This really valuable information for women comes from a teacher of self
defense. He, along with others in his field, and a group of psychologists
were allowed to interview jailed rapists who have been through therapy and
are considered reformed. They were asked what they had looked for in a
'victim' and these were the responses. Some may be things you have heard
before - but I definitely picked up some new information, so take a few
minutes to read.

The #1 thing they 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 they 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 around to cut clothing and on
overalls the straps can be easily cut.

They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their
purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard
and can be easily overpowered.

The time of day they are most likely to attack and rape a woman is in the
early morning, between 5 and 8:30 a.m.

The number one place women are abducted from/attacked at is
grocery store parking lots. Number two is office parking
lots/garages. Number three is public restrooms. The thing about these men
is that they 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. They actually considered this
factor before carrying out the crime!

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.

• 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. Now you've seen
  their face and could identify them 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 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), yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and hold
  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 bring the same out and backhand them 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 this guy taught told him she used the
  underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset
  that 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. If you slap a guy's
  balls (sorry to be graphic) it is extremely painful. You might think that
  you'll piss the guy off and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing
  these rapists said is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of
  trouble. Start causing trouble and he's out of there.
• When the guy 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. With using enough pressure they can end up on their knees.

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.

Pinching the upper inner arm & fleshy part of the thigh is very painful and may encourage a person to loosen their hold on you.

• ignores personal boundaries
• doesn't listen to you or ignores what you say
• is jealous or possessive of you and your time
• tries to make you feel guilty or get their way
• pressures you to use alcohol or other drugs
• insists you go someplace alone or apart from others
• accuses you of being frigid when you say 'no'
• espresses anger or aggression at women as individuals or in general
• does what they want, regardless of what you want
• makes decisions for the two of you without asking your opinion
• has wrong or unrealistic ideas about women in general

• don't drink from an open punch bowl
• only accept drinks from a bartender, and better yet only order
  drinks that come in a closed bottle
• don't leave your drink unattended or turn your back on it, there are
  people who will slip drugs into it even when it's in your hand and you've
  turned your head!
• if your beverage has a strange taste, stop drinking it immediately (and
  try to keep a sample of it to be tested for a drug later)
• if you start to feel sick, never go outside or to the restroom alone,
  because you might pass out - several women in our area were attacked when
  they felt sick and went alone into the bathroom,
  where men were waiting for them
• if you think there were drugs slipped into your drink, have a friend
  take you to the hospital - several of these drugs are very easy to
  overdose on and die from
• urine tests must be taken within the first few hours after ingestion,
  because for some of these drugs, all traces are gone within 24-72 hours

• dizziness
• feeling drunk or more intoxicated than you would expect based on
  how many drinks you have had
• nausea or vomitting
• the bass in the music starts to seem louder than normal,
  or begins to overpower other sounds
• the lights in the room take on a strange quality when you look at them
• impaired motor functions or immobility
• verbal incoherence
• hallucinations
• sleepiness
• blackouts