Personal Defense for Women

by Gila Hayes

  Finally, none of these precautions have much worth if doors and windows are left unsecured. After an Edmonds, Washington, woman survived a rape, then got to her gun and held the serial rapist for police, another local woman remarked to television reporters: “I’m so glad they caught him. It’s getting warm and I need to be able to leave my sliding patio door open again.” In hot weather, intruders often find houses open and waiting for them.

  A neatly trimmed 2x4 blocks this vulnerable floor-level window, adding security to the flimsy latch these kinds of windows usually have.

  This is not a new problem. Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, found easy entry to dozens of homes during his 1984 reign of terror. An exceptionally hot California summer in which people found it impossible to keep windows and doors closed and locked gave him the opening he needed. All of his murders, rapes and torture took place inside the victims’ homes, with entry made through open or poorly secured windows, sliding glass doors, garages and even pet doors.

  Lock up your home before leaving, whether going on a five-minute errand to the store or going to work. An empty house with open windows is quite an invitation to those who would take your possessions or pounce on you when you return. If I return to an empty house, I pause after opening the car door and again at the front door to gather sensory impressions to see if anything is awry. If you have pets that customarily meet you at the door, their absence or demeanor can be a useful indicator. Stop and listen as you light the house; be aware of and cautiously inspect places where intruders might be concealed. Coat closets can be made safer by storing enough stuff on the floors that there is no room for an intruder to hide without moving some objects out of the closet.

  While you are awake and alert at home, open doors and windows require an elevated level of awareness. If you lapse into Condition White—asleep, in the shower or pursuing other activities that decrease awareness—you need to secure doors and windows that are accessible from the ground. One of my friends admits that when she reads a good book, she becomes so absorbed in the story that activity around her really does not register. Aware of this tendency, she is careful where she indulges in her enjoyment of good literature.

  A watchdog is a valuable addition to home security, primarily as a search partner, as an early warning device and as an excellent deterrent. If your pooch faithfully greets you whenever you return home, its absence might be the first warning of danger. Don’t put too much trust in a dog’s ability to overpower intruders, however. One quiet .22 bullet in the head removes a canine obstacle all too easily.

  Finally, let me emphasize the importance of not entering a house you believe has been breached by an intruder. Police know that house clearing is one of the most dangerous jobs imaginable. Although it is your “home turf,” intruders have the upper hand because they command the element of surprise and can choose a tactically superior place in which to wait for you. You don’t know where they are, if they are armed, or how many have intruded. Even if you immobilize one intruder, will you survive attacks by others backing up the one you stopped?

  Though involved in the mundane task of folding clean laundry, Laurisa is armed and prepared to defend daughter Katie and herself, if the unexpected happens.

  Again: if you find your home has been broken into, don’t enter the house. Go elsewhere and call law enforcement officers who can search with trained dogs and other appropriate equipment while you wait outside in safety. This is one service your taxes buy.

  Are You Safe Inside?

  It’s easy to feel safe and let down our guard once we’re inside the front door. Even with the doors locked and blinds drawn, recognizing a predatory approach, whether over the phone, a mail solicitation or a caller at the door, can save a world of heartbreak.

  Never tell anyone at the door or on the phone that you’re alone. If a caller insists he must “talk to the man of the house,” hang up or stage a fictional exchange in which the “man” refuses to come to the phone. Train family members, especially children, never to tell a caller who is home and who is out, when they’ll return and how long they’ve been gone. Rapists and burglars use the telephone to gather information.

  Any unidentified caller at the door should be treated with suspicion. First, remember that you are under no obligation to open the door for anyone. A common home invasion ploy uses a nicely dressed female accomplice, who knocks on the door. Lulled by the idea that the stranger is “just a woman,” the occupant opens the door to find the woman plus one or more men who force their way inside. Multiple intruders are common in gang-committed crimes. Be extremely guarded in opening your door to any stranger, and if you choose to own a gun for self defense have it on your person. Otherwise, the hope of fending off this crime is very limited.

  Several useful door blocking devices are available, including Frank Hilliard’s Lit’l Surprise, which uses a sturdy steel rod to block the door from the inside when you must open it to unknown callers but which is easily removed when family members are in and out of the house.

  Criminals may also disguise themselves as repair or utility workers. This kind of contact should be by prior appointment only. If you are uncertain if these are legitimate workers, don’t automatically let them inside. Take extra steps to verify their bona fides. Request company identification and verify the credentials with the utility company, your landlord or whoever sent the individual before letting them into your home. Leave the worker standing on the porch with the door locked while you get your concealed weapon, if necessary. Once inside, monitor them while they perform their work. Have your firearm or self-defense weapon on your person. If at any time their words or actions make you feel threatened or uneasy, tell them to leave. If they resist, you may have to escape and call the police from elsewhere, so easy access to wallet, cell phone and keys makes good sense.

  She’s got her hands full dealing with one burglar, and is not yet aware of the accomplice coming from another room. House clearing is better left to the professionals!

  A lone woman knocking at the door may be a decoy for a hidden accomplice.

  This low-tech door blocker is sunk in a small hole drilled in the floor, while the sturdy steel rod is removable so it can be set aside when you are not inside the house.

  I repeat, you are under NO obligation to allow into your home anyone with whom you do not feel safe and comfortable. This includes ex-husbands, former boyfriends, distant relations, anyone from your job or casual acquaintances. YOU control the access to your home. Children’s visitors must also meet with your approval and children should be trained never to invite anyone inside without parental approval.

  There is much we can do to increase home security. Some of it costs nothing, requiring only behavioral changes, though sometimes those are the most challenging! Take a few minutes and consider how you would break into your house if you were a burglar. Look for vulnerable entrance points, then set about to strengthen them.

  Notes

  1Safe, not sorry, op. cit.

  When an unexpected caller knocks at the door, Laurisa asks her daughter Katie to step back into another room, as she uses the peep hole to decide whether to open the door.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Bump in the Night

  “What was that?!”

  Have you ever been wakened from sound sleep by a shattering or bumping noise? Most of us have had this unnerving experience. You awake and try to determine the source of the noise. Is it merely your four-year-old trying to get a drink of water, a pet scratching at the door, or an intruder who has gotten inside?

  This is one defense scenario in which immediate action is inadvisable. Even if someone has unlawfully entered your house, there are many reasons not to immediately seek out and attack the intruder. First, is it really a criminal? Could an innocent person be in your home without your knowledge? Do your teenagers have friends they might allow to come in and sleep off too much beer? Do any friends, relatives or other innocent people have keys to your home? In such ci
rcumstances, a “wait and see” approach is advisable.

  Use Your Phone!

  If you are certain that ominous noises are not caused by family members or welcome guests and you’re convinced that an intruder is inside, go to a pre-established tactical headquarters or safe room and dial 911 or another emergency number. When you call, give the police dispatcher information along these lines:

  “There is an intruder in my home at 100 Center Street. I think he’s on the first floor. I will wait on the second floor. I am a white female, 5’5” and have on a red bathrobe. I am armed with a snub-nosed revolver. I repeat, there is an intruder in my home at. …”

  State your address first, then describe the situation and give pertinent details. Do not rely on enhanced 911 to identify the address from which your call originates. Make the message brief and to the point, then repeat the information. Experts advise you to stay on the line with the emergency dispatcher so you can identify the responding officers. Locked in a safe area of your home, it is wise to refuse entry to anyone you cannot positively identify as a law enforcement officer. Every self-defense situation is unique in itself, and you will have to remain fluid and able to make decisions based on the circumstances. If it becomes necessary to defend yourself or family members from the intruder, you may have to break off communications with the dispatcher or flee the room.

  Why offer your personal description and reveal that you are armed? Two reasons. One: the personal description is vital because you may be mistaken for a burglar yourself when the police arrive. Two: law enforcement agencies will respond more rapidly to a scene where they know at least one firearm is involved. The presence of a deadly weapon tells them this is an explosive situation.

  After calling for help, you have two choices. You can remain silently ensconced in your safe room, taking cover behind a bullet-stopping obstacle, weapon in hand so long as it is apparent the intruder is not getting any closer to the area in which you are sheltering. Pause a moment and listen again for noises that may reveal the intruder’s location. Contrary to the movies, no one can move through unfamiliar territory without creating noises. As an alternative, you may choose to warn the burglar: “Hey, whoever you are! The police have been called and are on their way. We are armed. Leave the house immediately and we will not harm you!” In any event, do not abandon your room’s security unless the safety of children or other dependents is threatened.

  Evan Marshall suggests a more direct approach. His version of the challenge is simply, “Get out!” delivered in command voice. He strongly recommends arranging the home so the defender can wait, firearm in hand, at the head of a stairwell or a hall, blocking access to the rest of the family.

  The problems with seeking out and confronting a housebreaker are many. He is running the game and you will likely be at his mercy. Your safety is greatly enhanced if you can take refuge in a secure area, call for help and wait out the intrusion from a protected position.

  The Safe Room

  I’ve previously referred to a “safe room.” Simply put, this is a “hardened” area containing emergency equipment such as weapons, a cell phone, flashlights and other necessities. When you come home, go straight to your safe room and place your wallet or purse, keys and wireless phone in the same place each time. This may be the best place for the cell phone’s charger, to be sure it will be fully powered if ever needed in an emergency.

  Alternate escape routes from the safe room are advisable in the case of arson or other dangers. This may require getting a fire escape chain ladder if your safe room is not on the ground floor. Alternatively, you may need to leave your safe room to ensure your dependents’ safety. Call the police, and then pad quietly from room to room, gathering up the smaller children. Wake the older children with the instruction to remain exactly where they are and lock them safely in their rooms, unless you believe the intruder may gain access to that child’s room. Other times, the emergency may make it necessary to secure the safety of family members while calling the authorities, and it is in these moments that wireless communication is worth every expensive cent it costs.

  In a two-story home, if all the bedrooms are on the upper floor, you may choose to establish a place of strategic dominance at the head of the stairs. This denies an intruder any access to the vulnerable sleeping areas so that he must come through your gunfire before he can reach those in your care. Know what lies beyond the area into which you may shoot, and plan accordingly. If possible add furnishings that can double as cover behind which you can take shelter while preventing further intrusion.

  In “hardening” a safe room, replace the door with a solid-core or steel door fitted with a good dead-bolt lock. In addition, a quick-access gun safe might be an appropriate accessory, as would be a bright flashlight, body armor, and some kind of furnishing that provides cover and protection from an assailant’s gunfire. You might want to stash first-aid supplies, with emphasis on dressings to staunch blood flow, in this area along with any creature comforts you may need if facing a prolonged wait.

  The Importance of Practice

  How strange it is that we practice musical skills and our tennis game, yet we rarely practice self defense scenarios!

  A sample exercise is surveying your house or apartment, as suggested at the end of the last chapter. Starting at your car or front door, enter, looking carefully for all the spots where an assailant might hide. You may decide to install better lighting, move or trim certain bushes, or clear out boxes and debris in your garage that could conceal assailants. Entering your home, check for alcoves or closets where an assailant might hide. Check for fast access to light switches, or the consider changing to remote controlled lighting.

  Moving through your home, be aware of heavy furniture that would provide you cover in a gunfight, and look for places where an assailant might conceal himself. You might choose to relocate a large, packed bookshelf to a strategic position where it could provide bullet-stopping cover. Consider rearranging furniture to impede unauthorized entry through a window or sliding glass door. You should be sure the location of a waterbed or a large, packed chest of drawers provides bullet-stopping cover in your safe room. Crouch or lie down behind the furniture to be sure it is large enough to protect your body.

  Ingenuity and proper equipment gives this mom and her son an alternative escape route in case of home intrusion or other dangers on their rural homestead.

  During a practice session, Mom leads the way, showing her son how to safely get from the home’s upper story on to the fire ladder.

  After some urging from his mom, the boy follows.

  Successful practice earns a hug and words of praise. This mom enjoys more peace of mind, knowing she and her son are prepared to face a variety of emergencies that may require leaving the house from the upper story.

  Families with children should assign bedrooms so the armed adults can protect the dependents. Take the room at the head of the hallway or assign the children to upstairs bedrooms, if the sleeping rooms are located on both first and second floors. Work out a home-defense plan with other adults who share the house and brief youngsters about what to expect in an emergency. This is also a good time to go over escaping fires, gas leaks and other dangers.

  Another exercise that can be conducted with a bit more levity is one suggested by Massad Ayoob in his excellent book, In the Gravest Extreme.1 He recommends playing a game of hide-and-seek with your children. They know all the best hiding places, and as he says, any place your four-foot child can hide offers concealment to a motivated, full-size housebreaker.

  For renters, apartment halls and doorways are excellent places to practice your survival awareness. How many times have you rounded a corner in a public hallway, in the grip of a daydream or a worry, and gasped as you almost collided with a neighbor? Learn not to walk carelessly around blind corners or and know who else is in apartment house laundry rooms or utility rooms before you enter. Cut a wide path around 90° corners, open doors fully and look in before en
tering. Make the most of these utilitarian moments as practice to sharpen your awareness of clues like noise, movement, smell and shadow, developing skills that may someday alert you to an assailant’s presence before you are in his grasp.

  Your safety depends on knowing who occupies a public space such as an elevator or laundry room before you commit yourself to entering. Learn by daily practice to scan the room, including behind the door you just opened, to ascertain if another person is present. A door that opens against a wall can simply be pushed until it bangs into the wall or door stop to check for anyone hiding behind it.

  Information Control

  Just as you guard access to your home and its occupants, it is prudent to limit publicly available information about yourself. Using initials instead of your full name on the mailbox, telephone directory or other listings helps protect you from people who target women. Don’t use Ms., Mrs., or Miss or any thing else that indicates gender. When asked for a phone number by a sales clerk accepting your check, give a false number, a ruse suggested by Paxton Quigley, author of Armed and Female2. Even if the clerk seems harmless, a member of the store staff or another shopper may divert that information to harass you. Never reveal your home address, telephone numbers, birth date and especially your social security number.