About reducing your risk
Reminder:
Most experiences of sexual violence happen by someone the person knows (family member, friend, acquaintance, co-worker). Please note, that the items listed below are prevention techniques for many forms of violence, not just sexual violence. Using these does not guarantee that violence will not happen to you. As a reminder, no matter what, you are never at fault.
Here are some important things to keep in mind:
Teach Children About Consent
Teaching children consent from an early age helps them understand as young people how to respect others and when others are not respecting them. Teaching young people consent by using the acronym F.R.I.E.S. Learning what consent means from a young age decreases the likelihood of experiencing violence and increases the likelihood that they will tell a trusted adult if something does happen. Furthermore, learning consent from a young age decreases the likelihood of experiencing sexual violence as an adult.
Trust Yourself
If you are at a party or on a date and start feeling uncomfortable trust your gut and get out of the situation.
Dating
If you are going out with someone new or someone you met online have a group date or meet them in a public place.
Watch Your Beverages
When you are out keep an eye on your drink. An unattended drink or accepting a drink from a stranger could be dangerous. Many rapes occur with the help of drugs being slipped into a victim’s drink and most of these drugs you cannot taste or smell. When you go to the bathroom or on the dance floor keep your drink with you. Be careful drinking from a punch bowl at a party.
Safety in the Streets
When walking down the street it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. Don’t wear both of your headphones when walking down the street so that you can hear if someone or something is coming from behind.
