Teen Safety Tips

Text Box: Donna Silbert, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist

TIPS FOR TEENS

TO PREVENT SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION

· Listen to your intuition/gut/instinct. People often sense potential danger before they’re able to pinpoint exactly why.

· Avoid excessive use of alcohol and/or drugs; the majority of sexual assaults occur in someone’s home when both people have been drinking and/or drugging.

· Staying safe and feeling comfortable is more important than having manners and “being nice”; “respect your elders” does not mean “always obey” them!

· Don’t go to isolated areas alone (take a friend) (if you must go alone, tell someone where you’re going and when to expect you back).

· If there is no weapon AND you are not being robbed – that is, someone is either physically/sexually attacking you or is dragging you away from a public area – FIGHT BACK AND YELL LOUDLY. Perpetrators of sexual assaults look for easy targets. Fighting and yelling make you a difficult target. Also, injuries sustained as a result of fighting the perp are generally milder than injuries resulting from a successful sexual assault.

· If someone says “Don’t tell”: TELL

· If someone threatens you and/or someone you love: TELL

· KEEP TELLING until you get satisfaction

· Don’t take a ride with someone you don’t know well

· Recognize manipulation:

* charming, flattering: “you’re so beautiful, I can’t stop myself”.

* forced teaming: “you look like my kind of girl … let’s get out of here”.

* discounting ‘no’s’, minimizing: “you don’t really mean that”.

* bullying, making you feel stupid, typecasting: “don’t tell me you’re one of those girls who …”; “why’d you think I offered to …”.

* unsolicited offers of help (now you owe him): for example, to carry your heavy bags.

* pressure: “I’m going to die”; “I thought you wanted this, too”; “you were leading me on” or “you were being a tease”.

* Changing history after an assault: “you know you wanted to …”; “you weren’t crying before when we started …” (the absence of crying just prior to an assault or during it doesn’t mean you wanted it).

TEEN SAFETY TIPS

About the Workshops

Reevaluating Safety Myths