Take safety into your own hands

WOMEN’S Month is a time of reflection and celebration of the strengths and successes of the fairer sex, but it is also a sobering time for society to take stock of the challenges and crimes perpetrated against thousands of South African women.

Some of the depressing realities of crimes against women include:

• A total of 144 women report a rape to the police every day.

• Research by the Medical Research Council in 2010 found that only one in 25 women in Gauteng will report a rape after the incident.

• Police crime statistics released for 2011/2012 show there were 64 514 sexual crime cases reported to police, a slight drop from 66 196 the year before.

• According to the Medical Research Council, South Africa is one of the global leaders when it comes to female murders.

• Police crime statistics show that 2 286 women were murdered in 2011/2012, while 87 191 women were assaulted.

Former policewoman and Blue Security special projects manager, Michelle Kramer, believes women can make a difference in preventing crimes against them.

She offered the following safety tips for women to absorb and apply when busy in the home, at the mall, out and about on a school run or taking a brisk walk:

Mall safety

• When in the mall keep your handbag clutched tightly under your arm and when on an escalator move your bag to the front of your body, because criminals often target victims on escalators.

• Keep your bag between you and your children. Ensure your children are always in full view.

• Never keep your purse or cellphone in the front pouch of your handbag.

• Rather pay for safer parking than opt for free parking that could mean a long walk back to your car in the dark. Always park in a well-lit area.

• When you have to leave the mall, take your keys out your bag before you exit the mall so that you don’t have to dig in your bag in the parking lot.

• Be vigilant as you get into the car and don’t start sorting out the children or eating before driving off.

• Place your child’s car seat directly behind the driver’s seat so that you can quickly grab your child out of the car in case of a hijacking.

Safety at home

• One of the best security measures a woman can have at home is the benefit of an early warning system that provides time to escape or hide. This could be achieved by keeping a watchdog outside or by installing outdoor beams connected to an alarm system.

• Homes are often targeted between 5pm and 7pm when women and their partners are focused on homework, cooking dinner, bathing the kids and feeding the dog. Always keep doors and at the very least, security gates locked and outdoor beams armed.

• Bedrooms are alarm zones in the home that people often do not keep armed in the evening, so it can be useful to install an external beam across the window for early detection of an intruder.

• Safe rooms are not only for the rich, famous and politically connected. Keep the key on the inside of your bedroom door, a mobile panic button and a spare charged cellphone in your bedroom. This gives you the chance to grab your kids and lock yourselves in the bedroom from where you can call for help.

• Change your front door so that it opens outwards and install your security gate on the inside. This makes it harder for criminals to kick the door down.

• Link your gate and your electric fence to your alarm and install brackets that make it harder to derail the gates.

Safety on school-run

• Criminals view the school-run as an opportunity for hijacking and robbery. When fetching your children from school, be vigilant and don’t leave your handbag on the seat, if you have to get out of the car.

• Don’t stand with your back facing dubious strangers while loading the school bags into the boot as this can leave you vulnerable to hijackers.

• It’s tempting, especially for stay-at-home moms, to use the school run as a time to socialise with other mothers, but the deeper you engage in conversation and remain oblivious to your surroundings, the more at risk you could be of being robbed or hijacked.

Safety while walking

• When out walking or jogging, take your cellphone with you and be ready to press your cellphone panic button to alert your security company in case of an emergency. But don’t walk and talk on your cellphone. If your phone rings, rather ignore it and call back later.

• Be vigilant and if you notice someone suspicious, don’t look down, rather look them boldly in the eye.

• Don’t wear lavish jewellery like rings and necklaces.

• Leave your iPod at home as this is a source of attraction for a mugger.

• Be aware when leaving the house and returning home, because anyone watching will know that you have your keys with you.

• Carry a bottle of pepper spray with you and brace yourself to either run, or spray, if a suspicious individual approaches.