PWaT #2

Sound.

In addition to light, making specific, loud noise is your best defense when faced with an attack or some sort of hostile action.

The human ear is designed to be pretty sensitive, and while noise will bother us, anything under 80 decibel is acceptable. However, when we reach 100+ decibels of sound pressure, our ears will hurt, and linked to that, it will seem as though our heads – or brains – also hurt.

When faced with a hostile person or animal, a “screecher” will very effectively bring pain to their ears. In the case of animals, 125 db of unexpected high-pitched noise will probably damage their hearing, however in the case of a person, it will cause ringing and discomfort for at least some hours. Remember that unexpected sounds have a greater impact on a person’s hearing than expected ones, so if you are going to discharge this kind of thing, do it suddenly and without warning.

When aquiring a personal protection device or weapon of any kind, please consider a few things. The first of these is purpose. Why do you want it? Do you really need it? The sad fact is that women are more at risk on the street than men. That is not to say that women are always at risk, or only from men, but they are generally easier targets (or perceived to be so) by muggers, thievs, rapists and so on. If you do need to walk dark streets unaccompanied, a personal “weapon” may be in order.

Second, consider what type of device is useful to you. Size, amount of damage done, the area in which you live and other factors should be taken into account. For example, if you are a businesswoman, perhaps with your car parked in a dark or dimly lit parking structure, you will possibly wear a suit, or equivalent clothing. You need something small that will not be visible if you still have it in your pocket or small purse on your way in or out. A small, bright flashlight with added defense features like the one in PWaT #1 might be your thing.

If you would rather make some noise from a small device, the screecher above is a good choice.

We will cover pepperspray and mace later on, but consider one thing: Pepper is extremely painful, to a degree that is hard to imagine without having tried it, and even a small amount accidentally getting onto your own skin can incapacitate you. E.g. getting pepper on your hands and then rubbing your eyes is a very bad idea.
Discharging pepper or mace in confined spaces like elevators, cars or even small rooms is almost surely going to affect both you and the aggressor you have encountered.

Click the above link to go to Amazon.com, and an example of good screecher.