Live fearlessly, says Seugnette van Wyngaard, who’s job it is, quite literally, to keep women safe.
What you would do if you were fearless? This is a question that Fourways-resident Seugnette van Wyngaard asks herself every morning at around 5am, during what she calls, her sacred time.
She knows being fearless doesn’t mean living a life devoid of fear, but rather living a life in which fear doesn’t hold her back. “Being fearless is both a decision and an action. It’s the audacity to be unhindered by failure or judgement, and to walk with freedom, strength and hope in the face of things unknown,” she says.
Cultivating and maintaining this fearless attitude and mindset is crucial for Seugnette, as she heads up South Africa’s only insurer dedicated to putting women’s safety first – 1st for Women Insurance. “We believe that if woman feel safe, they’ll be able to live more fearlessly. When sunsets are not curfews and when their favourite skirt isn’t seen as an invitation for trouble, they’ll be able to do more, be more and achieve more.”
Seugnette is the mother of two. Her 23-year-old son Kyle is in the Legion in Corsica, France, her 17-year-old daughter Seunique in high school in the Western Cape. Seugnette knows what it is like to see a missed call from her daughter – immediately, her heart sinks. “Never mind those blue ticks – I wait for them to appear to know she’s reading my WhatsApp message and that she’s OK. If I am feeling this way, how many other women are? If I can help other woman feel safer and have peace of mind live fearlessly, I’ve done what I set out to do.”
On that note and ahead of the festive season, there are a couple of safety tips Seugnette and the 1st for Women team want all women to know.
“It’s meant to be a time of giving, but our claims statistics show that the festive period is prime time for criminal activity – and car accidents notoriously spike during this period too.”
So they’ve put together a jolly useful list of tips for you to read (and share with your women friends).
At home …
• Use every security measure available to you every time, even when you’re home. Leaving an alarm unarmed, a second door unlocked or a window open – even if you go out very briefly – creates the perfect opportunity for a criminal to strike.
• Look out for suspicious vehicles or individuals when travelling leaving and entering your property, especially when you return from a festive shopping spree. Shoppers perceived to be high value targets are often followed home. Know your neighbours’ routines so that you can better identify suspicious activity.
• Don’t pile up empty gift boxes where they are easily visible to criminals peeking into your property. Instead, tear up the boxes and hide them in bins or bags.
• Don’t tempt criminals by leaving new items in plain sight. Draw the curtains at night to keep them from seeing what’s inside and monitoring your movement.
• Notify your security company when you won’t be at home for extended periods of time. Also ask someone you trust to check on your home, collect your mail and switch on different lights to create the impression that somebody is home.
On the road…
- Use a GPS to avoid getting lost and becoming an easy target.
- Inform someone at your destination about your estimated time of arrival.
- Always be aware of your surroundings and look out for anything suspicious.
- Limit distractions when walking to or from your car, as well as when driving.
- Avoid driving with windows wide open, keep the doors locked and valuables out of sight.
- If you suspect you are being followed, make a couple of false turns. If someone is still following you, drive to the nearest police station.
- Leave enough room between you and the car in front of you to avoid being boxed in.
- Always park in a safe, well-lit area.
- Make sure your cellphone is always charged or keep a charger so that you can call for help/request emergency services if needed.
If your car breaks down …
- Switch on your hazard lights and, if possible, pull into the emergency lane.
- Make sure that your vehicle remains visible – make use of your emergency triangle.
- If you get stuck in a dangerous spot, get out of your vehicle when it is safe to do so and walk carefully to the side of the road. Ideally, you should remain in your car with the doors locked.
- Immediately call your insurer for assistance.
At shopping malls
- Stay alert. Always be aware of what is going on around you, particularly if you’re in a place that could potentially be held up – a bank or a small store.
- Avoid high-target stores around opening and closing times.
- Decide how and where you and your friends or family will reunite in the event of a robbery – remember that you may not have your cellphone.
- Avoid withdrawing large sums of money in a bank and carry little cash on you.
- If you notice suspicious activity don’t go near it. Report it discreetly to the management, the information desk or security staff and then calmly leave.
While exercising …
• Headphones are great for playing tunes that help motivate you while running but they can also block out surrounding sound that could alert you to danger. Try to keep your headphone volume low if you feel you must use them.
• Let someone know when you are going to be running and what route you will be following. You can also check in with them at the end of your run with a simple text message.
• Attacks while you are running are often spontaneous attacks when a perpetrator spots an opportunity. However, predictable patterns are also a safety concern. Try to have some variation in the timing of your runs and avoid running when it is dark or in isolated areas. You could run an hour earlier or later and change up your routine when it comes to the days of the week when you choose to run.
• There are various mobile or app-based panic buttons available, including the 1st for Women panic button, which you can use in any emergency situation where you feel unsafe.
• Run in a group. There’s safety in numbers.
With some good proactive planning and all these precautions in place, you have a much better chance of being fearless this festive season.
Thinking about safety. Constantly!
Women think about safety a lot. All the time in fact. They think about safety when their phones ring, when a dog barks in the middle of the night, when getting dressed in the morning, when they are in their driveways, on the road, stopped at traffic lights, at home, at petrol stations, in traffic, at shopping malls, restaurants, while commuting, walking, jogging or running. It’s a constant.
Now, just imagine what women could do, would do, if they just felt safer. They would live more. Fearlessly.
1st for Women builds policies that come equipped with …
Guardian Angels on Call
This dedicated fleet of Guardian Angels keep you safe on the roads 24/7. A Guardian Angel will be dispatched to either assist with a mechanical breakdown, a flat battery or flat tyre, or to guard the customer until help arrives with their Stand by Me service.
Free and Unlimited Trip Monitoring
With this benefit, customers will be contacted every 30 minutes to check that they are still safely en route to their destination. If that contact is interrupted, a loved one will be informed, and the time and location of their last communication will be shared with them.
Panic Button
Available through the 1st for Women app, it assists with alerting external help during any emergency. Help is available 24/7 and it can be used from anywhere in SA. Plus you can share it with five loved ones, at no extra cost.
This is just the beginning. 1st for Women think about safety as much as you do and puts it first in everything it does. Because, a safer you is a fearless you. Details: ffw.co.za
Text: KYM ARGO
• Photographer: NICOLE MOORE. Details: nicolemoorephotography.co.za
• Make-up: MAKEUP BY RYNO, 071-688-0242.
