Personal Safety Tips & Stress Management

When it comes to personal safety tips, the most important thing to note is that lack of safety and security or collateral wellness is a key contributor to the overwhelming stress in our lives. It is not necessary for us to become paranoid, but a little critical thought about issues of safety and security would go a long way to reducing stress, not to mention danger.

Don't wait until it's too late to review and implement the personal safety tips outlined below.

If we are lazy about achieving and maintaining collateral wellness (personal safety and security), then the results of our experiences, particularly if they lead to an encounter with violence or injury, could open the floodgates of stress in our lives and the lives of those who care for us.

It's more than worth it to put a little thought into a personal safety plan in everything we do.

Using these Personal Safety Tips
is a Choice You Must Make!

It's no secret we could ALL benefit from a personal safety tips list, however the reality is that no personal safety tips list will be of any use unless we actually make the choice to practice a high level of risk management in our lives. In other words, we have to use the strategies.

There are so many guidelines out there that tell us how to develop a personal safety plan; or how to achieve and maintain health and safety in the home, but how many of us really bother to take the necessary steps to implement these personal safety tips on a day to day basis?

It's not really a matter of knowing personal safety tips (there is no lack to the information out there; rather it's an issue of choosing personal safety. Collateral wellness is a choice.

And please don't forget to teach your kids these skills as well. Everyone needs to be risk aware.

Click here to complete a short survey about your attitudes towards Collateral Wellness - Your Safety and Security.

Personal Safety Tips:
Statistics about Women and Safety

• Studies have shown that more than 50% of women have experienced violence in some form. These are reported cases only.
  
• The highest rates of violence are reported by young women (18 to 24 years of age) and by those with some post-secondary education.
• Few (14%) violent incidents experienced by women are reported to police.
• Violence against women by men known to them constitutes the largest threat and cause of harm; 89% of sexual assault victims were attacked by someone they knew.
• Women speak of the fear they feel of walking alone at night, of working in offices at night, and of being the victim of sexual assault.
• About 45% of women say they restrict their activities because of concern for their personal safety.

Personal Safety Tips:
Statistics about Men and Safety

• 10% of men respondents reported being the target of verbal harassment (typically with racist overtones).
• 3.4% experienced physical threats; and 1.8% were physically assaulted (typically drunkenness was involved).
  
• Safety can be more of a problem for men who are gay, disabled or who may be identified as members of visible minorities.
• Many men worry about the safety of women and are often aware of safety concerns because they realize that women may be threatened by their presence.

12 Personal Safety Tips
to be Safe when Working

• Know employees in other offices and be aware of their schedules.
• If you are suspicious of people hanging around or receive strange phone calls, notify authorities in your environment.
• If you feel uncomfortable about a person who has entered your work space, trust your instincts. Look directly at the person, making it clear that you are in charge and cannot be intimidated. If you feel threatened, make a scene - YELL!
• Know the nearest emergency exits. Be aware of nearby safe places and phones.
• Use a buddy system when leaving work and stick to well-lit areas at night.
• If you are working late, let someone at home know and tell them when you expect to leave.
• If you enter a washroom and suspect if is unsafe, don't call out. Back out, go to a safe, lockable place with a phone and phone for help.
• If you encounter someone unfamiliar when you are alone or working late, indicate you are not alone. "(My supervisor) will be right here and will be able to help you."
• If someone is abusive, violent, or threatens your personal safety, immediately report the incident to authorities in your situation or the police.
• If you feel threatened by someone you work with, discuss the situation with a trusted co-worker or the Harassment Advisor. Plan your response to potential problems.
• Follow safety and emergency procedures at all times. If you are concerned about a safety or health issue, contact Occupational Health and Safety, your supervisor, or your union.
• You do not have to perform any work that you feel is unsafe or could cause injury to you or anyone else. If you are asked to do so, immediately contact Occupational Health and Safety or your union.

9 Personal Safety Tips to be Safe when
Studying at a School or Library

• Avoid studying in isolated classrooms in campus areas that are infrequently patrolled, have little or no traffic, or are difficult to access.
• Do not study in stairwells, doorways, and locker alcoves.
• Study in groups; there is safety in numbers.
• Set up a buddy system on the floor you are working on; keep in regular contact.
• Try to work in an area where you have access to a phone in case you need to call for assistance.
• Do not use a personal stereo system or play music so loudly that you can't hear what is going on around you.
• Immediately, report any suspicious individuals in the area to Security. If you are in the library, tell a librarian.
• If possible, lock the door of your work area to keep unwanted visitors out.
• Report all incidents to school authorities or the police.

14 Personal Safety Tips
When in Residence at College or University

• Do not prop open doors for any reason.
• Do not lend out your residence keys.
• Lock the door to your room at all times.
• Close the drapes before you change.
• Look out for one another. If you see someone suspicious on your floor, ask who they are looking for, or call the Manager or an Advisor.
• Remember that you have the right to question people's presence on your floor.
• Set up a buddy system with others on your floor when you have to travel at night.
• Never leave a fellow resident alone with a date if you know they are too intoxicated to have control over their own actions.
• Never ignore strange noises coming from someone's room. Call the police immediately.
• If you are doing laundry, shopping, or photocopying late at night, let a friend know where you are or have a friend go with you.
• Avoid letting strangers know if you are female. Use your initial rather than your first name on your mailbox and in the phone book.
• If a stranger asks to use your phone, do not let them in. Offer to make the call for them.
• Close your window shades or drapes after dark.
• If you return to your room to find that windows or doors have been tampered with, do not enter or call out. Go to a neighbor and call the police.

12 Personal Safety Tips
to be Safe with Automobiles

• Remember to keep your doors locked and windows rolled up.
• If someone tries to get in, drive off immediately. If this is not possible, use your horn to draw attention to what is happening.
• As you approach your car, have your keys ready.
• Before entering the car, check the back seat, even if your car was locked. Use your phone flashlight to take a quick look.
  
• Consider your surroundings. Well lit, busy places are obviously the best places to park. If you have to park in a poorly lit area, or have to walk some distance to and from the car, if possible have someone walk with you.
• Report to security any strange persons you see lurking around any parking lot or vehicle.
• Don't mark your key chain with your name, address, and/or license number.
• Report any tampering or other suspicious activity to the police.
• If you suspect someone is following you, drive to the nearest service station, convenience store, or police station, and honk your car's horn until help arrives.
• Keep valuables in the trunk, and credit cards in your purse or wallet.
• Lock your doors as soon as you enter your vehicle.
• Do not offer help to a stranded driver. Stop at the next phone and call for assistance to be sent to them.
• Do not hitchhike or pick up hitchhikers.
• If you pull off the road to deal with calls, texting or music adjustments, always lock your doors and roll up your windows until you are finished and on the road driving again.

6 Personal Safety Tips for Bike Safety

• Try to park your bike in a well-lit area. What looks good in the daylight may not be adequately lit at night. If you must park your bike in a poorly lit area of campus, walk with a friend.
• Make sure your bike is securely locked before leaving it. Use 2 locks if necessary. One to secure it to a permanent fixture such as a bike rack and one to ensure parts such as wheels or the seat are not stolen.
  
• Get a quick release seat so you can take it with you.
• Avoid the use of cable style locks, they can be easily cut. Try these instead.
  
• Secure your bike only to a bike rack, never to a signpost or railings that are easily broken or bent.
  
• Do not take bikes into buildings. They can interfere with evacuation during an emergency.

9 Personal Safety Tips to be Street Safe

1. Do not walk or run alone late at night. When running, stay in very public areas with plenty of visibility.
   
2. Stay in well-lit areas. Walk midpoint between curbs and buildings
3. Do not use alleys or less traveled routes between buildings. Avoid bushes.
   
4. Stay near people and avoid taking short cuts alone though vacant lots and other deserted places.
   
5. Carry only necessary credit cards and money.
   
6. Do not stop to provide strangers with directions or information, especially at night.
   
7. Do not use a personal stereo system or play music so loudly that you can't hear what is going on around you.
   
8. Walk with someone else whenever possible and set up a buddy system with your friends.
9. If you suspect you are being followed; be suspicious; keep looking behind you so the person knows you cannot be surprised; cross the street or change direction; go to a well-lit area, enter a building, try to go anywhere there are people and phones; approach security, if available, and request help; notice and remember as much as possible; do not confront the person (s); and report the incident to police.

5 Personal Safety Tips To Manage
Abusive or Obscene Phone Calls

• Do not talk to the caller.
• Hang up if the caller does not say anything, or as soon as obscenities are uttered.
• Hang up the phone normally instead of slamming it down.
• Inform the authorities in your situation or the police about the call.
• Inform the local telephone company, and ask them about service options for tracing calls and unlisted numbers. On most private lines, pressing *69 will give you the number of your most recently received call.

Reference: These personal safety tips have been adapted from the Thompson Rivers University Website

Knowing personal safety tips can go along way to heading off a problem. Personal safety refers not only to physical safety (freedom from physical harm) but also to psychological safety, which involves freedom from worry about physical safety as well as being victimized by hostility, aggression, and harassment.

Health and safety hazards can represent significant impediments to human creative and social growth and all persons have a right to exist in environments that assert and support their fundamental rights, personal worth, and human dignity.

The above list is by no means an exhaustive list of personal safety tips or safety concerns. In fact, there are few situations in life, in which it isn't a good idea to generate a list of personal safety tips to help with risk management.

Some of the many additional situations not included in the personal safety tips above are:

1. Dealing with domestic violence and abuse
2. Safety in the outdoors - lost in the woods issues, for example
   
3. Safety in sports and recreation
4. Safety in sexuality and sexual practices
5. Occupational (workplace) Health and Safety
   
6. Safety when dealing with age related issues such as dementia
7. Travel safety

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