If you find yourself being assaulted by a predator you should always resist and fight back. Attackers are looking for an easy target and you increase your chances of escaping and avoiding great bodily harm. Between 1994 and 1997, over 2.8 million women reported sexual assaults in the United States. 78% of these victims avoided being raped by taking self-protective measures.
82% of women who resisted an assault say it helped their situation.
ONLY 18.9% OF WOMEN WHO RESISTED SAID THAT IS WORSENED THE SITUATION.
Of those who were helped by resisting:
39.9% AVOIDED INJURY OR GREATER INJURY
38.3% ENABLED THEMSELVES TO ESCAPE
21.7% SCARED OF THE OFFENDER
Although over 70% attackers are unarmed, even if they do have a weapon, you have a much higher survival rate by resisting and trying to escape. Virtually ever victim who goes with an attacker to a second location is sexually assaulted and/or killed. If the attacker has a gun, run away in a zig zag pattern and the chances of him shooting and causing a fatal injury greatly reduces.
Comments
research studies mostly show that only about 2% of rapists are the sociopathic predators that intend to torture/kill victims and are excited by victim’ struggles. the rest are looking for a victim who will enhance his sense of power by fear and submission.
fighting back may increase risk of more serious harm with that minority of sociopathic type of predator……but given that they are a very small percentage of rapists, and with the “average” rapist being driven off in 70% (or more) of the cases when the victim fights back…..simple math is that it is far better to fight back….in spite of the common “wisdom” that to fight back increases the risk of “angering” the rapist and making him more likely to kill or seriously injure/torture his victim.
the average rapist commits 12 forcible rapes before being caught….and the on average, serves 2 years in prison, and in 60+% of cases is subsequently re-arrested on another rape. how much misery would be avoided if the first victim disabled her attacker?
(when i get my books and papers unpacked in the next month or so, i will be able to quote my sources)
gretchen
Thanks for sharing the statistics with everyone Gretchen.