Woman Left Near Dead After Being Brutally Attacked by Two Homeless People

We at WomenOnGuard.com, decided to make our monthly product donation in support of Jen Hall, a woman who was brutally attacked by two homeless people on August 25, 2008. As you know WomenOnGuard.com donates self defense products to a different cause around the country each month.

On the South Side of Chicago, two homeless people brutally attacked Jen who was out celebrating her 36th birthday. She was repeatedly kicked in the head until she became unconscious. Most medical experts state that nine out of 10 people who experience the type of injuries that Jen did, usually end up brain dead and do not survive at all. Jen did survive. Unfortunately, she did not have medical coverage. She was 1 month away from being eligible for medical insurance through her new employer. Anyone wishing to donate or to check on Jen’s recovery can go to the website TheWalkingMiracle.com.

There has been much support from her family, friends and even the kindness of strangers. Fundraisers have been held and will continue to be held in hopes of alleviating some of the burden from the medical bills that Jen has incurred. We are donating self defense products to the cause, which will be sold at the fundraisers. All proceeds from the sale of these products will go into the charitable trust fund that has been set up for Jen to help offset some of the medical expenses. Jen has made great progress but has a long way to go.

Most women are unsure of where to purchase self defense products. Department stores don’t carry items such as these and gun shops are very intimidating to women. WomenOnGuard.com only carries non-lethal, self defense products. We don’t sell guns or knives on our website. We realize that sometimes when people are defending themselves with a gun, that same gun could actually be turned against them. In this case, it is better to be pepper sprayed or Tasered, than to be shot with a bullet from your own gun.

Advice for Runners, Walkers and Hikers

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you. The most enjoyable form of exercise, I think, is done outdoors surrounded by nature. For those of you who venture out and breath the fresh air, a word of caution: make sure you practice safety habits and also carry a self defense product!

Be aware of your surroundings and listen to any out of the ordinary sounds. Yes this means, don't put head phones on and expect to know if someone is following you! I know music makes it easier to keep a pace, but if you must listen to music, please make sure that you turn the volume down. Stay alert and try not to daydream. Enjoy the "now" of your routine, the scenery, the energizing feeling your body gets. If you can, take a buddy with you, human or pet. Make it a point to schedule your routine at different times of the day. This is a good practice because most attackers study their victims in advance and know their patterns. So, keeping a varied schedule is safer! If you have the ability to do your exercise in the afternoon or mornings, this is even better. If your exercise routine is hiking, the same advice applies. While hiking, you have to be especially careful of the surrounding trees, bushes, rocks, hills, etc. They make good hiding places for attackers!

Another important factor that runners, walkers and hikers must consider is the possibility of having to defend themselves against an attacker. Now, I know some of you might say that this will never happen to you or that you are strong enough to take care of yourself. But there is always the possibility of things not going in your favor, and other factors that you wouldn't have anticipated. It is better to be prepared for any situation. When you walk or run, you could unfortunately be assaulted by a stranger or a dog! If you hike, again you could be attacked by not only a human but you could be attacked by a bear! I guess it depends on where you hike! For all of these situations there is a self-defense product you can carry that will help prevent such attacks.

If you are near civilization you should carry a product such as pepper spray or mace. There are many types and sizes of pepper spray you can choose from on our website, WomenOnGuard.com. If you know that you are at a higher risk of being attacked by a dog, you can carry the Mace® brand Muzzle pepper spray. There is even a product that repels dogs using an ultrasonic sound wave; The Ultrasonic Dog Chaser. If you hike where bears might be present, you can carry Bear Spray by Mace.

Of course there are other products that you can carry depending on how comfortable you feel using them. There are stun gun and taser options as well as personal alarm options, all of which you can find on our website. Either way, it is better to carry something for self-defense than nothing at all!

How To Prevent Getting Attacked While Walking, Jogging, Running or Hiking

One of the most enjoyable things a person can do is exercise and many people choose to do it outdoors. Due to time restrictions in this hectic world, a jogger, runner, walker or hiker have a routine that they follow. Most of the time they follow the same path, go at the same time every day or every other day and usually do it alone.

The recent murder of Meredith Emerson, a hiker in Georgia, is yet another example of a victim that was enjoying the outdoors while hiking. Although, the media has not indicated if she did or did not carry any self-defense product. More often than not, most women and men usually do not. They are so focused on their exercise routine and perhaps drinking water that they overlook the possibility of an assault.

It is very important to make it a habit when preparing for your outdoor exercise routine to take with you some sort of self-defense product along with your keys.

Pepper spray is one of the most common self-defense products being used today. It is small, light and usually has a belt clip and/or a key chain. There is even Dog Repeller pepper spray for those all too common stray dogs. This is very convenient when you are on the go. While hiking, you might consider carrying Bear Repellent pepper spray in your backpack. While power walking, you might consider Pepper Spray Walking Weights. These 1 lb. weights actually have a replaceable pepper spray canister inside!

A Stun gun is also an option. They are small and light weight and some are no bigger than the palm of your hand. Some stun guns come disguised as a pager or cell phone so the attacker has no idea that you have protection. For hikers, there is also a real handy non-lethal product that is convenient to have if you are going to camp out during the night. The Stun Baton, which has a flash light and a personal alarm. It is a stun gun, alarm, and flashlight all in one unit. The would-be-attacker would think you are just carrying a flashlight!

Yet another option is at taser. There are several options to choose from here also. Some look like a gun but the latest Taser C2 looks more like an electric shaver than a non-lethal weapon.

So, don't just keep your body in shape, also keep yourself safe and protect yourself with non-lethal self-defense products.

WomenOnGuard.com was designed by two women who deeply believe in combatting violent crimes against women by empowerment and prevention. WomenOnGuard.com sells non-lethal, self-defense products such as Mace, pepper sprays, personal alarms and stun devices such as the Taser C2, stun guns and cell phone stun guns. Protect yourself or a loved one and visit http://www.WomenOnGuard.com and purchase a safety product. These products make great gifts that show you care.