Helpful tips to keep women safe in most dangerous place in Nigeria

Daily we have news channels and social media reports missing women and girls. In worse cases, there are reports of rape and murder.

With a few safety tips, we can ensure women are safer and help prevent tragedies from occurring.

Here is a few safety tip to help ensure safety for men and women alike.

1. Let a family member or close friend know your whereabouts

Whether it’s a night out about town or a late night stop at your favourite fast food, let someone know the details. If something were to go wrong, this can help out tremendously in investigation efforts.

It helps to write it down on a sticky note with precise details like location, persons details with whom you will be spending time with etc where it can be easily found by loved ones.

2. Turn your smartphone location on

With the advancement of science and technology, it’s become easier to have a live location transmitted to people e.g the new WhatsApp update. It allows for you to send your live location with a WhatsApp contact for a set duration.

Definitely, keeping your location on when outdoors is a great safety tip and effortless too which could prove extremely helpful in tracking you down if the need arises.

3. Take note of the vehicle registration number

The growing popularity of transportation apps like Uber and Taxify have made pickups and drop off easier. Relevant information like driver's name, car plate number and type of car are sent. To help stay safe, sending this information to a family member or friend is a great way to stay safe.

In the case of public transport, try to get into only publicly recognized vehicles which are painted the correct color and contain at least a few female occupants.

4. Have a companion

Whether it is going home from work or leaving a bar, ensure you have trusted company along for the trip. It is harder to be targeted when you are in pairs or crowds as predators know that it is harder to take on an entire group of individuals.

When possible, have a male trusted companion accompany you if you will be out late at night of at places that are known to not be safe for young women.

5. Take your headphones off

We all love music but keeping headphones off or the volume pretty low will help keep you aware of your surroundings and any impending danger.

It also makes you a less likely target for predators who believe you are distracted enough for them to take advantage of you.