Self-Defense & Violence Prevention Blog

SafeCampusesNow.org provides the following self-defense tips:

What to Do if Faced with an Attacker? The decision is yours. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If you decide to fight back, you must be quick, determined and effective.

• Target the eyes and groin .Keys, pens and pencils can be jabbed into the eyes, face or neck.
• Smash a lighted cigarette in their face.
• Aim your fist or palm of your hand in a fast, upward motion to the attacker’s nose.

When walking alone, make sure you have some type of deterrent device and be ready to use it if needed. Some examples are:

• Umbrella: Use both hands to make quick jabbing motions to the eyes, neck, and groin.
• Plastic Lemon: It will squirt about 15 feet. Aim for the eyes; momentary blindness may provide time for escape.
• Sharp pointed items: keys, pens, and pencils can be scraped across the face and eyes or jabbed into the eyes, face or neck.
• If you chose to carry personal defense items like mace, pepper spray or a stun gun, make sure that you know how to use the defense items. Hesitation when using these items may give your attacker the opportunity to take the item away and use it on you.