Personal safety is mostly all about prevention. It is better to avoid a dangerous or unsafe situation than to fight your way out of it. You only fight your way out of it when there are no other options.
Think about your belongings.
1. Pack light so you can move quickly and keep your valuables on you while in transit.
2. You don’t want to look like you have money, nor do you want to look like a tourist of dress provocatively.
3. Only take what you need and leave the rest locked up.
4. Take only your personal credit card and money you need and stash your money and card on hard-to-reach spots in your clothing like hip pocket, shoe, sock, and bra. Not in your purse. If you get robbed, you’ll lose everything at once.
5. If someone demands your wallet or purse, use a back up wallet. Throw it away from you. If that’s what they really want, you’ll have time to run away.
Spend extra money on staying safe.
6. If your flight is scheduled to arrive later at night in a rougher city, spend some money on a guesthouse that will pick you up right from the airport or use a trusted taxi company.
7. Choose a hotel with a good safety record. Some hotels offer women-only floors. Ask for a room above the ground floor, near the elevator. It's recommended to pick a room further away from emergency exits and stairwells as they can be easier accessible to strangers.
8. Sign with your initials instead of your name or use Mr. and Mrs.
9. Keep the business card of the hotel with address and phone number with you and use valet parking.
10. Check your hotel room before locking yourself in.
The use of protection objects.
11. Always lock your doors – car, hotel, room.
12. Self-protection objects are tricky: they can portrait a false perception of safety. You might not have the time to dig the tools up and if you use them, they could be used against yourself. It is safer to use your own body to protect yourself.
13. If you still want to use a personal protection item, a personal alarm can be helpful. It can distract and disorient attackers attracting attention they don’t want. See for more info www.womenonguard.com/personal-alarms
14. You can’t stay awake all the time, so you can use some objects like a door jammer. You can use it in your hotel room and it can stop unwanted people from getting in your hotel room while you are sleeping or taking a shower.
15. Use big objects as a shield for yourself. For example if you move around you are harder to hit, so move around object and keep them between yourself and the attacker as a wall.
Spend some extra money on prevention to avoid potential risk. Your life and safety go first. Before you're starting your trip think about your Personal Safety. Make it a part of your travel planning. Next week read more about the third and last part of my travel blog: "15 ACTION Travel Safe tips for Women."
For more information and training please check out our events.
We'll have a special seminar coming up on Travel Safety for Women on July 4th in Amsterdam.
Spots are still available.
Be smart and stay safe!
Synthia Stoffer
JUNO Creator.