3 Ways For Women At Night To Protect Themselves

Ladies used to be guarded and escorted wherever they went. It was once unheard of for a single woman to go anywhere unescorted.

Of course in the pioneering days of early America, women used to work in the fields alongside their men and were often in their houses alone at night for one reason or another. But they used to be armed so that any intruder was at risk of getting a bellyful of buckshot (or a meal of lead or whatever). But essentially the single woman was either escorted or was armed.

In the days of the village life, the townsfolk generally looked after each other so it was fairly safe for ladies to be out and about. Then came the car and two world wars, where most of the men went off and the ladies had no option but to be independent. Right through the 50's till the 70's, women became more and more independent so when the feminist movement got into full swing and its effects were being felt of emancipated womanhood, the constraints on young ladies going out on their own to meet friends and coming home late at night became the norm. And so it is today.

No one turns a hair to see a woman walking home after midnight anymore, nor is she thought of as being a street walker or a hooker. She is more likely to work in a restaurant or similar establishment. With the cracking of the 'glass ceiling', many female executives and professionals similarly work until all hours and often climb into their cars to come home very late.

But along with this trend a fairly nasty symptom started to develop; Attacks on women.

For some reason, a woman on her own is seen as vulnerable and there is a nasty under class that lurks in dark alleys and the like in the hope of preying on an unescorted woman late at night. Over the last six months to as little as a month ago, there have been 12 sexual attacks on women in Brooklyn (NY Times October 11 2011)

And so, although no one wishes for or expects the days when females were mollycoddled to come back, there is still a need for them to have personal self defence weapons if they are frequently out and about on their own late at night or in secluded places.

Not many ladies want to actually carry a firearm. Carrying a firearm is possible if you get a permit but there are a couple of very big drawbacks. The two major ones being that no one really wants to shoot anyone else, and the danger is that you have to draw and shoot by which time it may well have been taken away from you and could be used against you.

Depending on the state and city you live in, there are some non lethal alte
atives which will offer you protection without the prospect of killing anyone.

These are cans of pepper sprays, Mace pepper guns and stun guns for women all of which incapacitate an attacker giving you time to get clear of the scene to summon help. Pepper spray in the eyes temporarily blinds the attacker, the Mace pepper gun temporarily disorients an intruder and sprays up to 25 feet, and the stun gun gives an electrical jolt of 50,000+ volts which disables an attacker for several minutes. There is no permanent harm done. They are all easy and safe to carry in your purse. If walking alone, they are also easy to carry in the hand.