How To Prevent Being The Victim Of A Crime Article

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How To Prevent Being The Victim of a Crime

Violence and crime against women continues to escalate. Prevention is the key word in diminishing crime in the U.S. There are many safety tips that women can implement in their daily lives to lessen the chances of being a victim. Furthermore, self-defense products are also available for use.

Author: Susan Eaton

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Violence and Crime Against Women Must Stop!

In 1994, Legislation was passed which paved the way for the Violence Against Women Act. This Legislation provided $1.6 billion to enhance investigation and prosecution of the violent crimes perpetrated against women. However, crimes against women continue to increase each year. Preliminary results for the first half of 2006 revealed that there was a 3.7 percent increase in all violent crimes compared to the first half of 2005.

Statistics reveal that a women is attacked every three minutes and are 10 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate partner.

One answer to this problem is for women to empower themselves with prevention. Criminals look for weaknesses in women and prey on them because they are easy targets. There are a number of self-defense practices that can lessen the chance of being an easy target Most of the practices are common sense.

Here are 10 tips for avoiding crime.

1. Be alert. Keep your head up and be aware of your surroundings.
2. Vary your routines. Predictability makes you a more likely target.
3. Lock your home, car, and office. Locks are the first line of defense.
4. Make your home a tough target by using floodlights, motion sensors, a security system and dead-bolts.
5. Prevent car-jacking by keeping your doors and windows locked and check mirrors and blind spots when stopped. If you think your car is being approached, sound your horn and flash your lights.
6. Avoid car theft by turning the wheels when you park and locking your doors. Use an anti-theft device and never leave a spare key inside your car.
7. Be creative and think of unusual ways to protect yourself.
8. Stay informed of crime trends in your area and work.
9. Get involved with an organization or Neighborhood Watch.
10. Do not give up. Crime can be reduced with action.

In addition to the above safety tips, you might want to carry some sort of self defense product such as pepper spray, a stun gun, or a personal alarm. These devices are very effective in deterring an assailant.

The popularity of pepper sprays has grown tremendously over the past couple of years due to the increase in violent crimes. It is estimated that more than 15,000,000 Americans carry a personal defense spray.

Pepper spray is very effective on an assailant. When sprayed into the eyes and face, the skin, eyes and mucous membranes of the throat become irritated. The assailant may experience coughing and choking and there may be a small increase in blood pressure, heart rate and ventilation. It is very uncomfortable and there is pain associated with it. Temporary incapacitation is the final result, mostly due to not being able to see.

Assailants are preoccupied with the blinding and painful experience to even attempt to do anything violent to you. When properly contaminated with pepper spray, an attacker will not be able to open their eyes for at least 10 minutes to an hour, allowing you plenty of time to escape safely. You should always take caution when using pepper spray. It may not be as effective on attackers with some form of psychosis, if they are using drugs, or if they are intoxicated.

Stun guns are also very effective in immobilizing an assailant as well. A stun gun is an electrical self-defense device that uses high voltage to stop an attacker by keying into the nervous system. Touching a person with the prongs on the stun gun quickly immobilizes the attacker. It dumps its energy into the muscles at a high pulse frequency that makes the muscles work very rapidly, but not efficiently. This rapid work cycle depletes blood sugar by converting it to lactic acid all in just seconds.

The resulting energy loss makes it difficult to move and function. At the same time, the tiny neurological impulses that travel throughout the body to direct muscle movement are interrupted. This causes disorientation and loss of balance and leaves the attacker in a passive and confused condition for several minutes. Because the amperage is very low there is no significant effect on the heart and other organs and no serious or permanent injury is inflicted.

Although the 1994 Violence Against Women Act has indeed enhanced investigation and prosecution of assailants committing crimes against women, statistics reveal a continued increase in violent crimes each year. The empowerment of women is essential in combating these crimes. Lets help protect all women by sharing information and knowledge of safety practices. Implement these safety practices and carry a non-lethal, self-defense product such as pepper spray or a personal alarm. If we work together we can help prevent the unthinkable.

About Author

Susan Eaton has a bachelors degree in Finance from Georgia State University. She is co-owner with Martha Z. Martinez, a Graphic Designer, of WomenOnGuard.com. Both women are very passionate on the topic of violence and crime against women. The premise for their web site is to educate women on prevention. The site offers free safety tip sheets in a downloadable PDF format, victim hotlines, helpful links and an interactive discussion forum. The site also sells non-lethal, self-defense products such as pepper sprays, stun guns, personal alarms and an array of other non-lethal, self-defense products.

Susan Eaton
http://www.womenonguard.com
info@womenonguard.com

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How To Prevent Being The Victim of a Crime