from POWER POINT (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2024)
winner, 2025 National Press Women Communications Prize
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SAFETY POINTS, or 'Tips on Women Staying Safe.' A found poem composed from official safety advice for women. The highlighted words form their own poem: on a daily basis, Carry your body, do not leave it unattended, late at night, whisper, When, Always, immediately, doubt, Always, avoid, letting the world know, find ourselves, Take Self-Defense, awful.
The poem rearranges safety advice aimed at women to reveal its premise: that women, not perpetrators, are responsible for preventing assault. These numbers tell a different story.
Data year: 2018–2022
| Relationship to victim | Share of sexual assaults | |
|---|---|---|
| Intimate partner (current or former) | 33% | |
| Acquaintance, friend, or family member | 59% | |
| Stranger | 8% |
Source: RAINN, citing DOJ, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2022.
92% of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. Safety tips focused on strangers address fewer than 1 in 12 assaults.
Data year: 2015–2019
| Location | Share of sexual assaults | |
|---|---|---|
| Victim's own home | 55% | |
| Offender's home | 15% | |
| Another private residence | 12% | |
| Public space (street, parking lot, transit) | 8% | |
| Other / unknown | 10% |
Source: DOJ, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Female Victims of Sexual Violence," 2015; RAINN analysis.
Tips advising women to avoid dark parking lots and carry keys as a weapon address spaces where fewer than 1 in 12 assaults occur.
Data year: 2022
| Stage in justice process | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Assaults reported to police | ~21% | |
| Reports leading to arrest | ~12% | |
| Cases prosecuted | ~7% | |
| Resulting in felony conviction | ~5% |
Source: RAINN, citing DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022.
Prevention advice directed at potential victims has not been shown to reduce assault rates at a population level. Accountability for perpetrators remains rare.
About This Poem
'Safety Points' is a found poem composed entirely from advice listed on a county sheriff's office website page titled 'Tips for Women Staying Safe.' The highlighted words form their own poems within the poem — revealing the silent premise: that women are inherently not safe in their everyday environment.
The visual representation as a wall of text with multiple places of bolded and highlighted text purposefully scatter the reader's attention, creating a sense of uncertainty and overwhelm. The gender inclusivity symbol superimposed on top of the underlying instructions represents the psychological cost of constant vigilance and acknowledges the ever-present threat of transgender violence as well as violence against women and girls.