I (20f) work a bar job and so am often walking back home at 2-3AM. After a weird experience with an Uber driver I’ve begun to be very paranoid about walking home alone this late. What household object can I carry with me in order to protect myself if needed? It must be small enough to carry close to my person and also not get me into any legal trouble. I’ve ordered a little pepper spray but it’s going to take a bit of time to arrive so anything I can take or buy immediately is important.
27 comments
Well the pepper spray is already illegal if you didn’t know already
A dog, preferably one you can’t carry. 🤣
None. Carrying any item with the intent to use it as a weapon is illegal.
The best examples of getting around this is keeping a cricket bat, ball, and other cricket equipment in your car.
Get a monkey fist key chain, also pepper spray is illegal
How about a pocketful of sand? The guys at r/pocketsand have some useful how-to guides.
Deep heat spray has the same effect as pepper spray and is legal
You can’t, really. A D-cell Maglite is often offered up in response to this question, but even the pepper spray is legally shaky.
If you get caught with that pepper spray you’re in deep shit.
Plus it’s pretty useless anyway unless you’re planning on walking around with it at arms length ready to spray anyone you pass.
Hold your house keys between your knuckles with your hand in a fist, with the keys pointing out
A well laced pair of sensible running shoes and regular cardio.
possessing, purchasing or acquiring pepper spray can be punished by 6 months imprisonment, using pepper spray can be punished by 7 years imprisonment – It is classed as a firearm.
Also pre-emptively, the commonly given key-fist advice is absolutely *awful* advice – All you will achieve is shattering the bones in your palm which are not adapted to shearing forces in that direction.
The only weapon I know of that can be carried without legal risk is a chain with a weighted end (Think early 2000s fashion). But the moment you use it as a weapon you become open to prosecution (And they also require a lot of practice to use without doing as much damage to yourself as them)
Pepper spray is illegal to carry. However a little spray bottle with water or oil and chilli flakes is legal.
Padlock. Use it as knuckle duster and there’s 101 legitimate reasons to be carrying it.
A can of spray deodorant has a similar effect to pepper spray, if you just need to get someone away from you so you can run
Short pencil. Also I’d suggest taking some self-defence classes. Part of it is having the will to fight. Most people avoid it as much as possible which is sensible in most circumstances but not all
As well as the legality of carrying as others have mentioned, you need to remember that anything you do carry could be taken off you and used against you.
Best response (unfortunately) is that if you don’t feel safe doing something you need to find a way to not have to do it. Trust your gut instinct.
To answer your question though, best I would advise is a high lumen torch like [this](https://www.amazon.co.uk/OLIGHT-Dual-Switch-Rechargeable-Flashlight-Proximity/dp/B09WMMVZZ1/ref=sr_1_21?crid=3HANZSF4JPGLE&keywords=olight%2Btorch&qid=1661772941&s=diy&sprefix=Olight%2Cdiy%2C74&sr=1-21&th=1) – ideally you would use to disorientate & get away but worst case it can be used as a striking tool. Walking home at night you would have a reason to carry a torch.
But to be clear – if you think you need to be armed to be some place Mr Miyagi had the very best advise. No be there.
A bright but small-ish torch (preferably powered by a decent battery like an 18650), dazzling them can be a deterrent or give you that extra second to react. Also if you know anyone who you trust and would be awake at that time, send them your live location on WhatsApp so they can monitor your journey and raise an alarm of needed. It’s feckin’ ridiculous that this advice is even needed in this day and age.
Take a walking stick and pretend you have hip problems if asked. Buy the sturdiest, heaviest one you can find.
My understanding was you can’t legally carry an item for the purpose of self defence
(aside from those rape alarm devices you hear about)
Its about what constitutes reasonable force in the circumstance
For example if its wet out, its reasonable to expect I might have an umbrella
I have bone-on-bone on my knee and some other joint trouble, so it would be reasonable to expect me to have a stick/cane
In your case you might have trouble explaining pepper spray in your purse, but some hair spray?
You have to be able to justify that item being there for a reason other than the expectation of having to defend yourself otherwise its going into territory of intent to cause harm
Realistically, only self defence classes will work, and they won’t work for everything. Anything you carry can be taken away from you – and probably will be if its a bludgeon etc and you don’t know how to fight. Just being able to fight hands a little, knowing how it is to scrap, and having a willingness to inflict damage will help, but that’s going to take a while to acquire. I’m sorry about your situation but there isn’t an easy answer here, and the ones being given in this thread are more likely to get you in trouble than out of it.
Coming at this from another angle.
Perhaps look to enroll yourself into a well regarded self defense school.
And/Or look into combat sports such as Judo/BJJ/MT/Boxing/etc (providing that they regularly spar and pressure test their techniques on fully resisting opponents)
Its a sad state of affairs when getting a cab can be just as scary as walking home.
It sounds stupid but an umbrella with a pointed end is probably your best bet. They’re not illegal to carry. You won’t look out of place carrying it on you. It’s actually pretty handy for when it rains. If someone tries to attack you , you can use the length of the umbrella to create some distance between you and your attacker. They can’t grip your hair or clothing. You can hit them with it or stab them with the pointed end giving you time to run away. Pointed keychains only work once the attacker has already got up close and personal in your space , and I assume you’d want to lessen the chances of that happening.
I’ve been in your position. I used to have a glass bottle of something, sometimes wine or sparkling water or a big beer bottle. I always thought that if someone tried to hurt me I could smash it and then I’d have something. Sounds silly now tho 🙁
Attack alarm, but they work by scaring the attacker rather than alerting other people. The alarm on my motorbike sounds very similar and no one bats an eyelid when it goes off.
The best way would be for your bar to sort out a deal with a trusted taxi company. Put signs up encouraging customers to use them and have discounts or free trips for staff wanting to get home.
It’s still a bit risky, but a hammer is one of the best weapons for a woman to carry, according to a policeman friend. Getting hit anywhere with a hammer will hurt. You can always say that you were taking it home to do some DIY.
A really sharp pencil or fountain pen
Hi, you shouldn’t have to worry about defending yourself on the way home. Your employer should be providing paid transport home with a licensed taxi company after a certain time.
Unite Hospitality is campaigning to have local authorities force hospitality employers to provide this as a condition of their license, and has had success in Newcastle and Ayr. Many other employers across the UK do it without being forced as well, and you and colleagues can take action to get them to do so. A much better alternative to makeshift weapons would be joining Unite and talking with your rep and colleagues to make sure your workplace is taking responsibility for employee safety.
https://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/get-me-home-safely-campaign/get-me-home-safely-take-action-on-liquor-licences/
https://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/get-me-home-safely-campaign/
https://www.unitehospitality.org/