One of the deadliest legacies of the 20th century is the use of landmines in warfare. Anti-personnel landmines continue to have tragic, unintended consequences even years after a battle or the entire war has ended. As time passes, the location of landmines is often forgotten, even by those who planted them. These mines continue to be functional for many decades, causing further damage, injury and death. The aim of this course is to provide general landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness and safety information to individuals working in the vicinity of areas affected by these types of weapons.

When caught up in a conflict or combat situation your response may depend on who is the target: are you, personally, the target or is it your vehicle, your organization or someone else? The confusion created when suddenly coming under fire can often make it difficult to establish who is shooting, which direction the shooting is coming from, and whether you are the target. How you react when shooting occurs will be influenced by your level of awareness at the time, how close you are to the shooting, and what cover is available. This course aims to build awareness on small arms, artillery, mortars, rockets and grenades.

We all build "Models of Violence", that is, beliefs about the way in which various types of violent attacks occur, whether they are muggings, domestic abuse or sexual assaults. Our models are normally based on media reports from the newspaper and TV, advice we've been given, stories we've been told, our own experiences and that of our friends. We often use these models, to reinforce a view of the world that allows us to feel safe and comfortable e.g. that sexual assaults occur in remote and deserted places and are committed by complete strangers, rather than by people we know and in places where we are meant to feel safe. This course will focus on understanding the sexual predator and the process the offender goes through before an attack.

So, you have arrived at your destination; your hotel. I am afraid it is not time to relax quite yet. The hotel is your “home away from home”, and it is therefore necessary to take the security of the hotel as seriously as you would in your own home. With more and more security measures implemented to protect traditional terrorist targets, such as airlines and embassies, hotels have now become more likely targets. This is especially true of luxury hotels belonging to large international chains. Hotels are “good targets” from a terrorist’s perspective as they will provide the potential for mass casualties and world-wide media coverage without the same level of risk involved as targeting an embassy. Now, terrorists are not what you normally have to worry about, but crime is. Any hotel could also be a hangout for criminals, prostitutes and con artists. The hotels will mostly work hard to prevent this, but some may even have staff that cooperates with these criminals. This course will provide you with information on best practices when selecting and staying in a hotel abroad.

Street crime is, together with medical problems, perhaps the most common threat to travellers worldwide. Street crime is most of the time not personal; thieves are not there to target you, you might simply represent an easy target. The same principles of security exist while on the street as anywhere else. You must aim to diminish any criminal’s opportunity to commit a crime against you as much as possible. It is therefore essential that you take certain precautions. This course aims to provide you with specific information on how to avoid becoming a victim of crime while staying abroad.