Psychologist's recommendations
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM VIOLENCE
At home, you can protect yourself using locks, surveillance cameras, and on the street, your best defense is to avoid dangerous situations. To do this, you need to know where to expect danger. In most cases, safety recommendations are based on trusting your common sense and intuition.
A few good rules to start with:
avoid solo walks in places where there are few people;
refuse, if possible, from night movements, in extreme cases, use a taxi;
if possible, do not stop cars by hitchhiking and do not agree to be picked up by strangers, whether a man or a woman;
never show money, valuables, or jewelry.
Purse or wallet, documents should be kept in an inside pocket, in a safe place;
have a small amount on hand for current payments or in case of extortion;
do not load yourself with bundles and packages, especially if there is ice on the street. It is better to always have freedom of movement, including in case the need arises to defend;
if someone is following you, contact a policeman, enter any institution or store;
use a map in an unfamiliar city;
do not show too clearly that you are a tourist or a business traveler, walk around with a local newspaper in your hands, do not stand out with clothes;
especially be vigilant at stations and markets;
be attentive to doorways and poorly lit places, avoid them if possible;
avoid getting into an empty subway car, bus or trolleybus, and if you still have to do this, sit closer to the driver;
avoid walking through parks or sports fields at night;
when relaxing in the park, choose benches located in an open space, preferably without thickets on the back side.
Know and remember: the information conveyed by your gait and behavior is crucial for those who choose the victim. It is much easier for a criminal to deal with a timid, indecisive person than with a calm and self-confident person.
In the event that you are stopped by a criminal, avoid immediately reacting to this with violent actions, especially if he is armed and even more so if you are not sure that you can protect yourself. This is not the time to risk your life without being robbed yet.
The best way to reduce physical abuse towards yourself is not to resist. Practice shows that the attacked person is more likely to survive if he recognizes his superiority for the criminal. Such submissiveness is not a natural trait for many, but before taking any action, it is better to carefully weigh your real possibilities and possible consequences. Moreover, the criminals themselves, in situations of obvious superiority over them, are able to behave quite accommodatingly.
A few more tips:
• if you are treated rudely about an alleged mistake or are made the object of ridicule, do not respond or give in to provocation;
• never run if there is any doubt that you will succeed. In a criminogenic situation, such a demonstration of one's fear is also an argument in favor of violence, if it is already conceived by the persecutor. This can also be a decisive factor for some maniac or a person with an unstable psyche. It is running that can excite the taste for "hunting";
• when running away, do not lead the pursuer to your home, do not go straight home;
• When approaching the apartment, keep the keys at the ready so that you can enter the house without delay.
An important point in the rules for safety in criminogenic situations is the "provocation" of the crime.
The actions of a person who contributes to his transformation into a victim of a crime are called "victim behavior" by lawyers. "Victim" is very diverse. Examples: late in the evening a girl in a short skirt walks through a dark square, a drunken citizen in an expensive hat and leather coat, a lonely invalid or teenager, etc.
These are potential victims who contribute to the crime by their behavior. Expensive things hung on the balcony, a note on the door saying that the key is "under the mat", a mailbox full of newspapers, indicating a long absence of the addressee, an empty car with the keys in the ignition, open windows or a running engine - this is for a certain category of people , a direct invitation to crime.
• Get a gas canister just in case. If you return home late at night, keep the can in your hand or pocket: you won’t quickly get it out of your purse.
• If you notice that a suspicious person is following you on the street, go to any public institution on the way and call relatives or friends from there to meet you.
• Only open the front door to people you know well, or when you know you're not in danger.
ATTACK
• If you are suddenly attacked by someone and their intentions leave no doubt, try to defend yourself.
• Use your bag, umbrella - whatever you have in your hands.
• Use all the tricks you know: hit your fist
At home, you can protect yourself using locks, surveillance cameras, and on the street, your best defense is to avoid dangerous situations. To do this, you need to know where to expect danger. In most cases, safety recommendations are based on trusting your common sense and intuition.
A few good rules to start with:
avoid solo walks in places where there are few people;
refuse, if possible, from night movements, in extreme cases, use a taxi;
if possible, do not stop cars by hitchhiking and do not agree to be picked up by strangers, whether a man or a woman;
never show money, valuables, or jewelry.
Purse or wallet, documents should be kept in an inside pocket, in a safe place;
have a small amount on hand for current payments or in case of extortion;
do not load yourself with bundles and packages, especially if there is ice on the street. It is better to always have freedom of movement, including in case the need arises to defend;
if someone is following you, contact a policeman, enter any institution or store;
use a map in an unfamiliar city;
do not show too clearly that you are a tourist or a business traveler, walk around with a local newspaper in your hands, do not stand out with clothes;
especially be vigilant at stations and markets;
be attentive to doorways and poorly lit places, avoid them if possible;
avoid getting into an empty subway car, bus or trolleybus, and if you still have to do this, sit closer to the driver;
avoid walking through parks or sports fields at night;
when relaxing in the park, choose benches located in an open space, preferably without thickets on the back side.
Know and remember: the information conveyed by your gait and behavior is crucial for those who choose the victim. It is much easier for a criminal to deal with a timid, indecisive person than with a calm and self-confident person.
In the event that you are stopped by a criminal, avoid immediately reacting to this with violent actions, especially if he is armed and even more so if you are not sure that you can protect yourself. This is not the time to risk your life without being robbed yet.
The best way to reduce physical abuse towards yourself is not to resist. Practice shows that the attacked person is more likely to survive if he recognizes his superiority for the criminal. Such submissiveness is not a natural trait for many, but before taking any action, it is better to carefully weigh your real possibilities and possible consequences. Moreover, the criminals themselves, in situations of obvious superiority over them, are able to behave quite accommodatingly.
A few more tips:
• if you are treated rudely about an alleged mistake or are made the object of ridicule, do not respond or give in to provocation;
• never run if there is any doubt that you will succeed. In a criminogenic situation, such a demonstration of one's fear is also an argument in favor of violence, if it is already conceived by the persecutor. This can also be a decisive factor for some maniac or a person with an unstable psyche. It is running that can excite the taste for "hunting";
• when running away, do not lead the pursuer to your home, do not go straight home;
• When approaching the apartment, keep the keys at the ready so that you can enter the house without delay.
An important point in the rules for safety in criminogenic situations is the "provocation" of the crime.
The actions of a person who contributes to his transformation into a victim of a crime are called "victim behavior" by lawyers. "Victim" is very diverse. Examples: late in the evening a girl in a short skirt walks through a dark square, a drunken citizen in an expensive hat and leather coat, a lonely invalid or teenager, etc.
These are potential victims who contribute to the crime by their behavior. Expensive things hung on the balcony, a note on the door saying that the key is "under the mat", a mailbox full of newspapers, indicating a long absence of the addressee, an empty car with the keys in the ignition, open windows or a running engine - this is for a certain category of people , a direct invitation to crime.
• Get a gas canister just in case. If you return home late at night, keep the can in your hand or pocket: you won’t quickly get it out of your purse.
• If you notice that a suspicious person is following you on the street, go to any public institution on the way and call relatives or friends from there to meet you.
• Only open the front door to people you know well, or when you know you're not in danger.
ATTACK
• If you are suddenly attacked by someone and their intentions leave no doubt, try to defend yourself.
• Use your bag, umbrella - whatever you have in your hands.
• Use all the tricks you know: hit your fist