...Save YOURSELF...

CAPE TOWN—The event was advertised as a "personal safety workshop" and I carefully made my way through the Grand West Casino security check-in counters to find my way to hot coffee and biscuits on Friday 26 February. I walked into a luxurious casino suite to discover a bewildering array of devices and safety services on display. The menu included personal tracking devices (Altech Netstar), a dazzling selection of Surefire LED torches (Brooke International), custom kydex holsters (Gerald Bailey) and the terrifying sparking snap, crackle and pop of pistol tasers (Viper SA).

However the main event was set to kick off at 10am and together with an auditorium packed with intrigued guests, I waited for the show to begin. Just before the lights dimmed, Kelee Arrowsmith, the Take 2 organiser and director of Advanced Conflict Training assured us that no real guns, knives or weapons would be used during the play. However we were promised: "This is going to be the best two hours of your week. I hope this will challenge and change the way you think about your own safety… I know you need this."

The scene opened to a typical domestic scene in a middle-class suburb near you. Mom'n'Dad and two teenage sons. Jokes. Laughter. Dad leaves for work and a business travel trip and all is well. Later that night, the home is burgled by two ordinary South African skelms, armed with a knife and a gun. Mayhem ensues and shots are fired.

Kelee then stepped in to reassure us that this was only the first scene. Applying the dynamically simple and effective principles of layered home security, the second version of the play showed how the murderous thieves are outwitted by a prepared family, who are alerted by the family dog and a silent alarm then escape to the protection of a safe room until armed response officers (in this case Muizenberg's impressive security team The Mountain Men) arrive to contain the situation.

In the first scenario, a family member is killed and the numbing after effects of domestic balance upset by violent trauma were dramatically experienced by the audience who were caught totally by surprise. In take two of the Take 2 presentation, we were able to see for ourselves how extremely simple measures of security layers can make the difference between life and death.

As Kelee explained to the audience afterwards: "The effects of violent crime on you and your family, how it impacts the bottom line of your business, can never be truly measured but the cost is huge." She cited the example of a large international SA-based company whose senior accounts manager was attacked at home with his family. He left for Australia six weeks later but not before emailing (to his entire address book) a detailed financial audit of the devastating cost in Rand terms of the attack.

As Kelee continued: "When something bad happens, you as normal South Africans are always relying on somebody else the whole time – the police, your armed response company – to do something. Hopefully what you've seen for yourselves today is that you yourself need to take responsibility."

After the Take 2 play, a panel of personal safety experts were on hand to address our questions and assure us that despite our very real concerns, personal safety remains a very individual and very empowering choice for you and me to make for ourselves.

In the days that followed the Take 2 workshop, I pondered Kelee's words carefully and revisited the play often in my thoughts. I do believe that seeing a good and bad scenario acted out before one's eyes leaves a strong and lasting impression.

Take 2 was hosted and organised by Advanced Conflict Training in association with Fine Women Business Network.

Endnote: Even as I was finishing up this review, I was listening to the BBC World Service (5 March 16:30 GMT). During the "Fast Track" programme, the sports news team were reporting that Fifa president Sepp Blatter is still trying desperately hard to reassure any visiting fans of the 2010 Fifa World Cup that all security concerns are well under control – that all is set for a "trouble-free event". With three months to go till kickoff in June, this promise of a "football fiesta" flies in the face of the reality that, as the reporter announced matter-of-factly, South Africa still boasts one of the highest murder rates in the world. I couldn't believe my ears. Food for thought indeed, and precisely the reason why the Take 2 Workshop is such a timely reminder of the right and wrong ways to anticipate and respond to issues of personal safety.