Female safety has been a very controversial topic over the last couple of months. In the past two years, rates of females missing in the United States who are under the age of twenty one has increased significantly. In 2017 over 260,500 females under the age of twenty one were reported as missing, with over 60,000 females over the age of twenty one missing. This has become one of the top issues in the United States because, unfortunately, very little of the population is actually educated on things such as rape and abduction. Many don’t realize how easily and quickly these things can happen.
More and more females can be seen carrying pepper spray and personal alarms with them everywhere they go. However, a few years ago pepper spray was something that most thought only police officers had, and what on earth was a personal alarm? Nowadays, having one of these items dangling from a woman’s keychain seems to be the norm. Jessica Washburn, a mother to three daughters, said she doesn’t feel comfortable with her daughters leaving the house without these things with them at all times. Unfortunately, more mothers than just Washburn feel this way.
Most abductions happen when girls are walking to their cars alone, mainly at night. Caroline Carlson said she believes many girls are getting abducted due to the fact that they are not paying attention to their surroundings. Carlson also says she is concerned about girls at high schools getting out of practice late at night and something potentially happening on the Pleasant Valley High School campus. While Pleasant Valley obviously has good security and parking lot cameras, not every situation can be prevented.
Even though abductions are happening nearly daily, we can reduce these rates by being educated on simple things. For example, it has been shown that girls who are wearing ponytails are more likely to be grabbed by their hair and taken away. Predators also look for women who are walking while looking down at their phones because they can be easily caught off guard.
If you are ever in a situation where you are grabbed by the wrist, use your hand to grab your fist and pull down wherever the attackers thumb is. Think about it, it is much easier to pull away against one finger rather than four. Also kicking in their knees is another action that proves to be very useful and painful.
These rates will quickly reduce if we become educated on female safety, do something as simple as taking out our ponytails, and learn some simple self defense tricks.
