How safe do you think you are? Keeping yourself safe from assaults such as a mugging or rape is much more than simply being physically able to protect yourself. It includes empowering yourself mentally and emotionally to go along with your psychical strengths. It is up to you to avoid becoming a victim and instead be a survivor. Nothing does this more than setting your sights on crime prevention and knowing your surroundings.

There are numerous ways you can help prevent becoming the victim of an attack. According to many self defense experts, there is nothing more important than being aware of your surroundings. This can be the difference between life and death if it comes to the point where you are forced into conflict. If you feel uncomfortable in any way or feel danger in a situation, leave immediately.

Here are three of the different types of surroundings you may find yourself the victim of an attack along with some of the ways you can protect yourself:

• Open space - Even though the majority of assaults do not occur in an open space, it is still a wise decision to prepare yourself for one regardless. Most of the assaults do not occur in the open space. The advantage of being out in an open space is that most attackers fear of being noticed out in the open. Another positive of being in the open is the lesser chance of being tied up and becoming confined. You do need to take the the crowd into consideration. Are there a lot of foot traffic in this open space for someone to notice? Will they help? The important thing to remember is to always think about your escape. Do this by keeping your distance from the attacker and try to avoid them at all costs.

• Confined space - An assault in a confined space can take place anywhere at all. It doesn't matter if it is inside or out and doesn't even need to be completely confined in all four sides, just as long as something is impeding your escape. A confined space works in favor of the attacker since you are trapped, they can control your movement as well as preventing the outside world from noticing them or the attack. This is one of the main reasons why you see assaults such as rape occur in confined spaces. The victim has a difficult time escaping or calling for help.

In order to protect yourself in a confined space, you want to always keep your back to the most confining barrier of your situations such as the wall. Always try to get free to an opening and never become pinned to any type of confining barrier. Try to use anything in the space as a weapon to inflict damage to your attacker and escape immediately when the opportunity presents itself.

• Inclined space - An attack in an inclined space acts similarly to on in a confined space. They most commonly occur in stairwells on hillsides. Your strategy works the same as it would during a confined space but here you will also want to try for the advantage of the higher ground. The ideal situation is to force the assailant attack upwards and retreat downwards. The point of doing this is to force your attacker into using a lot more energy which will cause him to be slower. As he slows down, your chances for escape increase.