PASS THIS ON!
A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what
they
look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts. 1)
The
first thing 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 easily be 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 men look for is clothing. They will look for women whose clothing
is
easy to remove quickly 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 and
can
be easily overpowered. 4) The time of day men are most likely to
attack and
rape a woman is in the early morning, between 5 and 8:30 a.m. 5) The
number
one place women are abducted from/attacked at is grocery store parking
lots.
Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number three is public
restrooms.
6) 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. 7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape
carries a
3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years. 8) 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. 9) 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. 10) Several defense
mechanisms he
taught us are: 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, like what time is it, or make general small talk, I can't
believe it is so cold out here or we're in for a bad winter. Now you've
seen
their face and could identify them in a lineup, you lose appeal as a
target.
11) 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. 12) If you
carry
pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it
with
him wherever he goes), yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out
will
be a deterrent. 13) If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with
strength
but you can by outsmarting 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. One woman in a class this guy
taught
told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date
rape
her and was so upset 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 14) After the initial hit, always go for
the
groin. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that 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.
Start causing trouble, & he's out of there. 15) When the guy puts his
hands
up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as
possible
with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor
did
it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and
both
knuckles cracked audibly. 16) Of course the things we always hear
still
apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if
you
can 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 trouble.