Making Safer Choices - Tips For Reducing Your Risk of Assault

Call First Step (740-622-8504) for more information on Safety and Self Defense for Women, or for the date of our next Self Defense workshop.

View safety tips as a collection of habits you may wish to embrace to create safety. Keep a collection of tips and ideas, pass them on, gain ideas from others. Not one of us knows more than all of us together.

In Your Home:

• Always lock your doors; have secure locks on your doors and windows.
• Keep your house - entrances and garages - well lit.
• When moving into a house or apartment, change or re-key the locks.
• If you live alone, list only your first initial and your last name on your mail box and in the phone book.
• Never disclose to anyone at the door or on the phone that you are alone.
• Use a peep hole in your door. Don’t open to anyone you don’t know or feel uneasy about. If they ask to use the phone, offer to make the call for them.
• If someone comes with unexpected flowers or gifts, tell them to leave them outside. Flattery is another ploy used to gain entry.
• Ask for identification and do not escort a service representative into your basement or other secluded area.
• Have a friend with you or stay on the phone while a service representative is in your home.
• Consider keeping a cellular phone or separate lines for security. If one phone is taken off the hook, the other can be used.