Avoid Being Raped - Resisting Others You Know

Other persons you know may also be potential rapists, including your own relatives, neighbors, relatives of your girl friends, and so forth. To protect yourself, it is vital to be aware. It's not that we should be suspicious of every relative and friend who hugs us or otherwise shows us affection or attention. But remember, every rapist is somebody's relative or friend.

While visiting relatives, a 15-year-old was raped by her cousin when others were not around. A 17-year-old was raped when she accepted an invitation to the apartment of her sister-in-law's brother. It is being done all the time-by people the girls knew and often trusted. Surprised, shocked, confused, many girls, sadly, prove easy victims, often raising the question, even in the minds of their own parents, as to whether they were not willing participants.

Properly, a girl in such a situation will resist boldly. Some have successfully avoided rape by doing all sorts of vulgar and repulsive things to make themselves unattractive and unfeminine. Also, what one says can turn off a potential rapist.

A 14-year-old baby-sitter was being taken home by the child's father. On the way he turned off the road into a secluded area. He began touching and fondling her, then started stripping off her clothes. At that she stopped struggling and said: "You know, Mr. Jones, in nine or ten years this could be happening to your little girl." That stopped him cold. He apologized and even wept.

Take Precautions

"Prevention is the key," one police officer says. "I maintain that 95 percent of all rapes could have been avoided." You need to think about possible consequences of your actions.

For example, the practice of hitchhiking places women in a vulnerable situation. According to the results from questionnaires provided by two rape researchers, the majority of the women raped by men whom they did not know had been hitchhiking at the time of the rape. Neither is it wise to pick up a hitchhiker.

Similarly, inviting into your home a man whom you don't know well can lead to your being raped. Perhaps it's a man you hired to do yard work, and you want to give him something to drink. Or it may be a man that knocks on your door desiring to make an "emergency" phone call. Wisely, take the drink outside to the man, or make the call for the one who needs help. Especially if you live where crime is rampant, don't permit strangers inside your home when you are alone!

Also, guard the security of your home with adequate locks on doors and windows. Since living alone exposes one to greater danger, if you do you might think about getting a roommate.

If you are a parent, you need to consider your daughters who may be home after school before you arrive. Exercise care that a daughter is not there alone with a boy other than her brother, or in a situation where she may be the only female in a group. Discuss rape prevention with your daughters, as well as how to resist an attack.

Wisely, draw your blinds when dressing or undressing. Don't walk around your home scantily attired so that those from the outside can see you. One woman did that. A neighbor viewed this as an invitation. One evening he came to her apartment. She let him in, and he raped her.

If you can at all avoid it, don't travel alone at night. Even though rapists generally choose women 16 to 24 years of age, don't assume you won't be a target because of being much older, or much younger. Remember, even children and women in their 80's are sometimes attacked. And since sexy attire is a factor in some rapes, it is wise to dress modestly.

New York City policewoman Mary Keefe gave insight regarding precautions to take when she described how rapists often operate, saying: "He usually chooses a late hour (8 P.M. to 4 A.M. are the hours of highest incidence), or a lonely, deserted place-a shortcut, a vacant lot, a laundry room."

Yet, despite the precautions you take, suppose one day you are confronted with a rapist. What should you do?