Men more at risk

Have you…

• Ever experienced aggressive or violent behaviour from a fellow colleague or client?
• Never thought twice about potentially dangerous situations you could be putting yourself in while travelling for work or back home?
• Ever not planned your route home until the end of a night out drinking?
• Ever offered to walk a female colleague to the bus stop or station?

Unfortunately, it is often thought that for men to be concerned about their safety somehow affects the “macho” ideal present within our culture. This has no doubt contributed to recent statistics showing that men are twice as likely to be violently attacked in comparison to women, and if aged between 16 and 24 this likelihood increases. Furthermore, 75% of deaths caused by a violent attack are male victims.

As Suzy Lamplugh Trust CEO Steven Gauge says “Women have got the message about personal safety over the last 20 years…I think it’s now time for men to think more seriously about keeping themselves safe because they’re the ones who are dying.”

For safety tips for men, please click here.

If you are an employer, ask yourself “Do we only provide personal safety guidance for female employees, if at all?”

As already mentioned, male employees are at far greater risk of suffering from an aggressive or violent attack and so should not be excluded from receiving personal safety guidance. Furthermore, if you provide this information for male and female employees it is beneficial to both them and your organisation. If your employees feel equipped to identify and deal with potentially aggressive or violent situations, then lower levels of stress and anxiety will be experienced resulting in less absence and staff turnover.

Also, remember that low level aggression such as verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical violence. The statistics for 2006 showed that 87% of workers suffered verbal abuse (some of which escalated into other types of aggression and violence) and so illustrates the need for employers and employees to have ways in which to identify such behaviour and prevent it from escalating.

Here are 5 tips to give to your employees to instantly improve their safety:

Avoid an aggressive stance: crossed arms, hands on hips or a raised arm is challenging and confrontational. Avoid looking down on anyone or touching someone unnecessarily.

1. If you are trapped in an aggressive situation, then try to stay calm and talk your way out of it. Physical self-defence should only be the last resort. It limits your options and commits you to a fight you could lose. It is not weak to walk away from violence.
2. Think about where you are going and how to get there. Plan your route to avoid deserted streets and dark parks or alleyways.
3. Carry a personal attack alarm. They are not just for women. Use it to shock and disorientate an attacker. This will give you vital seconds to get away.
4. Report any incident as soon as possible. You may save someone else.

Never assume it won’t happen to you. Nobody is invincible. Even thought he risks are slight, they are there – so think about your personal safety and don’t become another victim.

For more Personal Safety tips, please click here.
To purchase a Personal Alarm, please click here.

Post to Twitter | Share on Facebook

This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 8:41 am and is filed under Suzy Lamplugh Trust News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.