Thread: Through a Rapist's eyes/Public Service Announcement

The training section of the police department came upon this article

recently. The information contained in the article is invaluable to

women who could potentially be victims of crime. I would encourage

everyone to read this, and pass it on to those you care for. It is not

intended to scare anyone. Those that have been through the PROTECT

course, or the CCW courses know th at we constantly emphasize awareness

of surroundings. This article reinforces that concept.


When this was sent to me, I was told to forward it to my lady friends.

I forwarded to most everyone in my address book. My men friends have

female friends and this is too important information to miss someone.


A group of rapists and eight 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

who's 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 am


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.

Car 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 co! nvince 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 th at you've seen his face and

could identify him 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) Another particularly unfortunate experience is 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 much 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


PLEASE READ, THEN FORWARD THIS TO YOUR SISTERS, DAUGHTERS, MOTHERS,

FRIENDS- EVERY WOMAN YOU KNOW -- IT'S SIMPLE STUFF BUT IT COULD SAVE HER LIFE