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SAFETY TIPS:
Some REALTOR® Safety Tips From the Virginia Association of REALTORS®
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DON'T FORGET SELF-DEFENSE
Following are safety tips passed on to us from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. Frankly, these are some of the best tips we've seen for any female, but particularly for our REALTORS who need to be extra cautious these days.
These tips are from a trainer who is a black belt in karate who trains twice a year with Steven Segall. He interviewed a number of rapists and date rapists in prison on what they look for and here's what he found:
WHAT ATTACKERS LOOK FOR
The #1 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.
The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women whose clothing is easy to remove quickly. The #1 outfit they look for is overalls because many of them carry scissors to cut clothing, and on overalls the straps can be easily cut.
They also look for women who are talking on their cell phones, searching through their purse, or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.
The time of day an attack is most likely to occur, believe it or not, is between 5:00 and 8:30 a.m. The number one place women are abducted from/attacked at is at grocery store parking lots. Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number three is public restrooms. These men 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% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years. 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. These men said they will not pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands. 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're not worth it.
DEFENSE MECHANISMS INCLUDE
- 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," etc). Now that you've seen his face and could identify him in a lineup, you lose appeal as a target.
- 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.
- 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.
- If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If they grab your wrist, pull your wrist back so your hand is in waving position (palm facing forward) and twist it toward yourself and pull your arm away. It is hard to hold onto wrist bones that are moving in that way. They stumble toward you and you stumble back, so you can use that momentum to backhand him with your knuckles in the forehead, nose or teeth.
- 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 taught by this instructor told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and 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.
- After the initial hit, always go for the groin. You might think that you'll make the rapist mad and make him want to hurt you more, but these rapists said that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble immediately.
- When the rapist 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. It doesn't take much pressure to bring someone to their knees using this method. 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; they're simple techniques that could save her life.
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Copyright 2004, Dulles Association of REALTORS ®
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