SAFETY

Personal safety is an issue anywhere and at anytime but it does become more of a concern when living abroad. If you are not fully aware of your new surroundings, you may not be aware of new risks associated with your new home and the precautions needed to protect yourself and your property. These concerns vary by location, but in general, the main worries are associated with personal safety, sexual assault, protection of personal property, anti-American bias and safety issues associated with driving.

One of your first tasks of adjusting to your new home is to become acquainted with new surroundings and the challenges it may present. You should be certain to check with your Advisor or Public Safety office to help in your safety assessment of your new home and to get safety tips. In addition, you may the following websites helpful. They identify common sense measures and can be adapted to any locale

Wakefield College http://student.wakcoll.ac.uk/College%20Life/Health%20&%20Safety/personal%20safety%20tips.asp
UK http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/personalsafety.htm

City of Manchester, NH http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/MPD/Divisions/CrimePrev/Home.html
U Penn http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/dpsPerSafety.asp
Oklahoma City, OK http://www.okc.gov/safety/personal/personal.html
http://www.imva.org/Pages/safefrm.htm

The Study Abroad Safety Handbook is an excellent resource on Risk Factors and measures to help reduce risk. You may find it at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/globaled/studentsabroad/riskfactors.html

More specific location information related to safety is available from a variety of resources. Samples include:

Safety Directory by Country from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust , http://www.brookes.ac.uk/worldwise/directory/

Government sites related to travel safety are:

· Consular Information http://usembassy.state.gov/

· State Department Information http://www.state.gov/travel/

· Overseas Advisory Council http://www.ds-osac.org/

· CIA reports http://www.cia.gov/

· Canada http://www.voyage.gc.ca/destinations/menu_e.html

· U.K. http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590

· Australia http://www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice/advices_mnu.html

· New Zealand http://www.mft.govt.nz/travel/

A free commercial site that has a “Hotspot” link is AirSecurity http://www.airsecurity.com/hotspots/HotSpots.asp

As a final note, an individual needs to be careful that the new independence or choices presented by their new living situation does not lead to negative behavior such as drug or alcohol abuse. These often lead to impaired judgement and unsafe behavior. Remain connected to your values that have brought you to where you are today.