How can women protect themselves from attack?

[rov1200]

It now seems a weekly occurrence for a lone woman to be either raped or killed. There are numerous defence classes available but it seems they are not very well attended. There are some simple techniques which women should be aware of and do not take any practice in using them.

For instance a well publicised method is to use two fingers to jab in the opponents eyes causing him some discomfort,

This method was also used successfuly recently when a person was grabbed by an alligator and he managed to free himself by jabbing his fingers into its eyes so releasing him.

This may be of help:


http://womensselfdefense.info/62.html

Are there any other types of techniques?

[dotty.]

Stop at home and don't answer the phone if you don;t recognise the number and don;t answer the door if you aren;t expecting anybody.

[cazzz1975]

carrying an attack alarm is a good way of drawing attention to oneself

[micmak]

Show him what your right knee is for!!!

[rov1200]

Yes the groin is a favourite attack point.

[Prudie]

a comb under the nose but in reality terror might wipe out the options of defence

[cazzz1975]

without weaponry, you are only left with a kick in the nads to disable the attacker whilst you get away

[Purple_Popple]

I was once told to carry a bunch of keys in your hand with the long part of the key poking out between your fingers, if attacked just jab this into the attackers face...also if it is dark, walk in the middle of the road if traffic allows, always try and walk where it is well lit..if you feel you are being followed run to the nearest house and up to the front door. and knock on the door (hopefully someone is in!).

[dotty.]

It's about survival, you need to know your environment, know your neighbours, know what is happening around you. I have a plan for if and when there is a Zombie attack, well it's my son's plan, we are to mnake for the village church, he has access to a van which is well equipped inside with tools etc. We know that using the village church is a good idea as it has high windows, plenty of wood inside for barracdes and with it being in a small village, the Zombies will run out of fresh kills quicker and move off towards Wigan quite quickley, leaving us free to aquire supplies from the local co-op under cover of darkness in small raids that will not be noticed. then we head for the coast and find a boat to stay out at sea until the coast is clear. : ) Planning and forthought saves lives,

[rov1200]

cazz there is more than 1 method. I highlighted it in my question. You don't need tools, implements or even a panic alarm just two straight fingers into the eyes with so little pressure. Your life may depend on not being squeamish about it.

[jake-the-peg]

I teach karate and one of the things we do see is that the vast majority of women have a lot of difficulty being aggressive. They often seem to have to learn it in the way that many men don't.

I think this often transfers to real life attacks too. (Although not necesarilly if they have children - cornered bear with cubs and all that stuff)

Given this unless they practice in a martial art or self defence class I think most women would be lucky to fight off a stronger man.

It takes a lot of guts and presence of mind to gouge someone in the eye.

So given that fighting is probably off the agenda that leaves two other options - run away or get them to.

Many women may well not be dressed suitably for running when they are attacked whereas the assailant is likely to be in jeans and trainers.

That leaves getting them to run away, and that means making noise, lots of it and not stopping. No assailant is going to want to hang around waiting to see who turns up to investigate screaming - even if it is 2am on a deserted street in a rough part of town. The noise change the balance of power - suddenly the assailant is on the defensive trying to stop the victim from doing something.

That's why the rape alarms are such a good idea but if you don't have one make a noise, a lot of noise and keep making it as loud as humanly possible

[dotty.]

yeas I agree, shout at them and tell them to leave you alone, get angry at them and ask them who the hell they think they are dealing with, don;t scream like a girl shout at them like their mother, Don't beg them to let go, shout at them to back off. Tell them you'll break their legs if they don't get the hell away from you,

[AlBags]

Jake's correct ...
It is actually doing ANYTHING to start with that is the problem.
Confrontational types will not have much of a problem doing something .. that leaves the rest.

[alexanderd]

if the attack is from behind its a bit difficult to poke in the eyes. Try stamping backwards on their toes or kicking their shins

[wolf63]

As jake says women most women are not very aggressive. But I think that many women just freeze in panic when attacked.

I think that the 'good guys' need to be aware of how their actions can be misinterpreted too - walking along a reasonably busy but dark road with a male following you can get you into a panic. The men should be aware of this and, perhaps, cross the road if it is a reasonable course of action.

I think that men who have committed serious sexual crimes should be castrated - if he did it once then he will probably do so again.

[marval]

Somebody I used to know was told to shout "FIRE," very loudly. If you call help people often don't want to get involved, but if someone shouts fire, everyone comes out to see.

[swedeheart]

I don't believe it's always a good idea to shout, sometimes you have to play 'possum to survive. There are all kinds of rapists, some psychopaths, some not. I believe your body will inform you what to do to survive.

A friend of mine attended a self defence class and the teacher told the story of a girl who was waiting, alone, for the bus late in the evening. Nobody else was around. Suddenly a gang of youths approached and the mood was such that she just knew she was going to get raped. She had a stroke of genius and started acting "retarded" and gross, painstakingly picking her nose and thoughtfully inspecting the result on the tip of her finger. The mood changed quickly and the guys left, shouting out their disgust.

Some other guys might have killed her for being disgusting and retarded. You never know in advance but you often know in a situation. Sometimes you have to freeze or you die. Judges often fail to recognise this.

[CJ242]

If someone grabs you, let your body go limp, take your feet off the ground and make them hold your full weight.
More often than not, they will be surprised and will drop you, giving you the opportunity to run, (hopefully with a swift hard kick to the nads before you do!)

It does work (I've been there)!

[237SJ]

There are a set of techniques that we have learned at work in conjunction with the Met police. They`re called Breakaway techniques and they are very effective. There are lots of different moves according to how your attacker approaches. You have to be taught them and practice them or you can forget them quite easily if they`re not used.