A WOMAN has revealed her top safety tips after spending years working alongside criminals as a prison officer.
Michaela Katharina, from Canada, took to TikTok to share the things she will “never do” after working in a prison.
Ex-prison worker Michaela Katharina has shared her top safety tips[/caption]
She has revealed the very simple things we all do that immediately put us in danger[/caption]
The TikTok user worked in corrections for two and a half years before leaving recently for a new job and she says that her time there taught her plenty of things when it comes to women’s safety.
Speaking in the video, which has amassed almost 800k views, Michaela warned people against giving away too much about their identity to strangers.
“I will never put one of those stick-figure families on the back of my car or any sort of identifiable sticker on my vehicle,” she said.
“Because people can tell if you’re single or if you have children and they don’t need to know that information.”
on Safety
She added: “I will never correct a stranger’s assumption about me, they don’t need to know more information about me, it’s just not necessary.
“Especially as a queer woman I find that a lot of people assume that I have a boyfriend and I will let them believe that because for my safety they do not need to know that I am queer.”
Michaela also warned against listening to music when walking around after dark, urging women to stay alert.
She added: “I always like to keep something nearby like my keys that could be used as a weapon and I try to always wear shoes that I’d have to be able to run in.”
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Though it may seem obvious, the ex-prison officer urged people to keep their doors locked even their car doors if they are waiting for someone.
Sharing further tips, she continued: “I will never get into a cab ever again without making note of the licence plate or taking a photo of the licence plate.
“I do not let people know where I live. If someone is coming to pick something up from Facebook Marketplace I will meet them in the lobby of my apartment building I will not let them know what unit number I am in.
“I will never go to unfamiliar areas with someone I have not met yet, even a new pub or a new beach I wouldn’t go there.”
And although Michaela does not have any children yet, she has a ‘controversial’ rule for when she becomes a mum.
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She explained: “One day when I have children they will not be going on sleepovers or alone with any adult until they are old enough to have a conversation with me about grooming and sexual assault.
“I have just seen too many cases of children getting assaulted by someone who is trusted, someone you would have never have thought is capable of doing that.”