subject: Simple Steps On How You Can Avoid Violent Crimes!! [print this page] About Victims About Victims
1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be a victim of sexual assault in their lifetime.
College age women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.
Learn more victim statistics
Sexual Assault Numbers
In 2007, there were 248,300 victims of sexual assault.
Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.
Read more sexual assault numbers
Reporting to Police
60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police.
Reporting has increased by 1/3 since 1993.
Learn more reporting statistics
About Rapists
Approximately 73% of rape victims know their assailants.
Only 6% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail.
According to figures provided by Rape Abuse & Incest National Network
http://www.rainn.org/statistics
To help prevent Sexual Assault
1. Never put your full name on your mailbox and phone listings, only use initials: S.S., instead of Sue Smith that would be an invitation for Sexual Assault.
2. If at all possible, have a friend go to the laundry with you, and at all costs avoid going to the all night laundry. When in a parking garage always be aware of your surroundings, exits, elevators, stairways and learn to have eyes in the back of your head.
3. If you are home alone, DO NOT ANSWER THE DOOR for someone claiming to be the Maytag repairman, the same goes for the phone. Never admit on the telephone that you are home alone.
4. The most dangerous place to meet a person to accept a ride from is a bar. The victim and assailant are usually both intoxicated, with lower self control. Your safest bet is to call someone you know well, a parent, brother, sister, cousin, or sorority sister. If you must accept a ride from a stranger, it is wise to have non-lethal personal protection such as a stun gun or pepper spray.
5. If you decide to physically resist assault, remember that your goal is to incapacitate the attacker long enough to run to safety and get help.
6. If you have been a victim of sexual assault, call police immediately. Do not bathe or change clothes or you may destroy evidence.
Robbery
1. Try not to attract attention with the bling that is on your finger on wrist. Never carry large amounts of cash.
2. Always think ahead. For example, when traveling at night, have your keys ready to enter the house or to start the car.
3. If you are confronted by a robber, the best advice is to cooperate.
4. If you resist, there is a greater chance that you may be hurt.
5. If you think you must resist being robbed, your safest bet is to use a stun gun or pepper spray.
Pepper spray will cause an attackers eyes to slam shut pronto, and swells the mucous membranes-which makes breathing difficult and lasts up to 45 minutes.
A stun gun converts sugar in muscles to lactic acid, causing the attacker to not be able to control his body and muscle movements. Stunning lasts for several minutes, plenty of time to make a getaway from an attacker.
1. When using an automatic bank teller, always be watchful of any suspicious people around you.
2. The chances of being robbed at night are much greater, especially if you are alone.
3. If you find someone waiting and watching outside in the area of an ATM machine, do not use it. Leave the area and report the incident to the police immediately. You could save someone else from being a victim of crime.
4. A big scam that ATM thieves are doing these days is to video people from a distance when keying in PIN numbers. Also, I have heard of cases that faux readers are attached to the card reader and then the card is eaten by the machine after the PIN number is entered.
Street Safety- Use Common Sense
1. Stay in well lighted, busy areas. Avoid walking alone and avoid known trouble spots.
2. When you carry a purse, hold it close to your body rather than by the handles. Do not wrap purse straps around your wrist, because you can get hurt in a struggle.
3. Carry only what you need in a purse or wallet, not everything you have.
4. Avoid using shortcuts through dark alleys, fields, or vacant lots.
5. If you think you're being followed, cross the street and change directions a few times. Go quickly to a well-lighted place with lots of people. Do not go home. You don't want an attacker to know where you live.
6. In your vehicle, DO NOT leave your checkbook, address, receipts, utility bills, mail, registration, cell phone, and any other type of communication that could lead an attacker to your home. In your GPS, DO NOT enter your home address. Enter your local police department address so if your GPS gets stolen, you will not get a thief at your door wanting the rest of the goods. Once you make it to your neighborhood, you should be able to find your way home.
