Self-Protection: Beyond the Basics

The lessons at a glance

1. Spiking beyond the drink: food, vapes, needles and what happens next

The Choices module covers the basics of drink spiking. This lesson goes further: the other ways people are spiked, why alcohol-free venues are not automatically safe, and exactly what to do in the hours afterwards, at home or abroad.

• Drinks, food, vapes and needles can all be used for spiking, including at alcohol-free events.
• Feeling far more unwell than you should is the warning sign. Act early.
• Get safe, get medical help, report quickly: some drugs leave the body within 12 hours.
• Spiking is never the victim's fault.

2. If you think you are being followed

Most of the time, the person behind you is simply going the same way. Knowing how to check calmly, and what to do if you are right, means you never have to panic and never lead anyone home.

• Check calmly: three coincidences make a pattern.
• Never lead anyone home. Go towards people and lights.
• In a car, keep doors locked and drive to a police station or busy, lit place.
• Never confront. Call for help instead.

3. Harassment and stalking: spotting the pattern and keeping a record

Stalking rarely starts with a threat. It starts with messages, 'coincidences' and attention you did not ask for. Recognising the pattern early, and recording it carefully, is what turns a frightening situation into one the police can act on.

• Stalking is Fixated, Obsessive, Unwanted and Repeated. Two or more incidents can be enough to report.
• Record everything: date, time, place, what happened and how it made you feel.
• Do not engage, and do not rely on blocking alone.
• Report early: 999 in danger, then the police non-emergency line or official apps.

4. Crowds, concerts and big events

Festivals, concerts, national day celebrations, match days and New Year fireworks are some of the best nights of the year. Crowd experts agree that the danger is density, not size, and that small decisions made early keep you safe.

• Density, not crowd size, is the danger. Around six people per square metre is serious.
• Know your exits and agree a meeting point before the crowd builds.
• If you feel squeezed and can still move, leave early.
• In a surge: arms up to protect your chest, go with the flow, move diagonally, stay on your feet.

5. Travelling abroad and travelling on your own

Gap years, exchange semesters and university holidays often mean your first trips without family. Good preparation is not about fear: it is about knowing that if something goes wrong, you already have a plan.

• Read official travel advice and sign up for alerts before you book.
• Register with your country's travel service and save your embassy's number.
• Book the first night and the airport transfer before you land.
• Someone at home should always know where you are.
• Being safe matters more than being polite.

6. Campus and halls safety

University campuses and halls of residence are generally well protected, but that protection depends on residents. A few habits, and knowing who to call, make a large difference in your first term.

• Save campus security's number and app on day one.
• Use your own card, close doors fully and never prop them open.
• Lock your room every time, and keep keys unlabelled and on you.
• Safety apps help, but in an emergency off campus, call the emergency number.

7. Personal safety tools and the law

When you start living independently, it is natural to want something in your bag that makes you feel safer. Some tools are legal and genuinely useful. Others are illegal, and carrying them can turn you from the person at risk into the person arrested.

• A personal alarm, a charged phone and Emergency SOS are legal, useful tools.
• In the UK, self-defence is not a good reason to carry a knife.
• Pepper spray is illegal to possess in the UK.
• In the UAE, carrying sharp tools without a lawful reason is an offence. Do not carry weapons.
• The aim is always to escape and get help, never to fight.

8. Manipulation and coercive pressure: recognising control and getting out

Not all danger looks dangerous. Sometimes it looks like a new friend who is unusually generous, a group that makes you feel special, or an online contact who seems to understand you better than anyone. This lesson is about noticing when friendliness turns into control, and how to step away.

• Control is a pattern: love bombing, isolation, monitoring, criticism and threats.
• Exploiters offer belonging, money or protection, then ask for something in return.
• Behaviour, not belief, is the warning sign: pressure, secrecy and guilt.
• You can say no without explaining, and you are never to blame for being targeted.
• Tell a trusted adult early and keep evidence.

Talk about it, then try it

The real-life practice tasks from each lesson. Pick one or two a week and agree when you will check in.

1. Spiking beyond the drink: food, vapes, needles and what happens next
   • Save the emergency number for every country you will visit this year in your phone, and add a note with your nearest late-night pharmacy or hospital.
   • Agree a one-word 'I need help now' text with two friends you go out with, and agree that nobody leaves an event alone.
   • Practise saying, out loud, the four things police ask: what happened, where, when, and who might have done it.
2. If you think you are being followed
   • Walk your usual route home this week and note three 'safe places' that are open late (a shop, a petrol station, a hotel lobby).
   • Set up live location sharing with one family member and test that they can see you.
   • Next time you are a passenger, practise noticing the number plate and colour of the car behind for one minute.
3. Harassment and stalking: spotting the pattern and keeping a record
   • Create a private 'incident log' template in your notes app with columns for date, time, place, what happened, witnesses and how you felt, so it is ready if you ever need it.
   • Review the privacy settings on your two most used social apps: who can see your location, your friends list and your school or university.
   • Save 999 and your emirate's non-emergency police line in your phone, plus 0808 802 0300 if you will study in the UK.
4. Crowds, concerts and big events
   • Before your next big event, find the venue map and screenshot it with exits marked.
   • Agree a meeting point and a 'we leave if' rule with your friends (for example, if anyone feels squeezed).
   • Try the shoulder test in a busy mall or metro: notice when people start touching you on both sides.
5. Travelling abroad and travelling on your own
   • Pick one place you would like to visit and read its official travel advice page from start to finish, noting three things that surprised you.
   • If you are eligible, register for Twajudi or STEP for your next trip, and add your embassy's number to your phone.
   • Write a one-page trip sheet: accommodation address, check-in times, insurance number and two emergency contacts. Share it with a parent.
6. Campus and halls safety
   • Find your target university's security page and write down its 24-hour number and whether it uses SafeZone or an escort service.
   • For one week, notice how many times a door you use is propped open or held for a stranger. Think about what you would say.
   • Practise a polite line for tailgating, such as 'Sorry, could you use your own card? Hall rules.'
7. Personal safety tools and the law
   • Set up Emergency SOS and emergency contacts on your phone today, and show a parent where they are.
   • Look at a personal alarm in a shop or online and check how loud it is and how it is triggered. Decide whether it suits you.
   • Check your bag: is there anything in it that could look like a weapon? If it has no everyday reason to be there, take it out.
8. Manipulation and coercive pressure: recognising control and getting out
   • Write down three people you could tell if someone started pressuring you, and how you would contact each of them.
   • Practise a short exit line out loud, such as 'Thanks, but I'm not interested. Please don't contact me again.'
   • Save the help numbers for where you live now and where you plan to study.

Quiz

Name: ______________________ Date: ____________ Circle one answer for each question.

Answer key

1. C: Ministry of Justice spiking factsheet: spiking includes adding alcohol to a non-alcoholic drink and slipping drugs into drinks, food, cigarettes or vapes.
2. B: GOV.UK: some drugs leave the body in less than 12 hours, so a urine sample may be taken as soon as possible; others can be detected up to 7 days later.
3. D: Stevensville Police Department: do not go home; drive to a police station, fire station, open petrol station or another well-lit place with people who can help.
4. D: Peoplesafe: looking back can signal that you have noticed them; check discreetly using shop windows or car mirrors instead.
5. C: Avon and Somerset Police: stalking is behaviour that is Fixated, Obsessive, Unwanted and Repeated.
6. C: Catch22: keep a diary including times, dates, locations, what happened, any vehicle details and how it made you feel.
7. C: ITV interview with Professor G Keith Still: around five per square metre is the safe maximum; at six per square metre 'things get scary'.
8. C: NPR, quoting Mehdi Moussaid: lack of oxygen is the main cause of death in crowds, so protect your breathing space.
9. A: FCDO solo and independent travel: book before you travel, especially your first night, because you are at your most vulnerable when you first arrive.
10. A: UAE Government portal: Twajudi lets MOFA and its missions contact Emiratis during an emergency or crisis abroad and help them return.
11. B: University of Nottingham Student Living: tailgating happens when someone enters a secure building by following closely behind someone else.
12. A: UCL: SafeZone is not intended to replace existing services; off campus, call the police on 999.
13. B: Avon and Somerset Police: a personal attack alarm is designed to shock and distract an attacker, giving you vital seconds to get away.
14. B: Bath and North East Somerset safeguarding guide: wanting to protect yourself is not seen as a good reason for carrying a weapon or knife.
15. B: eSafety Commissioner: coercive control is a pattern of behaviour, rarely a single act, designed to manipulate, intimidate and control another person.
16. C: Deakin University: warning signs include discouraging contact with family, friends or other support people.

General information only, written from the sources listed in each online lesson. Laws, numbers and services change, so check official sources. Life-Ready Society, https://lifereadysociety.com/self-protection/