Post 96
Also, and not mentioned, is the most recent statistic I have read regarding college aged women and reported rape. One in four women will become the victim of rape or attempted rape. This is up from one in eight, six years ago.
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 guard
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,
we're in for a bad winter. Now you've seen their face and could identify
them in a line-up, 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, and 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.
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 guard
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,
we're in for a bad winter. Now you've seen their face and could identify
them in a line-up, 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, and 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.