By Iulia Simon, CH Toro International

The world is awash with “expert opinions" on the Covid-19 pandemic; about what was done, what should have been done, and what will happen, along with a host of global conspiracy theories, finger-pointing and broken alliances.

It feels like the world fell asleep and woke up in the middle of a nightmare. The only thing is that we cannot yet find a way to wake up from it, and the bad dream continues. Having nowhere to go to be safe feeds depressive thoughts and these have had a strong effect on people and in some cases exacerbated violence, racism, and hate. This global pandemic situation has also generated more government control, more conflict between big businesses and the political power of the nation states, and an acutely aggressive environment.

Business bankruptcies, massive global unemployment, disruptions in the supply and demand chain, have created a lot of economic instability and an increase in crime.

The lockdown slowed our lives, and the economy; and the lack of prospects on the streets, diminished criminal activities. However, it quickly became evident that this slowdown in crime was just a short calm before the storm. Our analysis shows that in the main global kidnap hotspots, the risk never slowed down, quite the contrary, in many places, the first few months of this year showed a 30% to 50% increase compared to last year.

The specter of crime is also now looming above the industrialized countries, under the pressure of adapting to the new environment. Massive layoffs, company shutdowns, trade deficits, and economic slowdown all create an unknown world, an unfamiliar territory that people are not prepared for. It is a big question mark what will happen tomorrow, what kind of society we are making for the new generation. We cannot open the rule book for instructions. There are no maps and guidelines. We must write a new book for this uncharted territory; it depends on us.

We must be aware of the new emerging conditions that will require us to change our lives, change our way of thinking, and figure out the new directions of globalization and safety. More than ever, we must understand the circumstances of the countries we travel to for business or pleasure. Companies will have to work out in detail the duty of care guidelines so their employee can be kept safe in the process of business development.

As specialized consultants in kidnap and ransom, we concentrate our continuous efforts on advising crisis managers, companies and families on the globalized challenges. Protecting the company’s assets and the lives of its employees must be of permanent concern for corporate consultants.

We reiterate our support to our partners by providing the right tools for them to ensure the safety of their clients. This in turn, will assure these clients recognize the initiative and proactive preoccupation the partners have for their lives and net worth.

This is an extract of a more detailed article, with specific advice and guidance, produced exclusively for Brokerslink Partners & Affiliates.