Personal Safety Strategies Awareness Workshop

Workshop Purpose To enhance your quality of life, rather than place limitations on you, by providing a range of practical personal safety strategies.

Opening Statement There are no all-purpose strategies to preserve your personal safety in all situations. As individuals we should recognise our own abilities, environmental surroundings, and the perceived motivation of those who may be threatening our safety, to determine what action will best preserve our safety.

Personal Violence u Who are more likely to commit an offence? Male or female? u What age group? u Does risk of being a VICITM increase or decrease with age? u Is the offender more likely known or unknown to the victim? u Where is the most likely venue for the offence?

Impact of Fear of Crime Positive Effects: u encourages preventative behaviours Negative Effects: u restricts lifestyle u decreases confidence in surroundings u encourages victim status u reduces natural surveillance

Core Concepts of Personal Safety 1.Right to safety 2.Keeping violence in perspective 3.Commitment 4.Confidence 5.Body language 6.Awareness of surroundings 7.Trusting and acting on instinct 8.Assertiveness 9.Networks 10.Developing a personal safety plan

1. Right to Safety We all have the right to feel safe all of the time. You are encouraged to be aware of and maintain your right and be committed to your personal safety. It is also important to respect others’ right to safety.

2. Keep Violence in Perspective By educating ourselves about the source of our fears we can gain an understanding of the real risks involved and develop strategies to minimise those risks. Examples include: fear of spiders, snakes, rape/assault, heights.

3. Commitment Question: How committed are YOU to your own safety? Many people are more committed to the safety of their loved ones than they are to their own safety. Being committed to your safety is fundamental to maintaining it.

4. Confidence u Why is appearing confident important to your safety?

4. Confidence u Reflected in body language, portraying our vulnerability or strength; u Indicated in our ability to handle a threat to personal safety; u Often reflected in our quality of life; u Bluffing confidence is effective; u Source of power - all successful people have faith in their own abilities; “If we did all the things we are capable of we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas Edison

5. Body Language Strong, confident = head up, shoulders back, looking people in the eye, walking purposefully, being casually aware of surroundings. Weak, vulnerable = head drooped, shoulders hunched, not looking people in the eye, walking unsurely, appearing paranoid.

6. Awareness of Surroundings u Allows you to avoid potential threat/danger by taking action before it reaches you/you reach it. u Minimises the possibility of someone attacking/assaulting you by surprise. u By casually being aware of surroundings you appear strong, confident and ‘streetwise’, thus reducing the likelihood of being targeted by an attacker.

7. Trusting and Acting on Instinct u Our bodies sense threat sooner than our conscious mind; u By listening to our instincts we can take action to remove ourselves from the source of threat and dramatically reduce the risk of attack. u By ignoring our instincts we can allow ourselves to be placed into a dangerous situation.

9. Networks u By talking to people we trust and gaining their support, advice etc. We are better equipped to handle and solve our problems u Networks can assist to increase confidence and self esteem u Often people most in need of assistance are isolated

10. Personal Safety Plan u Consisting of safety strategies chosen by you to suit your lifestyle and abilities; u Chosen strategies should become habits, used on a daily basis; u Should not be a list of rules; u Visual imagery is an effective method of preparing ourselves to use chosen strategies.

Core Concepts of Personal Safety 1.Right to safety 2.Keeping violence in perspective 3.Commitment 4.Confidence 5.Body language 6.Awareness of surroundings 7.Trusting and acting on instinct 8.Assertiveness 9.Networks 10.Developing a personal safety plan

Dealing with Confrontations u There are no all purpose strategies to preserve our personal safety in all situations u We need to recognise –Our own abilities –Environmental factors; and –The perceived motivations of those who may be threatening our safety In order to determine what action will best preserve our safety. Do whatever you believe will best preserve your safety at the time.

ACTIONS u Escaping u Fighting back u Screaming u Negotiating with attacker u Creating a diversion u Whatever the attacker tells you to and u Whatever will best preserve your safety

Three Reasons to Scream 1.Adrenaline rush: converts fear to anger, enables defender to think quicker, move faster and multiplies their strength 2.Shock attacker: attacker is not expecting victim to turn to aggressor, and self defence strikes impact more severely on a tense, shocked body 3.To draw attention to the situation: although people may not be around or assist you even if they are, at least the offender is aware others may have heard you

Areas Of Vulnerability Best Targets: EYES THROAT GROIN Nose, knee, ears, head and face.

Options to Physical Self Defence u yell out to a fictitious person u verbal response - negotiate with attacker u fake medical condition e.g. STD/AIDS/Hepatitis u fake asthma attack/heart attack, epileptic fit, faint, mental illness u ask to go to the bathroom to remove tampon/insert diaphragm u be revolting - throw up, defecate, urinate u wait for the attacker’s attention to be momentarily diverted and seek escape u anything else you can think of to stop the attack or create an opportunity to escape

Personal Safety Strategies: Awareness Workshop THANK YOU for your participation