Dr Haghani said his team last year surveyed more than 1,000 Australians to gauge their level of preparedness for terror attacks in crowded spaces. “One of the things that we realised was that in terms of knowledge of best strategies for survival, people did not score very high,” he said. “Most people, in fact, have not heard of these public campaigns and messaging such as ‘escape, hide and tell’ or things of equivalent nature and I think that is a gap.”

well there we go blaming the victims again

He said if education about what to do during a violent incident was more mainstream, then more people could be equipped with survival strategies. He said a good start would be to roll-out some education programs in schools. “Within a few generations we could have a society that is naturally equipped and public safety savvy … and they can survive better,” he said.