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Female tourists in Phuket getting safety whistles
Sadly, two days ago a 27 year old Swedish woman, Hannah Charlotta Backlund, was killed in broad daylight when she was stabbed in the back on Mai Khao beach, on the northern tip of Phuket, Thailand. As MSNBC reports, such an event calls for action and Thailand's Tourism Industry announced Monday that female tourists to the island will be given safety whistles to blow in the event of an emergency.The whistles will take the form commonly used to represent women -- a circle above a cross -- and can be worn around the neck. The hope is that they will allow females in trouble to call out for help. An increase of security guards around the island as well as public safety manuals are also part of the new plan to better secure the island that is so popular with tourists to Thailand.
As a woman, this case gets to me personally, but it also raise the question of general travel safety. What are your best tips for staying safe while traveling?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Don May 22nd 2008 10:11AM
I have spent time in Thailand, in Phuket, and I considered it a safer enviorment than the average city in America. It shames me as an American to say this, but how many women are killed in any city in this countrry or any country in the world that is similar in size, population, tourists in any given amount of time. The Thai people were far more giving and respectful than I had ever imagined, much more so than many in this country. It saddens me that we, meaning the human race in general, have little respect for one another and that we cannot or will not have the ability to be accountable for ourselves as a society or individualy. We need to all grow up and be accountable for ourselves and I really think it would make huge difference in peoples attitudes, the world over.remember to be thankful for what we have and to be honest, and you will most likely be happy and healthy. looks good on paper, right?
Don May 22nd 2008 10:37AM
I also would like to note that the article did not mention that her attacker had a history of stalking women on the beach and like any civil country, it is hard to keep a person in jail when they had only "stalked" women and had not harmed them in any other way. Alcohol was also a factor in his actions. My heart and sympathy go out to her loved ones, she was a tourist in a beautiful country, on a beautiful beach, in beautiful weather, and then her life was taken away. That is a terrible thing to happen, to anyone, anywhere