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Personal Safety Survey
Where do most violent assaults occur?
In or around the home
How many people in their lifetime will be assaulted?
Statistics say one in four women will be assaulted in their lifetime.
HOMES
The best solution to the questions in this section, about the home, would be to install
a good burglar alarm system. At the very least, have a professional come look at your house
to tell you the vulnerable places. The following answers are a drop in the bucket, but they may
be of help to you.
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How many windows are there in your house (approx.)?
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How many of those windows are locked?
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Where are the unlocked windows?
Most people are unaware of the number of windows in a home, and whether or not they are all
presently locked. In most cases, when there are some windows unlocked, they are on a second
floor. It is important for the average female to put herself in the place of a criminal who
wanted to break in your home. They also know that many people leave their 2nd floor windows
unlocked, therefore making the 2nd floor an easy point of entry.
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Do you have a peep-hole or window, in or next to, your front door?
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If no, is there any other way you can see
out the front door?
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Does your front door have a deadbolt?
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Do you have a garage, with a door leading to the house from the garage?
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If yes, how is that interior door secured?
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Do you have sliding glass doors or other patio type doors?
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If yes, how are those doors secured?
Your most commonly used entrance to the house, should have a peephole, so that you are
able to see who is outside the door before you make a choice to open the door. A large
percentage of violent sexual assault is a result of the female opening the entrance to the
home, without proper knowledge of what is on the other side of the door. All doors to the
home should be deadbolted, including the door leading from a garage to the inside of your home.
This is a very common point of entry for criminals, since most people leave that door totally
unlocked.
If you have sliding glass doors, they can be securely locked, by installing a pin and chain
device that can be purchased at any hardware store. It involves drilling a hole through both
doors of the frame and attaching the pin, which hangs from a chain, when not inserted in the
hole. It is suggested that this pin device be installed both at the top, and the bottom.
It is definitely more secure than a bar in the track of the door, which can be popped out if
you keep rocking the door.
Patio doors, or French doors can also be secured with deadbolts. Many women have chosen a
simple and inexpensive door alarm system. Most electronic stores carry a device that works with
magnetic contact. When the door is opened, the contact is broken and a buzzer or alarm
sounds. These devices can be turned on and off, are relatively inexpensive and simple to install.
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Do you have window treatments on every window in your house? If no, which windows are bare?
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Do your window treatments cover your windows when you are not home, or are your windows uncovered?
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If you have a kitchen window, how is it covered?
Window treatments should be on every window or door in your home. As an example of there
importance, try to remember driving through a neighborhood at night, and being able to see in
anyone's house. Many times the view is so plain, that you can tell what television show they are
watching. If you can see all this information, so can a criminal. If someone intends to break in
your house and wait for you to come home, a key factor in choosing your house or another, might
be whether or not he can see in the home, easily. We encourage everyone to leave all curtains
and blinds closed when your are not home. On this subject, the kitchen window is
the most common means of looking in a house. Most people make no effort to cover that window. So,
make sure you do!
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Do you have any weapons in your house?
Most people do not even realize all the weapons they have in their
home. We encourage use of regular every day items as weapons, rather than keeping real, loaded
guns or other weapons in the home. This decreases the risk of having the criminal turn your
weapon against you. As a homework assignment, we ask that you go to every room of your
house and imagine an attack situation,then determine what you could use in that room to help
defend yourself. By preparing like this, you eliminate the fear of the unknown, as you have
already figured out how to handle it. For instance, in your bedroom, do you have an alarm clock
or radio with an electrical cord. Pull out the whole clock and swing it over your head by the
cord. This seems irrational, but it will definitely keep your opponent a distance from you.
By the same token, have you ever considered using a bookend, or a telephone as a weapon.
In your kitchen, a mop handle or broom handle will also help keep a distance between you and an
opponent. Use your own ideas and common sense to evaluate your home.
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What is the one room in your house where
you feel most vulnerable when you are alone?
If there is a room in
your house that makes you feel vulnerable, go through the room and make some
changes. If it is your bedroom, it is because you are afraid of being asleep in it, not
because of the room itself. Sometimes, the fact that there is little possibility of a clear
exit, presents fear. As you improve the overall security of your house, your fear of being
attacked while sleeping will lessen. If it is your bathroom, consider a stronger lock for
the bathroom door. By the way, who cares what visitors think about your deadbolt on the
bathroom door. If you do care, tell them the house came that way!
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