Self-Defense Tools: What You Can Use and What You Can’t
Personal safety never stops being relevant. Modern self-defense tools are becoming compact, effective, and convenient. They fall into three groups: freely sold, requiring a permit, and prohibited.
Self-defense tools that do not require a special permit:
- Pepper spray
Except those intended specifically for law enforcement, and those whose model name ends in M: Kobra-1N, Kobra-1S, Teren-4M.
Ownership is allowed from age 18.
Convenience: fits easily in a pocket. Can be bought online and in specialized stores.
Use: you need to hit the face at a distance of 1-2 m.
Effectiveness: weak, takes effect after a few seconds. You can get poisoned yourself.
- Air guns
Without a special permit, you may only buy and use guns with a caliber under 4.5 mm and a pellet velocity of up to 100 m per second.
Ownership is allowed from age 18.
Convenience: you do not need to get close to attackers; they fit easily in a bag or backpack; they must be transported/carried in special cases.
Use: you need to be very careful and attentive when using an air gun for self-defense, because it can injure a person, which law enforcement will classify as exceeding the limits of necessary self-defense.
Effectiveness: most effective as a psychological weapon, since they look like firearms.
Self-defense tools that require a special permit:
- Bladed weapons
Objects with a piercing, piercing-cutting, chopping, crushing, or striking effect (bayonet, stiletto, knife, dagger, crossbow, saber, finka knife, hunting knife, nunchaku, brass knuckles).
Ownership, carrying, and use are allowed from age 18 and only with the appropriate permit.
Prohibited self-defense tools:
- Stun guns
A special active-defense device. Banned from circulation; used only by special services.
Ukrainian citizens are not allowed to own stun guns. There are many stun guns on sale online, but all of them are illegal. Buying, owning, and using this device can result in liability.
Using any of these tools can be dangerous to you. So use only the permitted ones, and be sure to learn how to use them properly first.
Stay alert, assess dangerous situations correctly, and if you can avoid a confrontation (get away from the attacker) — do it.
Author: Anna Lytvynova, lawyer at Insight NGO
Author: Anna Lytvynova