I came across a Blog Post recently, entitled, How To Travel On Your Own Without Getting Attacked, Maimed, Robbed (And Maybe Even Enjoy Yourself) and wanted to pass it on. It's a post (with comments) on staying safe, especially if you are a female and traveling alone.
Around 80% of all volunteers abroad are female and the majority travel alone to their project.
If you have ideas and suggestions about travel safety and traveling alone, I hope you will comment at the actual post. I've no clue who Sarah Von (the Blogger who keeps up that site) is, but the topics on her Blog about travel are really very good. Take it from someone who started traveling professionally in 1975...the suggestions there are really very good. From staying safe to packing and even how to pack a backpack for a 6-month trip...all worth your time.
You will learn a great deal about traveling safely by reading Sarah's site, but in a nutshell: