A woman has taken to TikTok to share advice as to how women can defend themselves in the face of attempted assault.
While no woman should have to worry about their safety in public, Alysha Flynn —who is the owner of a female running club — took to the social media platform to share some ways in which she stays safe when running alone.
As she stresses in the video, this isn't just for keen joggers — they can be used anytime, whenever you feel uncomfortable or threatened.
In the video, the fitness coach shared some key advice to her followers that she had learned from one of the women in her running club, who also works as a self-defense coach.
Showing some seriously impressive multi-tasking skills, she said while jogging: "It has to be what's best for you as an individual. The tool only works if you're trained, confident, and prepared to use it" — referencing pepper spray.
"If you've never used it before, could that actually put you in more danger than not having it with you?" she questioned, before explaining, "Now imagine that it was a taser or a pocket knife, and you are not trained and unprepared to use it. No matter what you choose, you have to be ready to use it and to protect yourself if it ever got turned on you."
"So it makes less about what tool is best and more about which one are you confident using," she added.
Sage advice indeed.
This comes after another runner advised women to never use the same route consecutively.
"Not every single college girl or young adult woman comes from the same background and same mindsets when it comes to safety and having street smarts and street sense," she said in the TikTok video, which also went viral.
"It is important for us, as young women, to get comfortable with the idea and mindset of being consistently inconsistent with where we run our errands, what we do and how we do it," she continued.
"The people that are out here with the intentions of participating in sex trafficking, kidnapping, raping, etc – they are looking for specific targets, the oblivious, the ones that don't have awareness, and the ones that don't have street smarts."
"So, when you are shopping for errands and going to the gym, and going to your favourite coffee shop and brunch spot, you are becoming consistent for someone who is tracking you. You need to be so consistent with being inconsistent that you are then too difficult for them. It's too much effort to try and track you.
"You need to be going to different coffee shops all the time, don't go to the Target that's right next to your house, do different things. Spread it out. Drive the extra miles to run errands and the next week, don't go there anymore."
"Prioritize your safety because people live day in and out trying to harm others," she concluded.
