Good advice, the best advice as you said is to research the area. If there are thefts/threats/assaults/harassment/PIRACY those things are often well known, especially if it is a problem.
A captain is responsible for the security and safety of his vessel, be it a 25 foot sailboat or a 1100 foot aircraft carrier (okay, that makes it a bit easier to defend, I admit...:)
But to take family members anywhere near places like that is irresponsible.
That said, the world better start cracking down on piracy in a concerted way, and better start doing it soon. How far in the future will it be before they take a supertanker full of oil, and when an attempt is made to retake the ship, they figure they are screwed and just destroy it.
If I can conceive it, it is pretty possible...
Some folks have a life-goal to sail around the world, that is, to circumnavigate all 360* in a small sailing vessel.
So there is Africa, what are your choices? Fifty foot waves against a 5 knot current off of South Africa can kill you as well as pirates.
The key today when planning the Red Sea passage is convoying up and staying in contact with the naval vessels on station. The 4 Americans who were killed had struck out ahead of the convoy.
It’s like dealing with voyages in hurricane zones. June is a low risk, people go. July, maybe. August-October, you KNOW you are in mortal peril.
But a rare out of season hurricane could nail you in June or November. There is risk out there, for sure. Getting run over by a ship, for example. It can happen.
You want a safe, guaranteed outcome, don’t sail across oceans.