Before I start sharing all the goodies and pretties from my trip to Europe, I wanted to blog about a subject often overlooked because, well, it can be kind of a downer. Traveling abroad, or even to the next state over, is exciting, but there’s also risk involved and it’s important to acknowledge those risks and NOT avoid their reality. Be responsible now, so you can have fun in the moment.

If you are any or all of the following, 1) a woman (honestly this goes for men too), 2) traveling alone, 3) to a new and unfamiliar place, 4) where the primary language is not your native tongue, you need to spend some extra time taking your personal safety into account. The place you are traveling too might be beautiful, exotic, modern, even quite similar to where you’re from, making it seem no more dangerous, but the reality is, every place in the world has bad guys and more often than not you’re the first line of defense when it comes to your personal safety. It’s not fun to think of yourself as a target, but it’s less fun to feel helpless when you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation in an unfamiliar place where you don’t know anyone or the language.

While I was preparing for my trip abroad, my husband and I had many conversations about what to do in case I found myself in an uncomfortable or dangerous situation, or god forbid, a terrorist attack. We were both in the military so for us this is a normal conversation, but I firmly believe this topic should have a place in everyone’s mind, especially womens. It was certainly on mine, since Paris has had so many issues with migrants and refugees and many locations throughout France and all of Europe have seen multiple attacks in just the last year. This coupled with a large city’s tendency to have more crime anyway, a la pickpockets, regional scams, etc. I’m by no means a paranoid traveler, but I’m also not an idiot. Crime can happen to anyone. Even if you’re the most vigilant traveler, well versed in the martial arts, crime can happen to you.

So it’s important to acknowledge the possibility that something COULD happen and take some steps to at least make it more difficult for the unsavory types to get at you and your stuff and I’ve got a few suggestions below!

Moneybelt

This is a protective device for your money! I hadn’t ever worn one, but after reading about the pickpocket issue at many of the Paris sites, I decided it couldn’t hurt. I got the Eazymate Money Belt in blue. It was comfortable and you couldn’t see it under my skirts. I kept a backup credit card and some cash in it, just in case my bag got picked or stolen. This way if someone got a hold of my wallet, I’d only be out one credit card and my drivers license (I kept my passport at the house I was staying at). In the photo below, I’ve got my moneybelt on under my clothes and you can’t even tell.

Lipstick Mace

This little bottle of mace in what looks like a makeup tube went with me everywhere. Most of my skirts and dresses had pockets so I was able to store it where I could grab it easily if need be. Its small size made it easy to carry and not cumbersome at all. While you’re not allowed to bring mace in an airplane cabin via carry on bags, you are allowed to pack it in your checked baggage. According to the TSA website passengers are allowed to pack self defense sprays with certain guidelines.

Gel Pepper Spray

This spray was a little harder to hide due to its size, so I carried it in my camera bag. I figured if someone tried to run off with my camera bag, I’d still have the mace in my pocket, but if someone was coming at me, the gel pepper spray would be a lot more devastating if I had the time to grab it. If you get this, just be sure to keep it somewhere on it’s own where you can get to it quickly. I kept it by itself in a front pocket of my bag. See the TSA website for pepper spray guidelines.

Flashlight Taser

I brought this rechargeable flashlight taser with me, but didn’t really carry it out in town. That being said, if I had gone out at night for drinks or a night photography session, I would have had it with me. It just so happened that in July, it’s light out until 10pm and I didn’t feel I needed it since we were usually back well before that time. I was out at night on Bastille Day and on the way back from Disneyland Paris, but I had both of my sprays on me. The TSA website refers to a taser as a stun gun.

A Note About Packing
All of these items are allowed to be packed in checked baggage according to the TSA website. That being said, I still wanted to cover all of my bases when actually packing these items. I packed both sprays and the taser in their original packaging in a bag together, taped the bag shut and then taped the TSA allowed item pages to the outside of the bag. This way if TSA searched my bag en route, they would know I wasn’t hiding anything and that I was explicitly following their rules.

A Note About Laws
Every country will have their own laws on self defense. It’s a good idea to do some research before you purchase and pack self defense items so you are within the confines of the laws of the places you are visiting.

Traveling is one of the highlights of life, but it does come with risk…especially for women. If you do some prep, though, you can reduce the risks and give yourself the gift of peace of mind!