by Jared Lowrie
What is personal safety? And why is it so important?
Personal safety refers mainly to one\'s physical safety and security. We\'ve all heard stories about people being raped and assaulted - but we rarely ever hear about ways to prevent these types of crimes. When it comes to prevention, personal safety has to start with you - and the more you learn about personal security measures - the more prepared you\'ll be if you\'re ever confronted with an emergency situation.
When we think about keeping ourselves safe, we often think of avoiding situations that could potentially be dangerous - not walking alone in a dark park at night or accepting rides from strangers - the obvious red-flag scenarios. But what about crimes like date rape - crimes you have no idea are about to happen? Although women are most often the victims of sexual crimes, men are not immune to them either and in fact, men will often be less guarded and taken by surprise by spontaneous crimes.
So what can we do to keep ourselves safe from unexpected emergency situations that threaten our personal security? We can take actions to be as prepared as possible for the unforeseen future! Many personal security products on the market today are intended to be discrete and non-intrusive. Rape whistles are small but extremely loud - they can reside on your keychain, in your purse or even on a string around your neck (which is not recommended as it has the potential to be used for strangulation).
Other popular methods of personal protection are mace and pepper spray. Although these items are prohibited in several states and countries - they can often be an effective way of detouring potential criminals from harming you by disabling their vision and causing severe pain and discomfort - which is also very disorienting. Personal alarms offer up similar protection to car or house alarms by giving off a very loud noise and alerting bystanders of the emergency. Many people like to use their cell phones as a method of personal security - simply dial 911 into the keypad and hold your finger on the \"call\" button which will alert the authorities should you need them - beware you don\'t make the mistake of actually calling them if there is no real emergency - just pre-dial the number or set a speed dial and just hit the call button if you are confronted by an emergency.
No matter what type of personal security product you choose to keep yourself safe, be sure you are familiar with it and know how to use it properly - an emergency situation is the wrong time to get out the owner\'s manual.
About the Author
Jared Lowrie is a huge advocate for Personal Security. He teaches Self Defense Training to teenagers and educates his students on the best Self Defense Products to ensure their safety at all times.