Ways to prevent RAPE
Paola sent me this on a bulletin on MySpace. I figure it's important enough for everyone to see on LJ:
If you are a guy and received this, please pass it on to your girlfriend or any female that you care about.
Through a rapist's eye
A group of 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 use in cutting off clothing quickly.
3. They also look for women on their cell phone, searching for objects in their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are distracted and off balance 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 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 carries a 15-20 year sentence.
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 too 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 taught to us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or in a stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk like "I can't believe it's so cold here" or "we're in for a bad winter." Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a lineup, and you lose your 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 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 EASY targets.
12. If you carry pepper spray and yell "I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY!" and holding it out in front of you, this 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 told the instructor 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 and the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself there are hard as you can stand it. It hurts!
14. After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from personal experience that if you slap a guy's groin it is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but what these rapists told our interviewer is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble and he's out of there.
15. When the guy puts his hands up to grab you, grab his two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The interviewer did it to me without 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.
AFTER YOU READ THIS, SEND IT TO EVERY WOMAN (Person) YOU KNOW. IT'S SIMPLE STUFF, BUT COULD SAVE A FRIEND OF YOURS!