Growing up, many people learn about this universal self-defense trick with your keys: If you feel unsafe, you're supposed to hold the keys between your fingers and strike an assailant at the opportune moment.
Though it's sad that most children, and especially girls, learn this at a young age, we can't ignore that this move can be lifesaving. So we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share self-defense tips they grew up with, and I've never heard some of these before:
1."Take your thumbnail and sink it in their eye socket. Gross and possibly traumatizing, but you’re better off in therapy than a morgue."
2."Did you know that a girl's best friend back in the late 1880s was the hatpin? The ladies would poke harassers with the hatpins. Personally, I think we need to bring hatpins back into deadly fashion. I wear them!"
4."My mum always said: If you can’t fight back, scratch them as much as you can and get their DNA in your fingernails! Something I’ll always remember!"
6."If a man grabs your wrists, you can break free by thrusting your wrist against their thumb. There's a really good chance this will make him let go because holding on with your hand in that position is extremely painful."
8."The elbow only requires 11 pounds of pressure to break. If they've grabbed you with their arm straight and outstretched, try to pivot, then use your forearm against the BACK of their elbow with as much momentum as you can. If you do this on the front of the elbow, it just bends the arm, but on the back, as hard as you can, it can break their arm."
13."If they come up behind you, stomp on the top of their foot as hard as you can and ram your elbow backward. This can buy you some time to get away."
15.And finally, the best defensive tactic/preventive measure for our society: "Teach your child about consent and their bodies early. My son is 5 and knows that no one should touch his body without consent. He also knows that before touching (including hugging) friends, he needs to ask."