Safety tips for women

[Guest guest]

IMPORTANT SAFETY TIPS

>

>

>FOR WOMEN ~

>Safety for women is NO JOKE.

>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.

They

>may NOT apply in all cases, but the tips offered could save someone's

life:

>- The first thing rapists 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.

Doesn't

>mean you should go get your hair cut, just be extra alert when by

yourself

>in what could be a potentially dangerous situation.

>- The second thing rapists 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.

>- They also look for women on their cell phones, searching through their

>purses, 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 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% of rapists said they carried weapons, because while rape

carries

>a 3-5 year sentence, rape with a weapon is 15-20 years. If a woman puts

up

>any kind of a fight at all, they tend to get discouraged, realizing that

>going after her isn't worth it. These men also said they would not pick

on

>women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from

a

>distance. 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 are not worth it.

>Defense mechanisms against attackers include:

>1) If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with

>you in an elevator or stairwell, look him 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 his face and could identify him in a lineup, you lose appeal as a

>target.

>2) If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you

and

>yell " Stop! " or " Stay back! " Most of the rapists interviewed 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, yelling " I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY! " and holding it out can be a

>deterrent.

>3) If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you may

be

>able to outsmart him. If he grabs your wrist, pull your wrist back so

your

>hand is in waving position (palm facing forward) and twist it toward

>yourself, pulling your arm away. It is hard to hold onto wrist bones

that

>are moving in that way.

>4) 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 defense class said she used the underarm

pinch

>on a guy who was trying to date rape her, and she broke through his 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.

>5) After the initial hit, always go for the groin. You might think that

>you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing

>these rapists said is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of

>trouble. Start causing trouble, and he's generally out of there.

>6) If 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.

>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 MAY

SAVE

>HER LIFE.

>