2) The second criterion is
clothing. They prefer women who's clothing is easily removed with
scant effort. Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut
clothing.
3) Distracted women present
ideal targets. Women on their cell phone, searching through their
purse or doing other activities while walking are off guard and can be
easily overpowered.
4) Men are most likely to
attack & rape in the early morning, between 5:00 AM and 8:30 AM, the time
women are heading to work, working out or on their way to school.
5) The number one place
women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots. Number two
is office parking lots/garages. Number three is public restrooms.
6) Rapists seek to grab a
woman and quickly move her to another location secluded and unlikely to be
intruded upon.
7) Only 2% of the rapists
interviewed say they carried weapons. Rape carries a 3-5 year sentence,
however rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.
8) Putting up an initial
fight generally discourages the rapist. Going after you isn't worth it, too
time-consuming and a struggle provides increased opportunity for
interference.
9) The rapists admit they
avoid women with umbrellas and other objects that may serve as a weapon in
their hands. Keys fail this test as she must be close to the attacker to use
them as a weapon.
10) Defense Maneuver, (if
no weapon is present)
If someone is following
behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or
stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, "What time is it?"
or make general small talk: "I can't believe it is so cold out here", we're
in for a bad winter." By engaging him you've seen his face and can identify
him in a line-up; as a target, you no longer have appeal.
11) If a man approaches you
who feels threatening, look him in the eye, hold out your hands in front of
you and yell "STOP!" or "STAY BACK!" By doing so you've put the person on
notice that you've seen him and demonstrated you are not afraid to fight
back. Rapists seek EASY targets.
12) In the situation above,
if you carry pepper spray yell I HAVE PEPPER Spray (or mace). Hold it
pointed at him as a deterrent.
13) Once grabbed, do not
try to overpower him. He is stronger no matter how tall or fit you are,
(remember, he chose you which means he's already sized you up). However, you
can out smart him. If he grabs you around your waist from behind, pinch the
attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper
inner thigh as hard as you can. One woman in this writer's self-defense
classed used the underarm pinch on a guy who trying to date rape her; she
broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - Try pinching yourself
in those places as hard as you can stand it; it hurts.
14) Immediately following
your initial defensive move, (umbrella, mace, hitting, pinching, scratching
etc...) GO for the GROIN as hard as you can with whatever is available to
you: kick, scratch, hit...even bite. You might think that you'll anger the
guy and make him want to hurt you more. He's looking for an easy
target and no trouble. Start causing trouble and he's out of there.
15) If he uses his
hands to muffle, gag or subdue you, grab his index and middle fingers,
bending them back as far as possible. It doesn't take a lot of strength to
bring a full-grown man to his knees with this movement and you'll hear both
knuckles cracked under the pressure
16) General good advice in
avoiding rape:
-
Always be aware of your
surroundings.
-
Take someone with you
if you can.
-
Avoid getting drunk,
stoned or otherwise chemically incapacitated.
-
If you see odd
behavior, don't dismiss it.
-
Park in well-lit, high
traffic areas.
-
Always have a club or
bar employee escort you to your car if alone.
-
Never leave a drink
unattended in a bar. If you need to use the restroom and are
alone, ask the bartender or server to place it behind the bar until you
get back.
-
If attacked, yell
"FIRE" rather than "Rape". People will respond to fire because it
impacts them. Many will ignore rape as not to get involved.
-
Do not fight with a man
holding a gun, knife or other lethal weapon to your head/body unless you
have the proper self-defense training. Your object is to stay
alive at this point.
-
Go with your instincts!
You may feel silly doing
these steps, but consider the alternative. Do you really want to wait
and find out if that guy plans on raping you or not? Play it safe, rather
than sorry.
