Dating and Socialising

• If you meet someone in a bar or club ideally don’t go home with them, and don’t invite them back to your home or accept a lift, until they are better known to you.
• If you do leave with them and are returning to your own home, imply to the person that you have a flat mate who will be home later.
• Get a friend to text you at an agreed time into the date. That way if you want to leave, you can pretend there is an emergency, and if you don’t reply, your friend can figure out if you are in trouble.
• If you are replying to a personal ad, never give personal details such as your address or surname. It is not unknown for address details to be obtained by having just a telephone number, so be guarded about giving out your telephone number.
• Using the internet to meet people is increasingly popular. Choose a nickname to use in chat rooms and newsgroups. Never use your real name.
• If you decide to meet someone you’ve met in a chat room, tell someone where you are going and call them when you arrive and leave.
• Do not give out personal details, such as your name, address or phone number on the internet. If you do invite someone you meet online to your home make sure you let them know that someone else knows they’re coming
  and who they are.
• If someone is making offensive comments or using threatening language in a chat room or newsgroup, leave the chat room at once and report the person to the person in charge of monitoring the chat room.
• Always arrange to meet a new person in a busy public place, until you are sure of the other person’s identity and feel comfortable about them.
• Try to take a friend along, at least at the beginning, to meet your date. Work out a pre-arranged signal with your friend to indicate whether you would prefer your friend to stay with you.
• Tell someone where you are going, who you are going with (including name, phone number and address) and when you will be back.
• Carry a personal alarm and know how to use it to shock and disorientate an assailant so that you can get away.
• Pay attention to your instincts. If you feel uneasy about someone, there may be a reason. Don’t tell yourself that you’re being silly, trust your instincts
• Remember that alcohol and drug use will dull your awareness of danger, will reduce your ability to make safe choices and will make you look more vulnerable.