Help needed with talk on self protection in work

Hi folks

I have just joined the forum and really hope your experience will help add to a talk I am giving for my colleagues.

We work on a home visit basis and often this can mean meeting people we have never met in the past. A lot of my colleagues are young women and self employed, so it would be relatively easy for us to be targeted.

I have outlined the main areas of my talk to be:

Recording visit details
Checking out identity of potential client (appearances can be deceptive!)
Setting up a safe meeting
Awareness during visit situations
Reading potential danger signals
Effects of adrenaline and what to expect
Escape - soft skills
Escape - hard skills
The Law and how it relates to self protection

Does anyone have ideas of what to add/remove? Or any major points you would put across?

Thanks!

Karen

I can't add any content for your talk but for general help for your staff...

my wife is a CPN who visits clients in their own home ( people with 'mental' issues) they have various procedures is place to protect them.

they have a specific time schedule and must phone in after visits, they have a set word they use if they are in danger, so a member of staff will call them if they say their paperwork is in the car then they need help.

apart from this the only protection the NHS gives them is a yearly 4HR Control and restraint course

The SDF Instructors Diploma Courses has one specific to lone females, domestic violence, and sexual attacks

75% theoretical ,,, 25% physical

We work on a home visit basis and often this can mean meeting people we have never met in the past. A lot of my colleagues are young women and self employed, so it would be relatively easy for us to be targeted.

I have been visitng members of public in their homes for the last thirty years.A lot depends on who you are dealing with. In what capacity are they visiting members of the public? If its to sell or provide a service the risk is very low.On the other hand if you are debt collecting you are going to get a lot of verbal aggression as people are stressed if they are struggling for money and will most likely try and intimidate you.

TonyK writes :In what capacity are they visiting members of the public? If its to sell or provide a service the risk is very low.


It's in a helping/counselling profession. The person would know that it will be a woman visiting. We often travel alone and in areas that may not be particularly safe neighbourhoods. We rarely carry money or valuable possessions.

Thanks

WildPaw wrote:TonyK writes :In what capacity are they visiting members of the public? If its to sell or provide a service the risk is very low.


It's in a helping/counselling profession. The person would know that it will be a woman visiting. We often travel alone and in areas that may not be particularly safe neighbourhoods. We rarely carry money or valuable possessions.

Thanks

Are the clients vetted before someone calls? Working in rough areas is always risky,especially for a lone woman in the dark.In my expereince the most dangerous places are lifts in tower blocks as you don't know who is going to get in plus a lot of mentally ill people and drug addicts are housed in these places.These are the kind of places where you need to be very cautious.

I have often discussed the training of these soft skills with a friend and have come to the conclusion they can only be learned on the job.The longer you spend in a dodgy environment the more streetwise you become.

Have you done any self protection before WildPaw?

@TonyK That is really useful information Tony thank you - I hadn't added in about lifts - crucial.

I think you are right about soft skills. I also think that knowing what you might face is a good learning tool. Like hard skills, they all take plenty of practice. I am sure no-one is going to walk away from the talk thinking they are ready for anything but it will open their eyes. In fact I think it more likely to reassure them about what they are doing and how they identify it and when to take someone with them!

@jagunco my background is in the intros section?

Ah ha

Just read it.... cool I was scared for a second that it fell to you just cos you were the manager or something. You've obviously studies a fair bit

haha no I volunteered because I saw a lot of comments that were 'the usual' (kick em in the crotch/do complicated wrist lock/I can go where I like and no-one has the right to stop me/baddies only come out at night..) Like I said I am not an expert but I can at least try and give the reality if I can.

Any references as well folks? Online especially useful. Thanks so much for all your help with this