Avoid Stalking - Avoid being a victim

With more than 3 million American women the objects of physical violence each year, it is more important than ever that we all take steps to make avoid becoming victims. What can we do? Personal safety expert Tino Struckmann suggests:
• Drive your own car – Going out with someone or a group you don’t know well? Maintain your independence and drive yourself.
• Keep defense devices handy – Keep instruments that can be used as weapons and that only you know about, hidden around your house and car. It is amazing how useful a large flashlight, scissors, your keys, and even a ballpoint pen can be when you are threatened.
• Keep windows away from your doors – Don’t buy a house with large windows by your deadbolt locks. Entry doors with large glass windows are a poor security decision.
• Think dog – If you are an animal lover, a dog makes both a great pet and a powerful deterrent.
• Learn self-defense – Take self-defense, martial arts, or boxing lessons. Most attacks are premeditated. And a fighter doesn’t fit in with the average perpetrators idea of a dream victim.
• Be aware of your surroundings – Whether drinking in your local pub or mixing at a social gathering, whether leaving the office or taking groceries to your car, be aware of the people and events going on around you. Don’t leave yourself open to attack.
• Be a day person – Get the majority of your errands done during the day. Parking lots, malls and ATM’s are notorious spots for evening attacks.
• Respect your intuition – If you think something is not quite right, it probably isn’t. Respect your intuition, especially when it comes to self-protection.

WHAT WILL YOU DO IF YOU ARE ATTACKED?

• Don’t panic – When we panic, we stop thinking clearly, and when under attack, we need all our senses to be keen.
• Keep fighting, loudly and tirelessly – Most attackers have no intention of leaving witnesses, so fight for your life with everything at your disposal. Submission in NEVER an option.
• Make your attacker pay for choosing you as a victim – Your body will lend a huge hand by releasing adrenalin and a hormone called ACTH which grants strength. Bite, scratch, yell, and kick for as long and as hard as you can, going for the most vulnerable areas of your assailant.
• Avoid being taken to a secondary location – Resist being shoved into a car. Make your attacker have to deal with you where he finds you.
• Create weapons from what you have on hand – A ball point pen, a can of soda, hairspray, even your keys can be weapons. Do not hesitate to use them, and use them well.

Bio: The owner of an international security firm, Tino Struckmann has seen to the personal safety of such well-known figures as Bill Gates, Robert DiNiro, Gloria Gaynor, Danish Queen Margrethe. His company has provided 24-hour security for the concert tours of Britney Spears, Cher, The Rolling Stones and others. Specializing in helping women better protect themselves from stalkers, he has also written an informative book, Stalked, to better educate women about predators and stalkers.