Street Smart Safety for Women

In a book written by women for women, Street Smart Safety for Women offers tips on defensive living that will increase readers' reliance on the one thing that can protect them most: their safety intuition.

Violence against women is a global health issue. The threats women face today are unparalleled and more dangerous than ever before. And, for the first time in history, the toxic cocktail of technology and social media has weaponized misogyny and virtualized violence against women.

There’s an even more serious challenge that faces women today. Social conditioning—the way our systems of family life, education, employment, entertainment and pop culture, spirituality and religion influence us— leaves many of us ill-equipped to deal not only with this escalating surge of attacks, but also the unrelenting prevalence of sexual assault, domestic violence, and scams.

Women have been culturally trained to discount one of their greatest protections – safety intuition. As women, it is so ingrained in us to attend to everyone else, including strangers on the street, before we listen to ourselves, that we have lost touch with our innate ability to often detect dangerous situations. As the result, we are left generally defenseless to recognize predators who manipulate our natural compassion, to our own detriment. This inability to listen to ourselves and be persuasion-proof directly affects our personal safety and data shows that attacks on women continue to escalate daily across the world, inside and outside of the home. Though everyone is talking about how women continue to be less safe, few offer solutions. Women are terrified and they are looking for answers.

In Street Smart Safety for Women, retired Deputy Sheriff Joy Farrow and technologist Laura Frombach, herself a survivor of a violent household, draw on their experiences both personal and professional to provide those answers. Dedicated to educating women in personal safety and showing them a defensive living strategy and trusting in themselves can reduce their probability of becoming a victim of a crime.

Chapter 1 – Design for Defensive Living

Chapter 2 - Technology Terror

Chapter 3 – Can You Recognize a Predator?

Chapter 4 - Persuasion, Manipulation, or More?

Chapter 5 - Dating Diligence

Chapter 6 – What Do Victims of Domestic Abuse Have in Common with Korean War POWs?

Chapter 7 - Financial Security is Key to Your Safety

Chapter 8 – Tips from a Female Cop

Chapter 9 - Shams, Scams and Cons

Chapter 10 - Women and Weapons

Chapter 11 - From Victim to Victor

About the Authors 

Laura Frombach was introduced to technology in the U.S. Army working on Pershing nuclear missiles. Having spent much of her career as a technologist and engineer with IBM, HP, FedEx, Coca Cola Enterprises, Lenovo and others. A turning point in Laura’s life was the ‘aha’ moment when she correlated her mother’s mental illness to domestic violence. She is now the co-author of Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living (Health Communications Inc, an imprint of Simon & Schuster / October 3, 2023 / $17.95) and advocates for local domestic violence shelters. Laura was one of the featured speakers at the TEDx Eustis conference and speaks on women’s safety. Laura is an avid reader and fitness enthusiast, loves comedy and spiritual topics (not in that order, just in case...). She has been working on personal growth since the sixth grade.

Joy Farrow is a retired Deputy Sheriff with twenty-eight years of experience and the co-author of Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living (Health Communications Inc, an imprint of Simon & Schuster / October 3, 2023 / $17.95). She worked road patrol in Pompano Beach, FL, and faced every situation imaginable. After the 9/11 tragedy, Joy transferred to the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int’l Airport with the Broward Sheriff’s Office to focus on the safety of air travelers. In 2017, Joy assisted with the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Airport. She has received numerous letters of commendations & several lifesaving awards. Joy was one of the featured speakers at the TEDx Eustis conference and speaks on women’s safety. Joy is a walking encyclopedia of murder and crime topics; an avid personal fitness enthusiast, enjoys stand-up comedy and has done a couple of open mic nights!