SafetyTips from Help Save The Next Girl. (Part One)
Updated: Aug 11, 2021
How do you help save the next girl, or boy, or senior citizen, or child? Adults and college-aged students contributed to the list of tips. How do you keep yourself safe? How do you help save the next girl, or boy, or senior citizen, or child? Talk to your friends and ask them how they stay safe. Please read through our safety tips and consider adding them to your own list.
Always use the buddy system when going out, especially at night.
If you are walking alone and suddenly notice you are being followed, call the police. That sends your geo-location.
If it is safe to do so, make eye contact with the person that you feel is suspicious. Even say something to them. Now that you have seen their face and could identify them you lose appeal as a target.
Learn to make mental notes about identifying features of a person, as if the police sketch artist is going to need those details.
If you think someone might be following you, walk to the other side of the road; if they follow call for help.
When you are walking alone make sure you aren't looking down at your phone, texting or scrolling through social media. Be alert and aware of your surroundings.
Do not have ear buds in when walking at night by yourself.
Stand between the control panel and the door when in an elevator. That way if someone enters and you feel uneasy you can easily press a button to get off at the next available floor.
Have keys in hand when walking to your car so you don't have to be fishing through your bag or coat to find them once you get there.
Try not to sit in your car and mess around on your phone after you have parked at your destination.
Lock your car doors while you pump gas so that no one can enter the car while you aren't looking.
Always tell someone you trust where you are going. If it's to someone's house provide an address.
Change your routine. Don't drive or walk the same routes every day.
Use a verified safety app to find and report information about your area. If you are using a trusted app, create a network of friends that can make sure you get home when traveling alone.
If you are getting pulled over by an unmarked car, you can dial 911 to verify that the person pulling you over is a police officer. If you are unsure, do not pull over until it is verified.
Also wait to pull over at a populated place like a gas station.
Choose parking spaces that are well lit.
Choose parking spaces that are not boxed in by vans or trucks.
Crack, never roll down, your car window.
If someone bullies you while you are in your locked car at a gas station, lay on your car horn until people come over.
Be loud and speak up. Don't not be afraid to make a scene.