Outdoor Safety Tips for Women:
Predator's Favorite Targets

Outdoor Safety Tips for Women: learning how predators hunt for carefree prey and learning how not to be their favorite target.

David E. Rosenbaum, a longtime editor and reporter in the Washington bureau of the New York Times, died yesterday after being beaten and robbed. After going for a walk to get some fresh air, he was wearing headphones and listening to music when someone hit him on the head. The area where the attack occurred is one of the safest in the city. It was a neighborhood, a neighbor said, where people often did not feel the need to lock their houses. "There was no fear."
Excerpted from The Washington Post – 09 January 2006

See Running Safety & Walking Safety: outdoor do's & don'ts FAQ.

Michael Flood, a research fellow with the Australia Institute, says there is evidence that some brothers or families may share rape-supportive attitudes towards women, such as "a belief in two types of women – good girls and sluts – where you can do whatever you like with sluts". ... Flood says some people believe that women "asked or deserved to be raped if they dress in revealing ways or if they accept drugs or an offer of a lift". He says there is a belief that such women "deserve whatever comes to them", because of "a hostility towards them and contempt of women, even a view of women as whores and bitches".
Excerpted from The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) – 24 April 2004 [Beware of barbaric attitudes of alien cultures.]

• Someone looking friendly, timid, lost, absent-minded, or intoxicated – thus more easily manipulated.
• Someone wearing earphones or distracted with a cell phone – unaware of surroundings or outdoor safety.
• Someone unaware she's being followed until she's isolated.
• Someone carrying packages or with a child.
• Someone enjoying the secluded countryside, beach, woods, parks, or lover’s lanes.

Here's what can happen to Predators’ Favorite Targets:

'I WAS THE FIRST TO RAPE HER'
The short, slight teenager in the court appeared far younger than his 17 years. He had been part of the gang of five that had accosted Tim Foord and his 21-year-old daughter, Jessica, while they were walking their dogs at the dam in the afternoon. And he also admitted that he was the first to rape Jessica Foord. ... He said he and his friends had come across the Foords playing with their dogs. "We immediately planned to rob them. Buto had a knife and Siyabonga had a toy gun. We accosted them by pointing a toy gun and a knife at them. We took them to the ditch where the father was bound with a rope on his arms and legs. I then approached the victim and started raping her. After I had finished, my other companions took turns each raping her.”
Excerpted from The Sunday Independent (South Africa) – 08 April 2008

The Worst Outdoor Safety: Hitchhiking

A retired handyman in upstate New York held five women captive as sex slaves in an underground bunker over a 15-year period. Some of the victims said they ignored outdoor safety and went willingly with him after being offered a ride or coaxed into his car.
Excerpted from USA TODAY – 10 June 2003

The young woman had been waiting at a bus stop to go home when Trevor Hamilton offered her a lift. She got into the car but instead of driving her home, Hamilton headed along a country road on the pretext he had to collect something from his mother's house. There Hamilton subjected her to a depraved ordeal that lasted for about an hour and only let her go when he forced her to swear on her son's life that she would not tell the police. She did lead police to him; he was arrested but served a mere three months. He soon raped another woman – then murdered her to ensure she wouldn’t tell the police.
Excerpted from The Belfast Telegraph (UK) – 12 April 2006

Robert Bonisteel said the two girls were hitchhiking when he picked them up. He describes stabbing one of the girls repeatedly in the back seat of his Fiat. "The other girl was scared now. I just remember telling her not to worry. As long as she does what she's told and all this stuff." Bonisteel then described in graphic detail how he later killed the other girl.
Excerpted from The Richmond Review (Canada) – 11 June 2005

Outdoor Safety Tips for Women CHECKLIST

Purse-snatcher Joe Ray Barela is accused of targeting parking lots all over the city preying on women leaving stores with their hands full.
Excerpted from KRQE-TV-13 Albuquerque – 08 September 2006

• Keep your hands free of packages – Ask for a male store employee to escort you into the parking lot. See Parking Lot Safety as well as parking garage.
• If anyone is loitering around your destination (home, business, or parked car), go instead to an active area. Running to your destination might be a bad idea. Unlocking a door in a panic may take too long – and then you can be pushed in. See Fleeing.
• Watch for anyone following you. Some rapists follow a woman home then push her in as she opens her door. She's better off outdoors while still able to summon help. Don’t go home unless someone is there who can truly help. Go instead to an active area for outdoor safety.
• Stay near other people. Avoid secluded areas. Don’t jog or bike alone and don’t assume early morning jogs avoid predators.
• Get other people to help. Give specific directions to onlookers, such as, "You! Call 911!" (free at payphones) or "Walk me to that store, I'm being followed." Many witnesses are too surprised to act unless ordered.
• Hide your jewelry. Even fake jewelry will attract a mugger. Get a money belt or other stash clothing.
• Hide your wad of cash when shopping. Fold a dozen one- and five-dollar bills in half and position them in your pockets so you can withdraw them one at a time and not flash all your cash.
• Act nonchalant when taunted. Girls growing up in tough neighborhoods learn outdoor safety to deal with male advances and taunts by acting nonchalant – yet looking tough – not challenging him and never showing fear. See Victim’s Options - Overview.
• Know your destination to avoid getting lost or wandering into danger – and watch for anyone tailing you.

Understanding your options now will help your Intuition choose an option then.

Personal Safety Devices for Street Survival

Outdoor Safety Tips for Women: dog attack defense, street crime, and stranger danger:

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