Practical Life & Self-Reliance · Foundation

Personal Safety

Most harm people fear is rarer, and most harm they risk is more ordinary, than the headlines suggest. This course starts from what the crime data say about who is actually at risk, from whom and where, then teaches awareness and avoidance at home, on the street and online, domestic abuse and stalking, de-escalation, stepping in for someone else, and the decision to hand something over or resist, saying for each piece of advice whether it was tested. The law on self-defence, the home and carrying something for protection is set out for England and Wales, Scotland and several US states side by side, as general information. It sits after First Aid and CPR because what to do once someone is hurt is already taught there. It is a page to prepare for a hands-on class, not a substitute for one.

What you'll learn

• Read a crime figure for what it counts (a police record or a victim survey; a count, a rate or a prevalence; whose harm, and which year), and compare the risks you fear with the risks you actually run without dismissing either
• Explain who is most at risk of which harm, from whom, where and when, in the US and in England and Wales, and why the answer differs by crime and by sex
• Plan your home, your routes, your travel and meeting people from online around the evidence, saying which advice is tested, which is sensible but untested, and which is contested
• Recognise domestic abuse and stalking as the services describe them, explain why leaving can be the most dangerous time, and find the right line for yourself or someone else
• Use de-escalation and safe ways of stepping in for someone else, state the evidence behind each honestly, and recognise when to stop talking and leave
• Explain what acute fear does to perception and action, and compare the evidence on handing property over, resisting, and resistance training, each side in its own terms
• Explain what the law says about using force, protecting a home and property, and carrying something for protection in England and Wales, Scotland and several US states, as general information, and why escape comes first in practice
• State what reporting a crime does and does not get you, where support is whether or not you report, and what happens after someone uses force