Are You Prepared to Face Your Attacker?

By JoAnn Sage
www.AgentSelfDefense.com

As REALTORS®, we all know the feeling. We're the first to arrive at a vacant house for a showing. We walk in, begin to turn on the lights, and as we're doing that, the thoughts begin to haunt us, "Am I really the only one in here? What if someone is in the house, and what do I do if someone attacks me?"

This is exactly what happened to a 33 year old female REALTOR® earlier this year in Rock Hill, SC who was attacked and sexually assaulted in a vacant home. The agent arrived early to preview the home before the showing. Unfortunately her attacker was hiding inside and the agent was alone and defenseless.

We all have those occasions when a new potential buyer requests to see a house right away. The importance of the initial contact with a new buyer will often outweigh the precaution of actually finding out who this person really is. Most of us jump at the new business opportunity and proceed toward a secluded meeting with a perfect stranger without even thinking, "Is this a legitimate inquiry about a property or a set up?"

Is REALTOR® Safety a Real Problem?

The fact is real estate agents are particularly vulnerable due to the very nature of our business. We usually work alone, and often meet people at remote locations or vacant homes, without knowing anything about them. We take strangers in our cars, and publicize where we are and when we'll be there. Our pictures are plastered up all over the city to make us familiar to everyone, including people who are not just interested in buying houses.

The most recent statistics from the US Department of Labor show there were nine real estate related homicides and 130 assaults in 2005. We live in a society permeated with violence and sexual assault.

The Push to Fight Back Has Begun.

For the past several years there has been a push for REALTORS® to implement safety practices to prevent REALTOR® assault. The Real Estate Safety Council has created a Personal Safety Guide, available on the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) official website.

In this guide, the first tip offered is, when meeting a new buyer, have them come to the office and verify their identity. This may take a little more time, but if it stops just one assault, isn't it worth it?

This guide is full of additional safety practices, many being practical, but all worth reviewing and committing to memory and practice.

How do REALTORS® and Real Estate Offices Become Better Prepared?

Often times it takes a tragedy to initiate real change. But statistics show that tragedies are occurring in the real estate community every week. When was the last time your office had someone come in to talk about safety precautions, or discuss self-defense measures, or products that can help you if you were attacked? If your office is like most, the answer is probably "never".

It's easy for me to suggest going to the official web site of the NAR, familiarize yourself with the Real Estate Safety Council's Personal Safety Guide, and implement its recommendations. But let's be realistic. Unless you make the commitment to safety preparedness, it's not going to happen.

The real question is this ? how prepared are you if you were aggressively approached by an attacker? And what is your office doing to prepare you? Below are some questions that flow from the Real Estate Safety Council's Personal Safety Guide and other available safety source guidelines. See how you answer them.

Non-Lethal Self Defense Devices are a Great Place to Start

Non-lethal self defense devices can buy you the crucial few moments that you may need to escape an attacker. They are not a guaranteed defense, but can be one piece of a well rounded prevention plan. Here are some of the basic categories of commercially available self defense products.

Personal alarms: A gas or electronic attack alarm gives out short piercing sounds that can temporarily disorientate an attacker. Alarms are not dangerous weapons that can be used against you by the attacker. The personal alarm can be effective at any proximity to the assailant. It not only startles the attacker, but also draws the attention of anyone within earshot, and that's just what the assailant does not want. He will be more likely to give up and flee.

Pepper sprays: Defensive pepper sprays contain Oleoresin Capsicum (OC), the concentrated extract of very hot chili peppers. Pepper spray is an inflammatory agent that will usually incapacitate an assailant. Typical reactions are skin irritation, coughing, choking, nausea, and dilation of the capillaries causing eyes to shut, thus having a blinding affect. This is effective on most people, including those who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Most pepper sprays have a 6 to 12 foot range. This is an advantage as distance from your assailant provides greater chance of escape. They also don't require a great degree of expertise. Today many law enforcement agencies use pepper spray because it is more effective than tear gas.

Stun Guns: A stun gun is an electrical self defense device that uses high voltage, and is designed to key into the nervous system. Touching the attacker with the prongs of the stun gun can cause immobilization within 1/2 to 1 second. During the stun, the attacker experiences a sizable amount of pain and loses muscle control, which takes him down. The lingering affect is extreme muscle fatigue caused by his muscles filling with fluid. This lasts for up to 5 seconds, providing the necessary time to escape (as if he would want to come back for more of that). The electrical pulse will not be passed back to the user, even if the attacker is holding him/her.

You Don't Have to Be Powerless

Remember you have the right to defend yourself with reasonable force. This includes using what you have with you; a briefcase, umbrella, keys or self defense products that are locally permissible. I recommend taking a self defense course. It will condition your response so that you don't have to think about how to defend yourself and guess what you are capable of doing. It will help make you more comfortable responding defensively, train you in better techniques and strategies of self defense and let you more accurately know your abilities and limits.

The 20-Minute REALTOR® Safety Seminar

As someone who has experienced some scary situations in my real estate career, I began investigating what can be done to keep agents safe. It's led my husband and I to begin distributing safety products for REALTORS®, like pepper spray, sound alarms, stun guns and various other items on our website, www.AgentSelfDefense.com.

We are also in the process of developing an interesting and engaging safety presentation we will provide to real estate offices free of charge to give you a jump start into safety awareness. The presentation will review safety recommendations, discuss scenarios and demonstrate several safety products. Much of the information is currently on www.AgentSelfDefense.com.

Are You Ready to Become Prepared?

I believe we all know how vulnerable we are in our job. The good news is that we don't have to be defenseless. Preparation, awareness, and a few safety devices can literally be the difference between life and death. The information and solutions are readily available. Are you ready to take action to avoid tragedy?

JoAnn Sage -- is a REALTOR® of 20 years and works in the central Ohio area. Together with her husband Al, she has developed a website of non-lethal self defense products for REALTORS®. In addition to her full time real estate career, JoAnn intends to make herself available to real estate offices and organizations for safety presentations in the near future. www.AgentSelfDefense.com

Published in the September 2007 issue of In Contract magazine.