Self-defence tips and tricks to protect yourself

The recent past has seen many serious crimes being committed against women and cases of molestation, verbal abuse, and touching women inappropriately in public places in a crowd have become a norm. It is vital that women learn to guard themselves against such men who look for an opportunity to harm them whenever they can. Here are a few  self-defence tips and tricks that women can use when they come across such men.
In crowded public places
Walking in a crowded place or standing in a bus full of people is a golden opportunity for eve teasers to touch a woman inappropriately as it is easy to merge in the crowd without getting caught. To avoid this, always keep your guard on while walking by keeping your elbows firmly out. This way, you can hit the other person with it and it will be difficult for him to touch you.
Another simple trick is to keep an open safety pin in your hand while walking and poke the other person if he tries to act fresh. It will be a momentary sting but will keep him away and you can walk ahead in that time.
If these don’t stop them from making a move, just make a commotion to let people around you know and catch the culprit. You can then report him to the police.
When walking alone
Seeing a woman walking alone on the streets is a prime chance for such men to corner a woman and attack her. Here are some moves to protect yourself and cause pain to your attacker. Once you attack them with these tips, run as quickly as you can to a safer area where there are more people around and alert them about the attacker. This will help catch him and ruin his chances of attacking you again.
If someone comes too close and tries to touch you, hold their shoulders and hit them with the knee in the groin area. You can even kick them if they are a little far away but you know they are coming closer. This surely causes pain as it is a sensitive area. Another sensitive area is the shin (the area of the leg between the knee and the ankle) – a kick there will put them off balance.
Another good self-defence trick is to poke them in the eye with either a sharp object or your fingers if you can’t find anything else. They will lose their balance and vision temporarily and you can use this time to move away from them.
Punching your attacker in the face (on the nose or forehead) is also a good defence trick. You can even catch hold of their thumb when they approach you and bend it outwards. Make use of whatever you have to attack them and buy time. The trick is to hurt them so that they are unable to do anything and use that time to run away from them.
Other safety options
These days, a lot of women carry pepper sprays in their handbags to protect themselves from such attacks. These sprays irritate the eyes and skin of the attacker and make it difficult for them to do anything because of the burning sensation they experience. They work from a range of 10 ft and can really come in handy in times like these. You can order these sprays online, they are quite affordable.
Another option is to carry a small, sharp object in your purse and use it on your attacker. This can be a little risky though as the attacker can snatch it from your hand and use it on you so be careful – use it on sensitive areas first.
An anti-rape lingerie which emits powerful shocks will soon be launched in India. Developed by three engineering students, it will be equipped with GPS, GSM, and pressure sensors and will also be able to alert the police. Shock waves of 3,800 kV can be emitted by this lingerie. The circuit is placed in the bra but is insulted to protect the wearer.
If you have a smartphone, you can download safety apps on it which inform your friends and family about your whereabouts through an email or message. Some these apps are:
SOS whistle – This app triggers an alarm to let people around you know that you are in danger. Though the concept is good, the volume isn’t loud enough to be heard in a crowded place. But the good thing is that it does not need any internet connection.
Circle of 6 – In this app, you can add six people from your contact list and send them alerts of your whereabouts by clicking on an icon. Though this is a great feature as it sends all the six people a map of your current location (it is accurate too), the other two icons on the app are not that helpful.
Life360 family locator – This app is quite useful to keep track of your loved ones and vice versa. Know where they are, get or send alerts when in danger with a click and know your nearest hospitals and police stations on your map with easily identifiable options.
Store important helpline numbers in your phone to call for help. Some of these are:
Emergency police helpline – 100
Police helpline for women, children and senior citizens– 103
Always be alert and inform your close ones of where you are going and when you can be expected back home. File an FIR in the nearest police station if you feel someone is stalking you. Be alert, be safe!