Don’t Fight Back: And 10 Other Myths about Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence

From a nationally recognized violence-prevention expert, an accessible guide that debunks the most pervasive myths about crime and offers evidence-based strategies that make us safer

A specific image of violence and how to avoid it lives in a lot of our imaginations. And what some of us fear most is shaped not by the strongest evidence, but the most viral horror stories.

Meg Stone, an abuse and violence prevention expert, dives deep into dangerous safety myths and helps us understand what the evidence shows and what men in positions of authority just expect us to believe because they said so.

Meg debunks myths about:

• how attackers behave (“Don’t Fight Back. It Will Make the Attacker Angry and You’ll Get Hurt Worse”),
• what (or who) to fear (“Crime Is at an All-Time High and Going Up”),
• what you should never do (“Don’t Wear a Ponytail. An Attacker Could Grab It”); and
• what you should always do (“Trust Your Intuition”)

Each chapter offers practical strategies for protecting ourselves that also contribute to the activism it takes to change the conditions that cause or contribute to violence.

You don’t have to diminish yourself or restrict your life to avoid being attacked. Critical thinking, not following simplistic directives, is the real way to be “smart” about safety.

Author: Meg Stone
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 05/05/2026
Series: Myths Made in America
Pages: 224
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9780807016244
Language: English