
Gettyimages.com/Laughing young woman sitting on the floor of her loft using laptop and headphones
In a perfect world, criminals wouldn’t target single women living alone. Okay, in a very perfect world there wouldn’t be criminals. But not much good is done by sitting around and wishing things were different. We have to A) Take steps to change things and B) Take precautions to be safe while things still are the way they are. And as of now, the way things are is that women are the victims in 80 percent of sexual assaults recorded by police. Even those with less sinister aims—like burglars looking to take valuables—still target women living alone, presuming they are less physically capable of defending themselves. On a personal note I know that, as a woman, I have a tendency to want to be agreeable which is why sometimes I answer the questions of strangers, and talk to suspicious individuals, all so I don’t come off as rude. But your safety should take priority over being polite. Here are security tips for women living alone.

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Wait even longer to invite dates over
No woman—with or without a roommate—should have men they just met over to their homes. You know very little of this man’s mental or emotional stability or his past. Women living alone should wait extra long to have someone over. If things go sour, they don’t want a revengeful and spurned man to know their address. First date safety should extend to several follow-up dates for women living alone.