This muse was sent to me by my Mother, who does not send me a lot of e-mails, but the ones that she does are really full of good information for the body and soul. This is a good set of safety tips for all people, though it focuses on women. Please pass on to the important people in your life, and let's keep each other out of harm's way.
Safety
Tips
Tips
from a self defense instructor:
The
guy who taught the class has a female friend who was attacked last year in the
parking garage at Westport Plaza in St. Louis one night after work and taken to
an abandoned house and raped. He started a women's group and began teaching
these classes soon after. This guy
He
and the others in this group interviewed a bunch of rapists and date rapists in
prison on what they look for and here's some interesting
facts:
The
#1 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.
The second thing men look for is clothing.
They will look for women
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.
The
time of day men are most likely to attack and rape a woman is in the early
morning, between 5 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
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.
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
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 will 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.
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. Once you've seen their face and could identify them in a lineup, you lose appeal as a target.
-
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.
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.
-
If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If they grab your wrist, pull your wrist back so your hand is in waving position (palm facing forward) and twist it toward yourself and pull your arm away. It is hard to hold onto wrist bones that are moving in that way. They stumble toward you and you stumble back, so you can use that momentum to bring the same out and backhand them with your knuckles in the forehead, nose or teeth.
-
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 hurts.
·
After the initial hit, always
go for the groin. 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.
·
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.
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.
Please
forward this to any woman you know, it's simple stuff that could save her life.
EBPN
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