Review: Fearless: The Complete Personal Safety Guide for Women
| Author | Chetna Bhatt |
| Published date | 01 January 2001 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X0107400311 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
It
should be noted, however, that the author presents the informa-
tion in the book as to how incidents are perceived and managed within
the framework of the legal and social structure of the United States of
America. There is a threat-evaluation mechanism and response to this
type of attack in the United Kingdom that is not given consideration in
this book. While many of the principles of responding to suchincidents
may be the same, the legal, organisational issues, response times, local
authority legislation, the tasking and capabilities of the emergency
services and military aid to the civil power, all differ substantially.
Robert McAllister
FEARLESS: THE COMPLETE PERSONAL SAFETY GUIDE
FOR
WOMEN
Paul Henry Danylewich, University
of
Toronto Press, 2001
ISBN
0-8020-8112-6
There is much to be learnt in this fascinating guide on the safety of
women, covering several aspects of our day-to-day life. Danylewich
gives clear evidence of his expertise in this area by providing the reader
with information on preventing threatening situations and self-defence
strategies that can be used in such circumstances. Photographs and
thorough explanations are provided to enhance an understanding of the
necessary actions.
Danylewich uses different methods to increase awareness of safety
issues. He succeeds in identifying holes in knowledge: he was correct
in noting that many citizens do not know what authentic police
officers' badges or uniform look like. He also introduces the idea of a
buddy system, which entails keeping an eye on your friends' intoxica-
tion level at a party on the assumption that if they seem out of control,
it is likely you are in a similar state and should consider leaving. I
would be eager to know whether it could work effectively in practice.
Moreover, he has included excerpts from interviews to give an insight
into real situations. Readers will hopefully remember these, should they
ever find themselves in a similar situation.
It
is often the case that we do not give sufficient thought to these
issues, which is why it is a shame that this book appears to be limited
to women. There are areas that may be useful to all regardless of
gender.
As a young Asian female, I have been given an incredible insight
into safety issues. I previously doubted whether a man could seriously
understand the powerless feeling that a woman being threatened can
experience. However, the author seems to have a good grasp of this. He
carries out a detailed examination of the psychology of offenders and
victims and I was able to relate to the comments made concerning the
latter.
It
reminded me of a situation I once found myself in with an
over-friendly taxi driver. His comments made me feel particularly
uncomfortable. This incident confirmed my belief that you need to be
assertive. Danylewich accurately stresses the importance of a tough
attitude, albeit one that is not genuine, to deter a potential offender. The
The Police Journal. Volume 74 (2001) 273
To continue reading
Request your trial