Protect Yourself

by Aramock Nanuck

May 2003

Life becomes more challenging with each passing day. Risks of all sorts are becoming increasingly frequent and the scale of their impact. As we move through life, we get exposed to a myriad of these risks. Individuals associated with the BDSM lifestyle are particularly at risk because individuals feel they can take adverse action against them with no risk of retribution based on the simple fact that the lifestyle is generally frowned upon by the Vanilla society.

Social Risks

Abuse:

Physical violence by participants within the community at times occurs when the perpetrator lacks any emotional connection or care about the victim, and does violent or mental harm beyond agreed, reasonable or consensually agreed upon specifics.

Discrimination:

The insults or verbal and physical assaults based on age, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, religion, or other factors create a sense of vulnerability, fear and insecurity. These all factor into harsh acts of Harassment and Intimidation.

Harassment and Intimidation:

Repeated unwanted verbal or physical behaviour ranges from unwanted advances to the interference or disruption of activities being conducted between consenting participants. It can also be shaming and emotionally damaging, such as unwarranted or unwanted derogatory comments. This can be even body, sexual, or appearance shaming. It can be in person or via, mail, online communications,

Onslaught, Assault and Violence:

Physical attacks by individuals outside the fetish community threaten the physical well-being of the members. This usually occurs (sadly) by enforcement people who overstep their authority, or fundamentalist extremists who view the lifestyle choices made as being against the will of their God, Allah, or other deity and usually supported by their Religious texts or Scriptures.

Scamming:

The theft of assets, money, or favours from an individual through the fraudulent misrepresentation of identity or facts, leading to harm and distress to the affected individual. Members of the lifestyle, regardless of their role, are frequently targeted by scammers, who feel no compunction or risk in doing so because of their victims' lifestyle choices. Many portray themselves as opposite roles, developing elaborate legends, or use the identities (photos, IDs, etc) of others to affect their nefarious gains. The best (or worse, depending on your view) scammers build an emotional bond with their victims, claiming they are not like the others and have a deep-seated need to belong, a crisis to be resolved, or a "honey trap" to ensnare their victims.