Avoid Getting Into a Dangerous Situation

It seems like every day on the news, there is a story of a person being assaulted, robbed, or even killed. This can make you fearful to interact with new people or to go places alone. However, if you practice safety in your daily life by securing your home, modifying your behavior when you’re out, and avoiding risks online, you can live a life that is as danger free as possible.

Steps

Staying Safe in Your Home

1. Keep strangers out of your home. Perhaps the most fundamental rule in avoiding danger is not letting strangers into your personal space. Though most people are harmless, the only way to assess this fact is time. You should avoid letting anyone into your home or car who you do not know. By controlling who does and does not enter your home, you can further assure your safety.
   • Before opening the door, verify their identity through the window or a peephole.
2. Lock your doors and windows. Another way to stay safe is by making sure that your home is secure. Make sure that all of your doors and windows are locked at all times, even when you are home and even if you live in a safe neighborhood. You cannot hope to keep danger out if you are leaving your doors open to strangers.
   • Make it a habit of locking the doors behind you anytime you enter or exit your home.
   • Before you go to sleep at night, make sure the doors are all locked.
3. Consider getting an alarm system. One way to make sure that your home is secure while you are sleeping or away is to invest in an alarm system. If an intruder comes in while the alarm is enabled, a loud siren will sound and the police will be alerted. This helps assure that danger does not enter your home without you knowing.
   • Select a code for the alarm that won’t be easy to guess.
   • Consider also getting motion detection lights. Anytime someone is walking in your yard, a light will come on, alerting you to their presence.
4. Have a neighbor’s number. Your neighbors can be vitally important should an issue arise. Take some time to get to know the neighbors next to you so that they can look out for your home when you are not around or when you are sleeping. Also, should an issue arise, you might want to call your neighbors to alert them so that they can protect their house from danger as well.
5. Develop an exit plan. In the event that an intruder does enter your home or should a fire breakout, you should have a plan in place for you and your family to get out safely. That plan may include everyone coming to your room and then leaving through the window. Talk to your family about this plan so that everyone is on the same page.
6. Consider getting a dog. Dogs are a great way to be alerted to danger. Often times, before someone even rings your doorbell, they are aware of their presence. They can alert you to that so that you are prepared to be visited by strangers or potential intruders. In addition, should an intruder find their way in while you are away, many dogs will attack that intruder, which will stunt them from attacking you or taking your belongings.
   • In addition, dogs can be caring, loving and very loyal.

Avoiding Danger Away From Home

1. Appear confident. A potential attacker would rather assault someone who is looking at the ground, and is looking unsure. You will be less likely to be attacked if you maintain a good posture and look directly ahead of you. Keep your phone in hand and ready to make a call if necessary, but do not look down at it while you walk. Walk with purpose and pay close attention to your surroundings.
   • Always know where you are going before you go there. If you plan out your route before leaving, you will be confident as you walk and less likely to get lost or have to ask strangers for directions.
2. Know your surroundings. If you should return home and there is a new car nearby or a new person standing outside, take precaution and stay alert. Many times, this will be harmless, but sometimes this could be a potential threat. Call a neighbor who can make sure you get inside safely.
3. Walk at night with a group of people you trust. As far as it is possible, avoid walking alone at night. The more people you have to walk with at night, the safer you will be. Never walk alone at night if possible. Walking with strangers can be dangerous, as well, so walk with friends that you trust.
   • If your friends want to stay out longer, ask them to walk you to your car and then drop them back off at the door.
4. Keep your keys in your hand. When you are approaching your car, you do not want to be fumbling to find your keys, particularly at night or when you are alone. Before you leave your destination, have your keys in your hand.
   • You can also use your keys as weapon if you wedge the key between your fingers and punch.
5. Charge your cell phone before going out. Being out while your cell phone is dead can be dangerous. Should you need to call a friend or even 911, a dead phone will render you unable to do so. Take at least an hour before you leave home to charge your phone and make sure that all of your contacts are updated should you need to dial a friend in a hurry.
   • Consider putting some numbers on speed dial so that you can access them more readily.
   • Consider buying a portable charger and taking that with you when you go out.
6. Walk facing traffic. It is easy for a potential attacker to sneak up on you without you having seen them if you are walking with traffic. But if you are walking facing traffic, you will know should a car slow down.
7. Hang out with friends who are responsible and safe. Though you love your friends and enjoy spending time with them, you likely know the ones who often get you or themselves into trouble. Spend less time with these types of people and more time with people who you trust. Work to also be a trustworthy friend who keeps your friends safe.
   • Try to avoid going out with friends who regularly get arrested or who drink too much.
8. Don’t drink too much or accept drinks you didn’t see being made. Though it is normal and healthy to have a few drinks when out with friends, you should refrain from binge drinking at all costs. Know your limits and try to have no more than one to two drinks per hour, depending upon your size. Also, should someone want to buy a drink for you, make sure that you watch as it is being made to assure that no drugs are being put into it.
   • It is perhaps safest to purchase your own drinks. Make sure you keep your drink with you at all times. Don’t leave it unattended.
   • Avoid drugs, as well. They can alter your judgment and make you do things that you normally would not do.
   • Avoid “party punches” at parties unless you know and trust everyone there. These could be spiked with drugs, as well.
9. Avoid taking short-cuts through dark alleyways, especially at night. If something were to happen or if someone were to attack you, there is a smaller chance that someone might hear you and be able to help. It is better to go the long way around than to risk being harmed.
   • If you have an iPhone, you can share your location via the iMessage app while you are texting a friend so they can make sure you arrived home safely.
   • Apps for those without iPhones who are interested in sharing their location include Glympse and Life360 Family Locator.

Guarding Against a Potential Attack

1. Don’t accept rides from strangers. Before you go out, make sure that you know how you will get home. Though a stranger may seem friendly and nice, appearances can be deceiving. You should not shy away from making new friends, but you should also exert caution when entering into potentially dangerous situations with new people, including entering a car with them alone.
   • Never ride in a car when a drunk person is driving.
2. Make as much noise as possible if being attacked. Don't be afraid to draw attention to yourself - it may save you from harm. Also, should your attacker try to get you to go with them to another location, you should refuse. If they get you into a car with them and out of a public place, it is less likely that you will have a favorable outcome. Make as much noise as possible, fight, and call the police if possible. Do anything to get away from them.
3. Don’t be afraid to fight back. This holds true especially when an attacker is unarmed. Good places to aim for are the temple and the groin. It is unnecessary to make the moves fancy, so just remember that self defense is not pretty. Do whatever is practical and effective in keeping you safe.
   • One of the most effective ways to fight back is to use a palm heel strike. Your palm heel is the hard bone between your palm and your wrist. You can find it by pressing your palm hard on a flat surface: the area that turns white is the palm heel. Execute the palm heel strike by keeping your fingers back and thrusting your palm heel forward.
4. Trust your gut. Our psyche tends to tune us into issues even if there is no discernible danger in front of us. If you feel not at ease in a situation or at a certain place, leave that situation immediately or find a few friends to be with. It is better to be overly cautious and for nothing to happen than for danger to occur that you could have prevented.

Preventing Risky Behavior Online

1. Install security software on your computer. Without your knowledge, there could be someone attempting to hack your computer to access your personal files. However, you can prevent hackers from accessing your information by installing security software to your computer. Some examples of security software include Norton and McAfee.
2. Don’t post personal information. Though you may desire to share many aspects of your personal life onto social media, don’t post overly personal information, like your address or phone number. Be very hesitant in trusting the world with that kind of information.
3. Don’t give out your passwords. Your passwords will allow access to your most personal information, including your email and bank account. Never share this information with anyone, especially those who you have met online.
   • Make sure your passwords are slightly complex and are something only you would know.
4. Think before posting anything. Beyond your address and passwords, you should be cautious with everything that you are posting. Pictures, statuses, and location updates all give strangers more and more information about you, information that could potentially be dangerous. Ask yourself “would I want everyone to know this?” before you post anything.
   • Avoid posting overly revealing pictures as these can elicit responses from potential predators online.
5. Think carefully before meeting anyone from online. Remember that online, people can pretend to be anyone. Though you may have seen a picture of someone, you have no way of knowing if that is really them unless you FaceTime or Skype. Also, any information people share with you could be completely false. Remember this and proceed with caution.
   • Should you choose to meet, meet in a public place in the middle of the day and make sure you are not followed home.
   • Consider meeting them with your friends as a group.
   • If you are younger than 18, ask your parents if you can meet someone online.

Tips

• If you suspect notice any suspicious activities around you look for shadows that may reveal someone hiding around the corner waiting to surprise you. If you spot someone near you, and if you're quite a distance away, stop and listen. If you're right there, don't turn your back, but take steps back slowly; then if it is an attacker, turn your back and run.
• If a situation feels uncomfortable, remove yourself from it. For example, if you don't trust a particular person, don't hang around! Go with your initial thought about this situation, and trust your gut feeling.
• Be aware about your surroundings. It is proven that most attacks occur at the victim's house, and 86% of these are by people who are known by the victim. Don’t spend the rest of your life on edge, but you do have to be wary about your surroundings.
• One of the most vulnerable positions that you can be in is at an ATM. Research has shown that as you have your back to everyone behind you, it makes you an easy target. Whilst retrieving your money, every few seconds look around to check out your surroundings.
• If someone has a knife strategically placed on your neck or groin, listen to them and don't risk being defiant, unless they are trying to make you get into their car.

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Sources and Citations

See also

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• Overcome Hatred from Others
• Change Someone Else's Behavior
• Avoid Conflict
• Determine Why Someone Is Treating You Poorly
• Deal With Impossible People
• Stop Being a People Pleaser
• Deal With Beggars Asking You for Money
• Ignore People You No Longer Wish to Be Around
• Tell Someone to Stop Flirting With You

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