A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed
on what they looked for in a potential victim and here are some
interesting facts:
(A) WHO
(1) The first thing the men look for in a potential victim is
hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a
ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can be easily grabbed.
They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with
short hair are not common targets.
(2) The second thing the men look for is clothing. They will look
for women who's clothing is easy to remove. Many of them carry
scissors around to cut clothing.
(3) They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through
their purse or doing other activities while walking because they
are off guard and can be easily overpowered.
([color=blue]B[/color])
WHERE
(1) The time of day men are most likely to attack and rape a woman
is in the early morning, between 5:00a.m. and 8:30a.m.
(2) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked at is the
grocery store.
(3) Number two is office parking lots/garages.
(4) Number three is public restrooms/toilets.
The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman
and quickly move her to a second location where they don't have to
worry about getting caught.
Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year
sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.
If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged
because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that
going after you isn't worth it because it will be
time-consuming.
These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas, or
other similar
objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands. Keys are
not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the
attacker to use them as a weapon.
So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.
(C) HOW
Several defense mechanisms he taught us are:
(1) If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage
or with you in an elevator or staircase, look them in the face and
ask them questions like " what time is it? My friends are supposed
to be here 10 minutes ago." etc.
This is to show that your friends are on the way, so it's not
worthwhile for him to take the risk.
Secondly, it shows that you're a CONFIDENT person and you're not
the type that look timid and can be easily taken over.
Thirdly, now you've seen their face and could identify them in a
line-up if they are caught. So, with this you lose appeal as a
target to these rapists.
(2) If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front
of you and yell "Stop or Stay back!". Most of the rapists this man
talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed
that she would not be afraid to fight back.
Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
(3) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate
of it and he also carries pepper spray with him wherever he goes,)
yell to the rapist: "I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY!!" and holding it out will
be a deterrent.
(4) If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you
can outsmart them.
If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker
either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper
inner thigh - HARD.
This instructor was told by a woman in his class of defence, that
she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date-rape
her and he was so upset as she broke through the skin and tore out
muscle strands!! - the guy needed stitches.
Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it;
it hurts.
(5) If you slap a guy's parts it is extremely painful. You might
think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more,
but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a
woman who will not cause a lot of trouble.
(6) When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two
fingers and bend them back
with as much pressure as possible.
The instructor did this to me without using much pressure, and I
ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
IN ALL CASES, DO NOT
PANIC!!
By the way, it is also worth it to leave scratch marks on the
rapist on any part of his body for easy identifcation if he is
caught. Of course the things we always hear still apply: Always be
aware of your surroundings, take someone with you, eg to the
toilet, to the car park, if possible and if you see any odd
behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel a
little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy
really was a trouble.
