Re: Versus killed/raped/hospitalized????

Good post, great points. There is a culture of fear surrounding being female, that somehow women are supposed to live in constant fear of attack. I know from my experience working for the coroners dept, in close association with police, that most assaults, (in my country), are not women being attacked by men, but men attacking other men. Rape is much more common in families and people known to the victim, than stranger attacks. Women are in much more danger of violent attack in their own homes, than outside in the wider community. Statistics show that violent assaults on women, by men, are mostly due to domestic violence.

TV programs and movies promote this idea that women are prey to stranger attack and are most often portrayed as the victims of serial killers or rapists. This is simply not reality.

My Father was an unarmed combat instructer for the army for many years, his advice was always , first, don't panic, if you panic no amount of training or weapons are going to be of any use to you. If you are not carrying a weapon, make use of whatever is around you, including whatever body parts you may have free.

This advice has been very useful to me throughout my life, in any number of stressful situations, including an attempted robbery at knifepoint. I have also used these techniques when I have been grabbed and held. A kick to the knee, that pushes the knee backwards, is a very useful way of disabling your attacker, and even done with minimum force, it can still prevent an attacker from coming after you.

I personally think it is far more important to teach my daughter to be calm, and be able to think, in any situation, than any martial arts training or weapons.

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