Hello Ladies (sorry about the spam guys),
a friend forwarded this to me and I thought it was pretty informative.
Please take a minute and look this over. It could save your life.
Tanja
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Women's Personal Safety Tips:
Last night I attended a personal safety workshop given by an amazing man,
Pat Malone, who has been a body
guard for figures like Farrah Fawcett and Sylvester Stallone. He works for
the FBI and teaches police officers and Navy SEALS hand to hand combat.
This man has seen it all and knows a lot. He focused his Teachings to us on
HOW TO AVOID BEING THE VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME. He gave us some statistics
about how much the occurrences of random violence have escalated over the
recent years, and it's terrible. Something like 99% of us will be exposed/a
victim of a violent crime. Here are some points I got out of his
presentation:
1. The three reasons women are easy targets for random acts of violence
are:
a. Lack of awareness (you MUST know where you are & what's going on
around you.)
b. Body language (keep your head up, swing your arms, stand straight
up)
c. Wrong place, wrong time (DON'T walk alone in an alley or drive in
a bad neighborhood at night)
2. Women have a tendency to get into their cars and sit (doing their
checkbook or making a list, etc). DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be
watching you and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in the
passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON
AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.
3. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot or parking
garage:
a. Be aware: look around, look in your car, at the passenger floor,
and in the back seat. Check under the car.
b. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the
passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them
into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
c. Look at the car parked on the drivers side of your vehicle, and
the passenger side. If a male is sitting
alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall,
or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER
TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.
3. Always take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are
horrible places to be alone.)
a. Do not get on an elevator if a weirdo is already on there. (of
course bad men don't always look bad).
b. Do not stand back in the corners of the elevator, be near the
front, by the doors, ready to get off or on.
c. If you get on the elevator on 25th floor, and the Boogie Man gets
on the 22nd, get off when he gets on.
4. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS run!
a. POLICE only make 4 of 10 shots when they are in range of 3-9feet.
This is due to stress.
b. The predator will only hit a running target 4 in 100 times. Even
then, it likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!
5. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT, it may get
you raped or killed.
a. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good looking, well-educated
man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked
with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with
his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
b. Pat Malone told the story of his daughter who came out of the
mall and was walking to her car when she noticed 2 older ladies in front of
her. Then she saw a police car with 2 cops and they said hello. She also
noticed that all handicap spots in the area were empty. As she neared her
car a man a few rows over called to her for help. He wanted her to close his
passenger side door. He was sitting in the drivers side, and said he was
handicap. He continued calling, until she turned and headed back to the
mall, and then he began cursing at her. She wondered why he didn't ask the
older ladies, or the policeman for help, and why he was not parked in any
of the empty handicap spots. As she got back to the mall, two male friends
of hers were exiting, and as she told them the story, and turned to point
at the car, a male was getting out of the back seat into the front, and
the car sped away. DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP.
6. Tips to saving your life, if you have gotten into a violent situation:
a. REACT IMMEDIATELY: If he abducts you in a parking lot and is
taking you to an abandoned area, DON'T LET HIM GET YOU TO THAT AREA. * If
you are driving, react immediately - crash your car while still going 5 MPH.
*If he's driving, find the right time and stick your fingers in his eyes.
He must watch the road so choose an unsuspecting time and gouge him. It is
your ONLY defense. While he is in shock, GET OUT. (This sounds gross, but
the alternative is your fault if you do not act.)
b. RESIST: don't go along with him: run, if you are able:
* Scream.
* You DO NOT want to get to crime scene # 2. DON'T EVER GIVE
UP!
7. Always keep your distance when walking past strangers on the street or
in dark areas.
8. GET A CELL PHONE.
a. There are packages for $20/month that allow you to program only
911 into the dialing out program (this is for parents who say it is too
expensive for their kids to have a cell phone.)
9. BREAK DOWNS: (avoid this by ALWAYS keeping your car in good order)
a. If your car breaks down: have a cell phone to call for help and
lock your doors.
b. Keep a blanket, a pair of warm clothes and boots, and a flashlight
in your car always for emergencies.
c. If you don't have a cell phone: (shame on you) * If it's noon on a
business day, you MAY want to put
your hazards on and walk to safety. * If it's 2 a.m.: put on your
warm clothes and walk to a lighted area.
(ISN'T IT SAFER JUST TO STAY IN YOUR CAR?)
10. Physical defenses that we can use against a predator:
a. The eyes are the most vulnerable part of the body. Poke him there,
and you have possibly your only window of opportunity.
b. The neck is also a vulnerable spot, but you MUST know where to
grip AND HAVE THE STRENGTH to cut off his breath.
c. The last place is KNEES. Everyone's knees are very vulnerable. A
swift kick here will take anyone down.
A cautionary note about these things is that if you do not do these things
right the first time, you are a in trouble, because it will only anger the
individual and that anger will be TAKEN OUT ON YOU. I'm not saying don't
attempt them (it may be your only hope), but be forceful when you do. --
11. If you are walking alone in the dark (which you shouldn't be) and you
find him following/chasing you:
a. Scream "FIRE!", not "help". People don't want to get involved
when people yell "help", but "fire" draws attention because people are
nosy.
b. RUN!
c. Find an obstacle, such as a parked car, and run around it, like
ring around the rosie. This may sound silly, but over the years, 5 women
have told Pat Malone that this SAVED THEIR LIVES.
d. Your last hope is getting under the car. Once you are under
there, there are tons of things to hold on to, and he will not be able to
get you out, and will not come under for you (most likely). Usually they
give up by this point. The catch here is that YOU MUST PRACTICE GETTING
UNDER THE CAR. You must have a plan (he will have one); know if you will be
going on your back, front, from the side or back of the car. It must be
practiced.
12. Never let yourself or anyone that you know be a "closer" in any type of
business (bar, store, restaurant, gas station). Pat knew Danielle, a girl
that died from being shot point-blank by some kids while she was closing at
the local gas station. He talked with her the night before she died and
asked whether it ever scared her to close alone. She said yes, but "I'll
be alright, Pat. I'll be alright." She wasn't. I don't mean to scare you
with any of this, but honestly, I hope it did. It should. Our world is not
as safe as we pretend. "It won't happen to me" doesn't cut it. Women who die
EVERY MINUTE from violent crimes expected to go to bed tonight, and get up
tomorrow. No one expects it, but we must be prepared and aware so that we
HAVE A PLAN
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Apr 05 2001 - 11:05:58 CDT