Partying With The Rapists This New Year ?

Disclaimer - This is a Security Blog. The content shared in this blog is only intended to educate you in the domain of Personal Security and help you secure yourself and your loved ones from all malicious intent. If you find any content to be offensive, please know that it is not our intent and merely your perspective.

*PSE - Personal Security Education

December - January: Favorite Time For Sexual Abusers !

Is this the truth ? Or is it just that the media chooses cases that happen during these months to give them new year TRP's ? I'd say both have some reasonable validity. While Jyoti Singh (aka Nirbhaya) happened during 2012 December and also the Bangalore Molestation Case that happened on the 31st of December 2016, were not even the tip of the iceberg. While 2012 saw a total of over 22,000 rapes and 2015 a whooping 34,000, plus more than half a million of other forms and degrees of abuse in the last few years, suggests that there is selective reporting. 

However, there are other reasons why this is a good time for abusers. One of the main reason which most don't know and those who know are in complete denial is that - More than 63% of sexual abusers and rapists are from the close circle of the victim. That is - Family, Relatives, Friends, Acquaintance and Colleagues. And it is a fact that most of us volunteer to go out with such elements completely unaware of malicious intent.   

So the question is - Must You Be Blamed For Being Abused ? 

There are 2 words that were probably not very well defined to us in school. Even though we used them very extensively through out our academic life. BLAME & taking RESPONSIBILITY. While I can blame the question paper for having shot me with questions I was not prepared to answer, it is my responsibility to have studied and be more prepared for the questions.

Similarly, we can blame the friend, family, acquaintance, colleague to have breached our trust and abused us sexually, however we must take the responsibility to have learnt the subject of personal security. Only blaming the question paper and living a life in that blame will for sure tag us as a victim with a lack of logical reasoning. I'm sure many philosophic friends have told us 'Life is a Game' and we did agree with them. So have we learnt how to deal with opponents who are there to hurt you to win ?

Authors interview in Kidskintha ....read here

Know Your Enemy - Know Yourself. And In A 100 Outings, You'll Never Be Sexually Abused.

It is that time of the year when you are busy planning your parties. And it is the same time of the year when some malicious intended guys are planning on how to rope you in for their 'Indecent Act'. So here are some basic 'Rules of Personal Security' you could abide by to increase your chances of safety. 

1. Alcohol is NOT a fun Accelerator or Amplifier. It makes you less aware of the fun that is actually taking place around you.  
2. Do not go out parting with a group that has a majority of people you don't know well enough (well enough can be defined through *PSE). 
3. Make a group of close trusted friends on whatsapp. Keep sharing your locations on that group so each of you can track the other in case of any emergency. In fact I suggest 'Live Tracking' as the option is now available in Whatsapp. Privacy can go fly a kite for a night.
4. If you consume alcohol, do so only to half of your sane capacity. 
5. Never finish an unattended drink. This could be your last mistake. 
6. Plan your washroom trips. Between 2 drinks is the best. However, never hurry into a drink just because you wanna visit the washroom. A bottoms-up at the wrong time can send you spinning.
7. If you are in a private party (not a public place) you should not be the last to leave. Rather we suggest you leave with the second lot. They don't miss much ! 
8. It's winter and its gonna be cold. You don't want to wear clothes that expose you to possible injury to skin. I give this advice specifically to those who are not trained in Unarmed Combat or Personal Security. Dress plays a very vital role in how you can secure yourself during an escape. This also includes footwear that handicap your speed.  
9. Avoid public transport between 21:00 and 07:00 hours. 
10. Watch your '6' (your back). Identify and remember faces that look suspicious. Most times the bad guys follow their victim within a party premises and while party hopping. 
11. Carry small compact bags for easy mobility. Never leave them unattended. 
12. Carry a fully charged power bank that is compact. Never let your battery go below 50%. 
13. Avoid sharing your party plans on Social Media. You don't wanna tell the bad guys where you can be found at what time. 

If you ever feel abnormally drowsy from your drink, rush to the bar tender or the pub manager or the bouncers around and ask them to call police. Confining in a friend would not be a wise idea as it could be one of them. Try to stay awake by shouting and pumping an imaginary stress ball in your palm (both hands). 

These are some of the basic pointers that came to my mind that I could share. Will update the points as and when I can recollect more. Once you have studied Personal Security, the above points become a part of your consciousness and you don't have to really remember them. 

Time To Crime

This is another very important element you must understand. There are different forms of abuse a woman can go through during party times. Right from a verbal abuse to inappropriate touch to molestation to rape. What you must know is that, the adversary (the bad guy) needs different amount of time for these abuse. A verbal abuse could happen in 5 seconds. Inappropriate touch again in a few seconds. Molestation could probably happen between 30 seconds to a few minutes. A rape takes longer than 15 mins. 

In most cases during parties, the adversaries start with verbal provocation as a form of litmus test. If you are intoxicated enough to not realize this form of abuse they take it to the next level and so on. Hence my suggestion to keep spirit levels to less than half of your sane capacity.

If you lose control of your mind, your body is up for attack. 

Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy is a Paradox - Read more.... 

                                                                                    Click Here to register for PS-101

Remember

Your personal security, is your personal responsibility. You cannot hold police or the law responsible for partying with malicious people and then becoming their victim. Police can most probably save you from unknown danger. Its you who choose to ignore signals from know dangers and stay in denial. 

If you wish a crash course for yourself and your friends in Personal Security, feel free to reach us at +91 8050041238. 

#NoMoreVictims2018

This is our mission for 2018. And we can't do this all by ourselves. We need major support from all your women to make you more stronger as we don't believe that you need protection. Our belief in your capability to defend yourself is what drives us in our mission. Help us to educate more on Personal Security. 

If you have any queries about Personal Security, please do ask your questions on our FB page and we will be happy to answer.

Stay Safe,

Chakradhari Rowe

Armored Spirit LLP 

cd@armoredspirit.com 

Read This If You Used #Metoo

Disclaimer - I write this piece with a lot of empathy for what you have been through. But my objective in writing this piece is not to make you feel good by sympathetic words but to do so with knowledge that will power you with confidence of not becoming a victim again. Not just that but also give you this confidence so you can share it with others and prevent them from becoming first time victims. To be able to receive this knowledge, you'll have to park your emotions aside while you read this. Emotions tend to block our mind from being able to perceive new perspectives.

The Crime

Sexual abuse is not a new crime. Its been there for centuries. Earlier probably in a much brutal form as the society was not as matured and empowered to raise their voice against it. During the times of the rulers, rape was common. Back then I don't think any evil man had to just satisfy himself with a few nasty comments. He had the dominance over the masses to do what he wished. Its important for us to study the past as the mind that commits such crime today is similar. This mind still believes that the society or the Victim will keep shut in fear and will allow dominance.

DOMINANCE - A Classic Pre - Crime Indicator.

The form of dominance that we speak here is not the kinds that we experience at school/college. At the education institutions, the intensity of dominance is high from day one if you have a strict faculty. But the dominance that sexual abuse offenders seek, is built into your relationship over time (in 98% cases where the offender is a friend, colleague, neighbor or worst, from your family). This dominance starts by merely disrespecting your 'NO'. This could be as small as - NO not burger lets eat a pizza... to a NO, that would actually lead to perfect conditions for the abuse ( No to Your Time, Your Place, Your Activity and Yes to their Modus Operandi).

Watch OUT !

You need to watch out for relationships that do not respect your choices. Once in a way giving in to others choice is OK. But when this becomes a routine is when you must WAKEUP.  And consider it your good fortune if the opponent lets you go quite easily. In some cases the abuse gets advanced when the opponent realises he could lose you.

Modus Operandi - The Personal Security Perspective.

The best difference between Self Defense and Personal Security Education is the difference between a 007 and a Rock movie. Rock on one hand needs to ENGAGE into a physical fight to bring excitement into the movie. While 007 shows up much ahead of his villain and prescribes him a metal pill. Personal Security Education is all about beating your opponent by predicting his Modus Operandi and before it  could be executed. All crime whether sexual abuse, robbery or terrorism starts with an INTENT and then manifests into a mode of operation. The mode of operation of a sexual abuse offender is much predictable if you can think like one.

When I visit a client installation, I first think like the bad guy and look for ways how I could steal/sabotage. Once I know how I could steal, I know what to fix. So the first task for you now is plan your sexual abuse. This is not going to be easy as most of us will indulge heavily into denial and try to reason with oneself. But as I said, you'd rather be 007 than rock. Once you know how you can be sexually abused you'll  know your vulnerabilities. And once you know them you can fix them. If you need help in doing this, contact a security consultant and they could help you (you can reach me as well).

Pre - Crime Indicators (PCI)

This one makes all the difference and forms an integral part of Personal Security Education. To understand this better you will have to understand what personal security really is. And the various ways it can be breached. For one to identify the PCI's, they have to be really good at situational and security awareness. This is not rocket science but it is a science that can be understood and learnt as an art. This doesn't just make you a Hard Target against all crime but also helps you in your day to day social and professional interactions.

In a nutshell - PCI's are indicators just like those that come before an earthquake, cyclone or a tsunami. Knowing how to read and interpret them accurately will help save lives.

I'd like to end with an attempt to making you believe that - 

Sexual Abuse is a very simple crime and simpler to irradicate if we take the right approach, the right perspective, use the right tools take the right action at the right time. After having studied terrorism and its complexities, this is a no brainier. 

All we need to know is that it will take ACTION to kill this crime. Action by women alone. Not the media, not the police, not the law not by anyone else. ACTION BY WOMEN ALONE

The above 3 points, Dominance, Modus Operandi and PCI are enough to get you started to think on the Personal Security Education lines. 

For more info on the subject or personal consultation, feel free to write in.

Stay Secured and Safe.

Chakradhari Rowe
Director
Training & Ops

cd@armoredspirit.com
+91 805 004 1238

Are Women Responsible For Their Safety ?

A Question I was Asked on Quora....

Some questions must not be answered directly. They very easily get tagged as opinion. So I will define a few points here and turn the question back to you.

Your Question - ‘Are women responsible’ - ‘For their OWN’ - ‘SAFETY’ ?

SAFETY - Imagine a metal box with an opening on one side. Most of you will imagine a SAFE. A box where you store valuables. You call it safe because you believe that no one can gain access into that box without the key/password that can otherwise open it. But yet we know of many cases where this safe has turned out to be unsafe. And it has happened so because those who broke the safe did so where the SAFE was unguarded by a security personnel. Which implies that - That which is required to be SAFE must also be SECURED.

FOR THEIR OWN - In India, corruption has got into every nook and corner of the system. And it has made things worse by corrupting the security structure. We could not stop an attack on one of our most secured structure ‘Parliament’ that happens to be the epitome of our democracy. We could not stop a 26/11. And in recent times, a few Pakistanis were found living illegally in bangalore with valid aadhar cards.

But for a minute, let's assume each and every law enforcement officers is as honest as Harishchandra. They will still fail to provide security to our nation. Because they are 0.1 % of our entire population. There is only 1 cop for every 840 citizens. And according to some criminal stats I read long back - 10% of any population consists of criminal minds. So that makes it 1 cop vs 84 criminals. And the cops are definitely human beings. Which means they cannot be omnipresent for a billion people.

ARE WOMEN RESPONSIBLE - Are men completely safe from being victims of crime ? I definitely don't believe so. So the question should be - Are WE responsible for OUR OWN SECURITY?

Looking at what I've shared above, I believe you know what the answer is. What I've stated are facts. So I'd like YOU, the intelligent reader of this piece, to answer this intelligent question all by yourself for yourself.

Stay Safe !

How Safe Are Women In India ?

Introduction - I've been asked to answer this question on #Quora many times. Hence thought of putting this up on my blog. Understanding my perspective requires you to park your emotions for a while. As I believe one needs to be emotionally neutral to be able to understand the challenge accurately & arrive at a foolproof solution. I sincerely hope this small piece will put the most widely discussed issue in the right perspective. So please read on & share this if you agree or your views if you don't.

If you have to withdraw 100,000 cash from the bank, you'd take precautions that even cops might not take with VIPs. That's because you ACCEPT that this is your hard earned money and whether or not the police is there or not, if you lose this money - it will be your loss and your responsibility.

You also know that it is your fundamental right to safety and freedom to walk around with valuables. However you'd be a fool to try and exercise your rights, being completely aware of the criminals and their intentions. And not to forget the fact that we are a billion + population and the police cannot be omnipresent for all.

Now women, replace this 100,000 with your life. What precaution do you take everyday to keep yourself secured. Or are you screaming about your fundamental rights to walk worry free at night and expect those with malicious intent to educate themselves on the fundamental rights ? Or are you stuck in a vicious circle of the media blame game between cops, court and the government?

UNDERSTAND THIS - ANY place on this planet is safe for you, if you take responsibility to train yourself against the prevalent malicious people. And No Place is safe if you choose to blame everyone else for what happens to you.

We have a law and order problem and a massive corruption problem. Your fundamental rights are as good as nonexistent unless these issues are addressed first. So till such time that we can educate our population, destroy corrupt practices and strengthen our law and order mechanism,

STOP BLAMING and take your Personal Security - Personally and Seriously. You are the CAPTAIN of your Life and MASTER of your Fate.

Stay SAFE !

Chakradhari Rowe
Consultant and Instructor
www.armoredspirit.com