6 Tips To Help You Stay Safe On A First Date

Follow these tips to have a safe and enjoyable first date.

Dating can be fun, but meeting someone new can also be a risk, especially if it’s someone you’ve met online. With the rise in spiking, it can be a scary experience to go on a first date and sometimes unfortunately not everyone has good intentions.

Even if you’re clicking with someone really well on a dating app, you never know how the date is going to go down in real life so it’s always best to take these precautions to ensure dating is a safe and fun experience for you.

1. Tell someone where you’re going

Meeting up with someone new for the first time could potentially end badly if no one else knows where you are.

We get it, parents are nosy but telling a friend that you’re going on a first date and where you’re planning on going is always best, so if you’re home late or not responding to their text messages they know where to find you.

Share your location with your friends on Snapchat or Find My Friends too, so you’re easily trackable in the case things do go wrong.

2. Agree to meet somewhere in public

Going for a walk at night time or going to their house for a first date? Don’t do it. While your date suggesting a hike might seem like a romantic idea, when meeting up with someone for the first time it’s always best to do it in a public place, so if things do start to go wrong you’re not alone.

You can’t beat a restaurant or bar for a first date to get to know someone, so try and pick a busy setting so you can rely on the people around you, or the excuse of needing to use the toilet if you do need to get out of their fast.

3. Let someone know if you’re feeling uncomfortable

If things aren’t going well, you’re well within your rights to get out of there as soon as you can, but this isn’t always easy. If you can make an excuse to leave, do it as soon as you can but if you’re feeling uncomfortable, text a friend to let them know.

They could then call you, pretending there’s an emergency so you have a valid excuse to leave, or come to the restaurant to meet you and walk you home.

A lot of bars take action against sexual assault by having a code name you can ask for at the bar if you’re feeling uncomfortable on your date, and the member of staff will book you an Uber home and help you leave safely.

4. Don’t leave your drinks unattended

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Unfortunately, spiking is common and even if your date has been amazing you should be keeping an eye on your drinks. Order your own drinks and keep an eye on them and if you’re going to the bathroom try and finish it before you go.

If your date orders a drink for you while you’re away from the table or brings one over from the bar, politely thank them but make conversation to distract from the fact that you don’t want to drink it.

To avoid the awkwardness of this, tell your date that you’d like to order another drink when you’re back from the bathroom but you need to have a think about it, to try and stop them from ordering for you.

5. Plan your route home

At the end of your date they might suggest sharing an Uber home, going back to their house, or walking you to yours.

For safety reasons, you shouldn’t let someone you’ve just met know where you live (even if the date went well!) so make sure you’ve thought about this in advance. You could ask a friend to meet you after the date, or tell your date that you’re going to a friends house to deter them from coming with you.

If you’re on a date at a location you’ve never been to before or are unfamiliar with, make sure you’ve looked up the route home before hand and are confident with the train or bus route if you’re taking public transport and that you have enough money for your Uber fare.

6. Don’t give out personal information too early on

If you’re on a date, you’re going to be asking each other questions and trying to get to know each other but it’s best to withhold personal information such as your last name, where you work, live etc. until a few more dates have passed.

If they are asking you personal questions such as where you work or live, try and be vague- answer their questions but don’t give them an exact street name of where they could expect to find you.

Dating should be a fun experience and there’s always a chance that you’ll go on a first date and it will be amazing. Even if you do go on a date and you decide they’re not for you, they could still be a respectful person where your safety doesn’t feel compromised.

However, you can never be too careful so make sure to follow these tips on every first date you go on, even if you are getting good vibes from your date.