making your way to your car, you should have a direct route in your mind. In addition, you should also have scheduled phone calls with a friend or family member. This way, someone knows that you’re safe and that there’s no cause for alarm.
Generally, it’s when someone deviates from their plan that they encounter danger. Stick to the plan and stay safe.
6. Take Self-Defense Training Courses
While your first line of defense against a dangerous situation should be to run, running isn’t always an option. For situations such as these, you need to know some self-defense tactics. While men are generally stronger than women, certain self-defense moves will give women a fighting chance.
Regardless of where you live, there are sure to be self-defense training courses nearby. You’re advised to sign up for them so that you can be prepared in times of trouble.
7. Scream!
The last thing an unscrupulous individual wants is for someone to draw attention to his or her unscrupulous activity. That’s why, if you’re accosted by someone in public, you’re advised to scream as loud as you can.
By screaming, you not only prompt the unscrupulous individual to fear repercussions and flee the scene, but you also alert others of your distress, causing them to come to your defense.
8. Carry Pepper Spray
Pepper spray is not an end-all-be-all defense against bad guys. However, it can help to stop an individual in his or her tracks, giving you time to flee a dangerous situation. As such, you should always keep pepper spray on your person.
9. Stay in the Public Eye
It’s fairly rare that a seedy individual would try to assault someone in a crowded area. After all, if an assault happens in the public eye, the assaulter will have to face consequences.
This is why you should stay in the public eye as much as possible. Don’t walk dark streets alone at night. Always be in the proximity of other human beings.
10. Run, Don’t Fight
As was noted above, when accosted in the streets, your first instinct shouldn’t be to fight. It should be to run.
Unless you’re a bodybuilder, there’s very little chance that you’ll be able to overpower a man. In other words, if you try to fight, you’ll probably lose. Run as fast as you can until you find another group of people.
Learn Other Important Life Tips
And there they are, the top safety tips for women. If you want to remain safe and sound, you would be wise to put these tips to use.
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