Subscribe to Feed
You are a woman walking alone in a darkened parking lot, trying to find your car. You sense someone watching you. You cannot see anyone but you have a few seconds to decide on a plan. What would you do?
Hopefully this is not the first time you are thinking about what to do in a precarious situation. Many men and women do not listen to their instincts when something spooks them. Many people believe that something always happens to someone else but not me. Well maybe this is your lucky night and nothing will happen. There are some ways to prepare for the worst.
The first way to be safe is to try and avoid dangerous areas. This means that women alone should park close to the store fronts at night and if the parking lot is dark – ask for assistance from a checker to be safe. Another way to be relatively safe is to go in groups of people. Muggers like easy prey – not lots of attention normally. Avoidance of danger is always my first choice and while I’m very confident that I could come out of an attack ok – there is no reason to put your-self at risk needlessly.
If a person/woman/child does find them-selves in an unsafe area there are things to do to prepare. First always pull your keys out before walking into the parking lot. If it is hard to see – walk out in the middle of the lanes confidently while trying to be aware of your surroundings. Hold your keys in-between your fingers making spikes as your ball your hand into a fist. Do not waive the keys about even if someone acts aggressively. If you see someone odd – try walking the other way – back towards people or the store but be ready to strike if needed. So in review – try not to put yourself in danger but if you find yourself in a dicey situation – try to prepare a surprise!
Now if someone does confront you – try to keep your distance and realize that the keys are meaningless if you show the attacker what you are planning to do. If the attacker wants to rob you – consider throwing your wallet to him to avoid a confrontation. If the antagonist tries to attack – step back and strike into the face when the opportunity presents itself. Then run to people or the store. If you are successfully able to surprise your attacker when he gets close – you should have an opportunity to get away. This plan has a chance if you don’t give it away. By the way – please interpose any other make-shift weapon in place of keys… it should all work well if you have the advantage of surprise.
Please remember – do not willingly go with a bad guy because you don’t know what his intentions are and bad guys don’t like witnesses to their crimes. If your plan goes bad – yell for help – gouge the attacker’s eyes, slap both hands on the guy’s ears, kick, bite and anything else to get away.
So – in review (1) avoid bad situations, (2) ask for help, (3) plan a surprise, (4) give up valuables, (5) spring your surprise if there is no way out, and (6) do not willingly go with a bad guy – fight, scream, and do whatever it takes to get away. Don’t give away your surprise (meaning don’t tell the guy what you are going to do to him if he gets close – no sense giving away your best advantage).
I wrote this for a woman in a bad situation but this advice works for anyone in a similar predicament.