Rape Prevention: How to Prevent Rape

Learning about rape prevention represents something women can do to proactively protect themselves against a potential assault. Keep in mind that even when you take all the precautions necessary to protect yourself and stay safe, you still may not prevent rape. Victims never bear any of the responsibility for sexual assault; the perpetrator bears all responsibility and criminal guilt.

Rape Prevention Tips and Advice

Women can learn about rape prevention and use this knowledge to help them stay safe in many situations where sexual assault could occur. You can help prevent rape by taking these steps:

• Listen to your intuition when alone – Although you can never fully protect yourself from potential sexual assault, it's important that you avoid dangerous situations. Stay aware of your surroundings, avoid isolated public areas, walk with determination even if you're lost, trust your gut, keep your cell phone charged and with you, avoid going somewhere alone with a person you don't know well, don't use music headphones when walking alone.
• Reduce risk in social situations – Go to parties and social events with a group of friends and stay with the group. Do not leave your drink unattended. This leaves a potential rapist an opportunity to slip a date rape drug in it. Take it with you to go to the ladies room or anywhere else, even for a short time. If you do leave it, just get a new drink. Do not accept drinks from a stranger or someone you just met.
• Don't reveal too much on social media – Some social media platforms, such as Foursquare and others, use GPS locating service to tell friends where to find you. But think about it, would-be sexual predators can use these tools to find you as well. Turn off the location feature of these mobile apps on your cell phone before going out.

What to Do When Being Raped

Despite your best efforts to prevent rape, you still need to know what to do when being raped. You could find yourself in a situation where you feel pressured into sexual activities that you don't want by a friend or acquaintance. Alternatively, a stranger could break into your home or grab you on the street. You need to know what to do to try to get out of these situations -- just in case:

• State clearly and unequivocally that you do not want to engage in sex of any kind with the person. Remember you do not have any obligation to participate in any activity that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Arrange a special code word with a close friend or family member that you can say if talking on the phone to them to indicate that you are in a dangerous situation and need help.
• Make up an excuse as to why you need to leave or that you are having your period, or even that you have a sexually transmitted disease.
• Look for an escape route or way to get out of the room.
• Call attention to yourself by screaming or making a scene and yell for help.
• If someone actually attacks you, scratch him with your fingernails and pull his hair, bite, and kick - do anything to make him let go even for a second and then run. When you get away, go directly to the police. Do not wash your hands or do anything to destroy or contaminate any physical evidence you may have on your body (i.e. perpetrator's skin under your nails).
• As a last resort, try to humanize yourself in the eyes of your attacker. Try to make the attacker see you as a person rather than objectify you. Talk about your family, your kids, your mother. Tell him he is better than the way he is behaving.
• If your attacker is armed with a gun or knife, the above tactics may not work effectively. Any act of aggression may cause him to become more violent and angry. However, a last resort, violent attack may represent your only hope of escaping rape. If you choose to physically attack an armed aggressor, your action must be unexpected, sudden, and intensely painful. Target his most vulnerable spots, such as testicles, eye sockets, instep, or windpipe with a lethal intention.

Perhaps the two most important rape prevention tips you can remember are: trust your intuition and gut feelings and remain fully aware of your surroundings when alone and in social settings with friends, at all times.

(See: Reporting Rape: What to Do If You Are Raped?)

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