Kidnapped and Captive

You may have seen recent news coverage about several women who were kidnapped in Cleveland and held captive for over a decade. This is tragic and we all feel bad for the women and feel bad things about the culprit(s). Many of us feel another set of emotions. How do we protect our loved ones from this sort of situation?

Though bad things can happen to adults, children and teens are most vulnerable to attack. We must teach them the skills they need to keep themselves safe when they are away from home. Though this may not protect them in all circumstances, it should improve their odds of survival when faced with danger.

The most important lesson is awareness of one's surroundings. It is important to teach your children to pay attention to the people in their area. Ask them questions about the things you pass when you are driving or walking. Ask them where they would hide if they wanted to do so and then discuss their choices. If your child is mature enough, make it clear that if he or she could hide there then so could a bad person. This is also a good time to teach them about other dangers, such as holes in the ground, unattended dogs, or anything else that could catch the unwary.

As any good Asatru person will tell you, it is important to learn self-defense. This goes for your children also. When they are old enough, get them the instruction they need to be able to fight when they need to. They should also learn proper escape, evasion, and hiding skills. A smaller child has better chance of getting away from the bad guy than actually beating up the bad guy.

One scenario that seems to happen a lot in kidnappings, and other crimes against children, is a threat against the child's family. The bad guys will say, "if you tell" or "if you don't do what I say" they will harm the child's family or pet. It is important to tell your children that the best thing is for the bad guy to attack the family. Let him or her know and believe that the family will overwhelm the bad guy and then everyone will be safe (except the bad guy).

Please take advantage of many of the wonderful resources available online. Law enforcement agencies don't like it when things happen to kids, even Heathen kids, so they make safety resources available. For example, the FBI has a site for parents that is full of tips (FBI - Resources for Parents). It would be a shame to leave these resources unused.

There is nothing in any of this that we shouldn't already be doing as Asatru parents. We are a strong culture, fully capable of defending our offspring and ourselves. If we do things right, even the most psychotic kidnapper should be afraid of grabbing an Asatru child.