April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April has been designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) by the National Sexual Violence Resource Centre. Sexual assaults are one of the most difficult crimes to wrap one's mind around - at least it is for me. A few shocking stats:

       In the US:

• It is estimated that for every 1,000 women attending a college or university, there are 35 incidents of rape each academic year.1
• 1 Fisher, B.S., Cullen, F.T., & Turner, M.G. (2000), The Sexual Victimization of College Women, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

     
      In Canada:

• Over half (59%) of all victims of police-reported sexual assault were children and youth under the age of 18. The rate of sexual assaults against children and youth was over 1.5 times higher than the rate for young adults aged 18 to 24.
• Child and Youth Victims of Police-reported Violent Crime, 2008
  So what can we do? The National Crime Prevention Council has a few tips to reduce your chances of being sexually assaulted. Follow these tips from the National Crime Prevention Council:
  
  • Be aware of your surroundings — who’s out there and what’s going on.
  • Walk with confidence. The more confident you look, the stronger you appear.
  • Know your limits when it comes to using alcohol.
  • Be assertive — don’t let anyone violate your space.
  • Trust your instincts. If you feel uncomfortable in your surroundings, leave.
  • Don’t prop open self-locking doors.
  • Lock your door and your windows, even if you leave for just a few minutes.
  • Watch your keys. Don’t lend them. Don’t leave them. Don’t lose them. And don’t put your name and address on the key ring.
  • Watch out for unwanted visitors. Know who’s on the other side of the door before you open it.
  • Be wary of isolated spots, like underground garages, offices after business hours, and apartment laundry rooms.
  • Avoid walking or jogging alone, especially at night. Vary your route. Stay in well-traveled, well-lit areas.
  • Have your key ready to use before you reach the door — home, car, or work.
  • Park in well-lit areas and lock the car, even if you’ll only be gone a few minutes.
  • Drive on well-traveled streets, with doors and windows locked.
  • Never hitchhike or pick up a hitchhiker.
  • Keep your car in good shape with plenty of gas in the tank.
  • In case of car trouble, call for help on your cellular phone. If you don’t have a phone, put the hood up, lock the doors, and put a banner in the rear mirror that says, “Help. Call police.”
  And I'll add one here: Get a smartphone and install the SOS LINK app so that you (or your loved ones) can alert your/their friends and family in case of an emergency.
   
  

90 seconds... is all the time you need to LEARN about SOS LINK!

Hello Friends,

I apologize - it has been awhile since my last post. We've been busy here at SOS LINK, getting ready to launch new products and working on all sorts of new things to show you. It has been a really exciting spring!

Our mission here at SOS LINK is to promote personal safety. We believe in our products and know that our apps will have an incredible impact in the community. We are confident that our range of SOS LINK apps will not only be able to identify perpetrators, but will ultimately work to PREVENT acts of violence or aggression. So, of course, we want to spread the news!

And thus a BIG update for you... 

We've got some new videos about our product up on YouTube! Actually, we have our own channel now! Check out www.youtube.com/soslinkcom to see our videos and learn a little more about us. In 90 seconds, you will learn more about how you, and your loved ones, can use SOS LINK to stay safe. 

When you have watched our videos, I hope that you will send the link to the videos to all of your friends, your friends' parents, your colleagues, your family, the parents of your children's friends, your child's school teacher... you get the drift. We want to do what we can to let people know about these smart, simple and safe apps that people can use to help keep themselves safe.

As always, be sure to keep checking www.soslink.com for product updates and for information about how to get our apps.