When Robert Siciliano was 12 years old, he and his eight-year-old brother were mugged in downtown Boston by a street gang. When he was 13, a friend confided to him that she had been sexually assaulted. By the time he was 15, the self-described "little greasy Italian kid" wanted to be able to defend himself - and others.

"I started taking martial arts," says Siciliano. "As I got older, others began telling me things that happened to them. I was shocked at how many girls that I knew had been assaulted. It happens a lot more than you would think. I was a good listener and began to coach."

As an adult, Siciliano became a bouncer and a bodyguard, and later was certified by the Massachusetts Board of Nursing as a safety instructor.

"Eventually, I began instructing people in corporations about personal security," says Siciliano. "They started asking me to teach employees. That evolved into a small business and a book (The Safety Minute, Safety Zone Press)and now I am speaking on security all over the country."

Siciliano has also received national recognition for his philosophy that anyone can learn to protect themselves. He has appeared on numerous television programs including CNN, Maury Povich, Montel Williams, Sally Jesse Raphael, among others. He has also been interviewed for magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Mademoiselle.

Siciliano has taught on a variety of topics from workplace violence to airport security, with the emphasis on personal security and self-defense. He has also spoken before northeastern real estate associations on broker/agent safety for about six years.

"When I was 20, I purchased a multi-family home as an investment," recalls Siciliano. "I had worked with a Realtor named Susan for a whole year trying to find the right home. I had gone with her to look at properties, and there were people who didn't belong there - people selling drugs, or prostitution. I didn't have a lot of money, so we were looking at low-income properties, but I realized that security was an everyday issue for her."

"Susan had a lot of stories to tell me," says Siciliano. "So, I put together a program for her and her agency, and we eventually took it before the local Women's Council of Realtors."

Workplace safety is a very real issue. According to a recent Washington Association of Realtors press release, 21 real estate agents met violent deaths on the job last year. Selling real estate is a high-risk profession. As mobile professionals, Realtors frequently meet with people about whom they know little, and enter properties that could be sheltering an attacker. Although attacks aren't limited to females, there is no question that women Realtors are more vulnerable.

"Every six minutes a woman is raped somewhere in the U.S.," says Siciliano. The statistics from the FBI and National Victims Center are telling us that women's safety should be a priority. And for Realtors, workplace safety for the mobile professional is equally important.

That's why Robert Siciliano is joining Agent News as its newest contributor on workplace safety for real estate professionals.

"I want to teach agents that they have the power to protect themselves and to avoid or remove themselves from dangerous situations," says Siciliano. "They know their job is an issue, but too often they tell themselves that it can't happen to them. I want to teach them to take responsibility for their own personal security. I will do that by empowering them - not filling them with fear."

Is risk just part of the job? "It is an unfortunate side effect of the profession that agents sometimes put themselves in vulnerable positions," says Siciliano. "They have to know that their safety is the first priority and the sale is a second priority."

Siciliano's column will focus on the following, and more:

• Prediction and prevention strategies
• Everyday situations that can leave agents vulnerable
• What to do in an attack; using emotions to your benefit
• Verbal and physical self-defense techniques
• Tools to remove oneself from danger
• Plans of action for brokers and associations

"The main thing is don't be so desperate to make a sale so that you compromise your own safety," says Siciliano. "Denial is denial. If a step like prequalifying buyers makes good business sense, then it makes good safety sense, too. Prequalifying your customer can be a good safety strategy, especially if you verify the information he or she gives you. It reduces your chances of being victimized."

Look for Robert Siciliano's new column "The Safety Minute," exclusively in Agent News. Contact him at robert@realtysecurity.com; Website: http://www.realtysecurity.com

Published: February 15, 2002

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