Some amateur safety tips

Women Safety…that’s perhaps the most talked about subject all over the world.

As the wise people have been preaching – ‘Let us talk less and do more‘.
Who is most responsible for your safety? No surprises here.It is you yourself.
The “damsel in distress and a prince to her rescue” days are long past, this is an era of woman empowerment , don’t you agree?

So Ladies …let us push ourselves beyond the boundaries of these talks and discussions and gear up for some action.Let us take charge of our safety!!

#1 : Where is your Cell Phone ?

So are you a  gadget queen or a novice cellphone user? What ever your technical aptitude be, make sure you have a cellphone with you ALL the time – when ever you plan to travel or if you stay up late in office or if you are out with friends or if you are alone at home or any such situations for that matter!!

Make sure it is charged and has enough balance. This world is an unpredictable place, who knows what hell is going to break loose on you the next minute? Be prepared, if you need to call a friend or a family member or any concerned authorities , you would need a cell phone.

You can’t afford a fancy smartphone ? No problem at all, there are a lot of cheap brands of phone that you can buy and use. But you MUST have a phone, don’t compromise on your chance to call for help.

#2 : Whom to call, how?

You have a phone.Now you need important contact details. Smart phone users can use mobile applications like Smart Suraksha to configure automatic messaging to prechosen contacts on the click of a button, but the old school mobile users can set up speed dials to important numbers, they are quite handy too!

Make sure the list of people to contact in emergency are the one’s in same city, who could come immediately for your aid. There is no point in having the number of your brother living abroad in the speed dial, it is just common sense 🙂 !!

Are you going to a new town?Get the contact details of a friend or an acquaintance whom you can call if at all need arises.  Be aware of the emergency helpline numbers. Most of the metros and big cities have emergency numbers for woman in distress. Make sure you have  these important numbers for the city you live in or are visiting

# 3 Public Transport Tips

New city or your own home town, use of public transport is an inevitable part of our life ,isn’t it?

You must have heard this a hundred times, so hear it for the 101th time 🙂

Always prefer crowded train compartments and  buses compared to empty ones during odd hours. Avoid dimly lit places or unsafe places to wait for buses/trains.Always stick to the crowd whenever possible.

I would love to add a point which says always try to have someone accompany you, but that would be an impractical, hypocritical , so old generational advise.So I will skip that 🙂

#4 Want to hire a cab? 

So far I have never experienced any thing unpleasant from any taxi/auto driver, on the other hand I have found them quiet gentle helpers.But then there are morons in every single corner of the world , and it’s quite possible that the driver of the cab you hire might end up being a psycho.How to be safe while hiring a cab?

When you have to hire a cab, call a reliable taxi service.These taxi services message you the number of the driver and the id of the allocated cab beforehand.You can pass this on to a friend or a kin.I would assume that availing these kind of registered services is way too safer when compared to hiring a cab on the spot.

Another trick is to somehow let the cab driver know that you have passed on the details of the vehicle to a friend(a quick call to a friend within the ear shot of the driver reading him/her the license plate number would be perfect) .With a risk of being identified, no one with a common sense would attempt to hurt you.

#5 The old wise advise

The next important point is to avoid being in positions of potential dangers whenever possible.I am not retorting to VICTIM BLAMING- never ever.Mishaps can happen after every possible precaution that you have taken.Sometimes even under very safe conditions you might be attacked.No attacks can be justified by citing that the victim was careless. But then we value our lives more than anything in this world right?So we can definitely take a few precautionary steps.

Consider this situation.You are working late in office.You might have two choices- leave the office on your own,hire a cab or get a public transport to get home.The second option would be to wait for the company cab that you are entitled to and have a colleague accompany you.The second one might take a couple more minutes and you might feel that it is unnecessary, but then I would definitely wait for the company cab rather than take a risk.

Just take the precautions that you can take, even if you think it might interfere with your freedom or principles.For example how much ever I support the freedom to wear any kind of clothes as one pleases, I would think twice before I walk around in an unsafe street at night alone wearing shorts or miniskirt in a small city in India, because it might make you stand out and invite unwanted attention. Don’t walk alone in a stranded street , avoid bad neighborhood, try to be safe. Be aware of the part of the city you live in and rationalize what  is safe and what is unsafe

# 6 Let them know where you are!

Keep your close friends or family or concerned colleagues informed of your schedules so that they know what you are up to and when to come looking for you.You don’t want to go missing and not have anyone realize that before it is too late  :).

# 7 Self defense- be a master at it 🙂 

What can be more liberating than reducing those villains into ‘squishy squashy pulps’  :)? Enroll for a karate class or something that might give you that one power to punch the attacker.You might want to carefully consider what classes you want to attend based on the pros and cons (as I have never given a shot at it,I am not an expert to comment.)

Pepper spray sounds a great idea too.But then if you have one be sure it is in an easily accessible place, you don’y want to stumble and waste time searching for it, giving the attacker an extra advantage.You will have no time to lose.

If at all you find in a situation where you are confronted by an attacker(God forbid you do), scream ,make all mayhem, put your best fight, run in circles,try to attract the attention of every single soul near by.He might threaten to kill you if you don’t oblige, but then there is a good chance you would end up dead if you oblige to his threat.Studies show that attackers always target easy victims who does not put up a fight as no criminal would want to invite any attention towards themselves.Who knows, they might just leave you alone when they realize you are a good FIGHTER.:)

#8 Yes… you have sixth sense !!

Trust your intuition. You think you are being stalked? You probably are, turn to someone for help. Not comfortable being alone with a spooky guy in a train compartment or an elevator. Get out at the next stop. Well, if it turns out to just be a paranoia , you can always apologize, but it is better to act upon your gut feeling.

#9 Tip for all driving superstars

If you are driving your own vehicle and it breaks down in a deserted spot,lock the doors from within, pull up the glasses and call for help.Never get out of the vehicle.If a stranger approaches you offering help, refuse.Wait for you friend or family or authorities to arrive.Never trust a stranger when you are alone.

# 10 -React- Report

React and Report- when ever you face harassment in a public place or face a bunch of eve teasers or are attacked, report it to authorities.File a formal complaint.When you feel that  a person is misbehaving-react and let others around you know. There  was a lot of social stigma attached to women reacting against and reporting these kind of ‘advances’. But then time is changing, the mind set of people are changing. More arrests are being made on charges of harassment in public places.

If a person is excused without any confrontation after committing a crime, that would only boost his/her confidence.He/She might try a braver and more sinister thing the next time.Make this place a safe place for you and the others.

So ladies, here I sign off wishing you all a safe day and a safe life ahead 🙂

PS: For all those who are wondering why a sudden outburst of wisdom- I am sharing my Smart Suraksha Tips at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.

Also all the images used in the post are from Google image search,none are my personal illustrations