In the mean time, for women who travels much, some advice obtained by my friend who works with UNICEF:
WHEN TRAVELLING
Prior Preparation
The following are some aspects of your travel that you should, as a matter of routine, incorporate into your travel planning and preparation procedures.
1. Make copies of important documents, such as your passport and any visas; carry one set of these copies with you and leave another set with your family or friends. Other items that you may consider making copies of are:
a. Credit cards
b. Drivers License
c. Travellers cheque numbers.
2. Emergency Contact and Useful Telephone Numbers
You should know the contact numbers of people that you might need to contact in the event of an emergency, including numbers at any transit points en route to your final destination. Before your travel you should ensure that you have the following contact information:
a. The name and contact numbers of the person meeting you on arrival at your destination.
b. The name and contact number of the hotel where you will be residing.
Arriving at the airport
1. If you are being met upon arrival at the airport, you should look for the person whom you know will be meeting you. If you do not already know this person, check their identification. If the person nominated to meet you fails to turn up, wait for a short time to see if they are late. Unless you know it is safe, do not get into a taxi.
2. If you are unable to telephone your contact numbers due to inaccessibility of telephones, speak to someone at the airport and request their assistance.
Security while Travelling
1. You should plan your route so that you are not waiting in airports for any length of time. You should also plan the timing of your travel so that you are not transiting through or having to remain in airports at isolated times, particularly at night.
2. Traveling light is always a good idea; carrying fewer pieces of luggage will give you more mobility and reduce stress. Remain calm and do not allow people to rush you. Keep your possessions under control at all times.
3. Travellers are often exposed to particular risk as they can become disoriented and unsure of the safety of their surroundings. The following will assist with your safety and security at airports:
a. You will be safest in bright, well-lit and busy areas.
b. Sit near other people.
c. Move if someone makes you feel uncomfortable.
d. Try to look and act confident – look like you know where you are going and walk tall.
e. You may wish to consider spreading your valuables amongst your luggage and person. For example, keep your mobile telephone in your hand luggage and your money in your pocket or in a money belt.
f. Try not to be conspicuous about the valuables you are carrying. Talking on your mobile phone, carrying a laptop, or showing your friend some expensive jewellery will indicate to thieves that you are worth robbing.
g. Keep your credit cards separate from your cheque books. If possible, keep important items (travel documents, money, credit cards, on your body - preferably in inside pockets. If you need to use a handbag (purse), select one with a neck/shoulder strap and separate compartments which will avoid you having to extract several items in order to get to those which you need (i.e. allow access to money without the need to remove passport and vice versa). Even if using a neck/shoulder strap, tuck the bag under an arm while walking. Walk with the bag on the opposite side of your body to the most likely source of a potential snatcher; for example, on airport escalators keep your bag on the wall side to avoid the bag being grabbed by someone on a moving staircase passing you in the opposite direction, but in streets beware of motorcycle-borne bag snatchers.
h. Do not visibly display the address of where you will be staying or your home on luggage tags; preferably use office contact addresses and list contact phone numbers for office or a mobile that you can be contacted at.
i. If looking at a map, do so in a hotel lobby or while sitting down in a restaurant to make yourself less identifiable as a person from ‘out of town’. Standing around on streets could offer unwanted assistance, wrong directions or leave you vulnerable to pick-pockets while you are concentrating on where you want to go.
Security in Hotels
1. Hotels are a prime location for thieves to target unsuspecting people who are tired after their long journey and who may be less alert and or disorientated with their new environment. Seemingly credible individuals posing as police or security officers may approach you and offer to assist or accompany you within the hotel to ensure your safety. You should be aware of such possibilities and ensure that you deal only with the receptionist or hotel staff. Other points to consider are:
a. Request a room that is located on the second to seventh floor. Anything lower than second will afford unwanted visitors easy access and anything above seventh may be beyond the reach of fire-fighting equipment.
b. Request a room that is near the elevator thereby avoiding having to walk along a long, empty corridor.
c. Do not feel shy or embarrassed about requesting an escort to your room. If on arrival at your room you discover that the door is open or unlocked, do not enter. Instead, request the escort to check the room and ensure that there is no one inside. If you are not escorted to your room, return to the receptionist and request that your room is checked or that you are provided with another room.
d. Prior to entering the room, ask the escort to check the closets, bathroom and balcony to make sure that they are not occupied.
e. Consider purchasing a small rubber doorstop to be placed under the door when you are asleep or taking a shower. This will provide you with additional security. Alternatively, look around the hotel room and see if there is something else that can be used for this purpose.
f. Always lock your door when leaving your room – even if you are leaving for only a few minutes.
g. Once you have settled into your room, explore your floor and the hotel to get to know your surroundings. Note the locations of fire exits in relation to your room and make mental notes of the distance from the fire exit by counting the number of doors between you and the fire exit.
h. Do not take a room if the receptionist announces aloud your room number; ensure they write it down. Do make sure, however, that you keep your room number separate from your key or preferably memorize your room number and destroy any written details.
i. If using a hotel gym check it out first to see if there are changing rooms for women and if there are attendants on duty. Often hotel gyms are in isolated areas of the hotel, (ie near the rooftop or basement).
j. If someone is following you, do not intentionally lead them to your room. Instead return towards the reception or even knock at a door, to let your pursuer pass on by.
k. When tipping porters or waiters, do not display your wallet, have small money available.
2. Pay attention to the following while staying in hotels:
a. If someone knocks on your door, do not assume that he/she is who they claim to be. Do not open the door but call the receptionist to check who this person may be.
b. If you are expecting someone, do not fully open your door. Instead, use the deadbolt and chain to ensure that it is the visitor you are expecting.
c. Do not display your room key to strangers.
d. Do not leave the “please clean my room” sign on your door. It alerts people to the fact that your room is empty.
e. Do not indicate your first name on any public documentation such as the checking in forms or breakfast orders. Use an initial.
