Almost 400,000 women are raped
every year in America. Of those cases, only 2% of rapists go to
jail for their crime. It is easy to get into situations in which
you are vulnerable to rape. It's also easy to avoid these situations
with common sense, awareness and by taking the following precautions:
Choose your
dates wisely. Ask yourself why you're attracted to the
individual. Is it because you know the person well, they've
earned your trust, and you are attracted to their personality, or
is it more of a crush or infatuation. Physical attraction can often
cloud a person's judgment of character. Sometimes people allow
themselves to be put in troublesome situations, because of their
infatuation or their desire to be liked by their date. Always use
common sense. If you don't know the person well, don't allow
yourself to be taken to an isolated place.
Don't
be fooled by appearance. Looks can be deceiving, and anyone
can be dangerous.
Don't
mix drinking and drugs with dating, so you can remain in
control of your mental and physical body.
Make it very
clear how far you're willing to go and if it seems like
your partner is attempting to test your boundaries, stand up for
yourself. Tell him to stop.
Don't
tease your partner into thinking he will get more than you're
willing to give. Send your partner clear and truthful verbal
and non-verbal messages. Do not tease him until he thinks "no" means
"yes." When you play games with him, you're playing dangerous
games with your own safety.
Don't
tolerate a partner that doesn't listen to you when you say "no."
They are controlling and dangerous. Remove yourself from the situation
before it escalates to tragedy.
Take a self-defense
class to boost your confidence, knowledge and practice. (see
self-defense)
Not only does rape violate your body. It violates
your mind. Most rape victims have extreme difficulty developing
relationships throughout their life. They lose their ability to
trust. Their future sex life can be severely effected. Don't
get caught in this trap. Use your intelligence. It's there to
protect you.
If you're in danger of being raped...
Immediately draw lots of attention to yourself
- Yell and scream phrases that people will
understand.
- "Call 911!"
- "I don't know this
man!"
- "Fire!" (Some people are
more likely to respond when you say this)
Do not allow
yourself to be taken to a second location. Your best chance
of survival is from the beginning. As soon as you are aware of the
situation you must free yourself using any means necessary. You
must gain control by consciously making an effort to face the situation,
come up with solutions and act.
Put up a fight!
Don't think for one minute that if you're nice to your attacker,
then they will be nice to you. The more time that goes by the worse
off you are. So raise hell! Make the situation empowering instead
of devastating.
Hit your attackers
nose hard with the heal of your hand. (using your closed
fist could injure your hand)
Hit the groin hard with your
elbows and knees.
If the attacker is behind you
stomp on his foot using your heal and all your weight.
For more self defense techniques,
read Bodyteen self defense
If you've been raped and want
help, call the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network at 1(800)
656-HOPE or visit http://www.rainn.org/
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