Everyone has heard stories of men being robbed, or of women or children being kidnapped or raped. But no one thinks it will happen to them. Until I do.

Working in a retail store at the local mall, one of Denise J.’s duties included depositing money from the till. This was done every night after she closed the store at 10 pm and the bank was across the street from the mall. Worse still, the deposit box was behind the bank, away from street lights. Usually the co-workers would walk in pairs and bump into other mall employees who were also making their deposits, but one night Denise was alone, she can’t remember why.
Even though it was a dark but clear night, Denise didn’t notice the two young men in dark clothes until she was almost at the deposit box. One pulled out what looked like a knife and started walking towards her. Denise screamed, dropped the money, took out her pepper spray and sprayed the advancing man. She screamed, covered her eyes, and nearly fell over when Denise ran off.
He ran to a close friend’s house where his friend called the police.

Denise was lucky, although she doesn’t think so. Many young women are not so prepared and could have been harmed or raped in this situation. And this situation can happen to many young women, because there are many jobs that require young women to work alone and with amounts of money large enough to make them targets. Even young men are not automatically safe from being mugged.

What can be done? Stores and banks must work together to make it safer for these young employees. Keeping money safe should not be a higher priority than keeping people’s lives safe. And everyone should make safer choices when walking at night, like:

1. Always walk in pairs. While this is not instant protection against attacks, it does add an element of security. For Denise, even though no other employees were available, she could have asked the mall security guard to come with her, or asked other store employees to wait and leave at the same time.

2. Stay in well-lit areas. If you must go to isolated areas, don’t go alone.

The world should be a safe place for everyone, but unfortunately it is not. Take steps to protect yourself by being aware and prepared.