Rape: Psychology, Prevention and Impact
Marcia Cohen and Sherrie H. McKenna
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The following prevention tactics were developed by staff members of the Consultation Center, a division of the Connecticut Mental Health Center in New Haven, Connecticut.
PREVENTION TACTICS
I.
General Precautions
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1. Be aware that assaults, including rape, can happen to
anyone
,
anytime
,
anywhere
. Observe your environment and be alert.
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2. Trust your gut feeling. If someone looks suspicious to you, leave and get to a safe place. It is better to be embarrassed than hurt.
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3. Never hitchhike and don’t accept rides from strangers; don’t pick up hitchhikers.
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4. Know your neighborhood and neighbors. Look for potential danger areas and safety areas. Know what stores, etc. are open late and may serve as shelters. Take note of unlighted or little travelled areas and avoid them when possible.
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5. Be familiar with your limitations and think about how you react under stress. Some women can respond effectively by physical struggle or fighting, others by flight and running and others by distraction, screaming or talking. What is your style?
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6. If you are attacked in your apartment building, car, or anywhere, yell, “FIRE!” (It gets more response than screams for “HELP”).
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7. If someone drives you home, ask them to wait until you are safely inside. Get a signal.
II.
Outside Precautions
A.
On foot
.
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1. Try to always walk with a friend or several friends.
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People walking alone are easy targets.
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2. Be alert to your surroundings—know where you are going and don’t look lost.
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3. Walk briskly and confidently.
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4. If you’re walking and think you’re being followed, trust your feeling, turn around and look. Don’t worry about looking foolish. Run, cross the street, go into an open store, get out of the way—you could be saving your life.
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5. Choose well lighted streets to walk on.
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6. Try to walk facing traffic so you won’t be caught off guard by a car pulling up behind you. But if you’re walking
with
traffic and a car pulls up behind you or starts following you, turn around and walk the other way.
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7. Think about how you are dressed. Do you have the freedom to run, or are your clothes too confining and heels too high?
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8. Don’t overload yourself with packages.
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9. Walk close to the center of the sidewalk (not too close to cars or shrubbery) or in the street.
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10. When walking at night, make sure you approach corners and other areas where your view is blocked in a way that you can see as much of what is around the corner as possible.
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11. If people ask you for directions, give them if you want, but don’t get too close. Be especially careful when persons in a car ask for directions that you don’t get too close to the car. Just give directions verbally—don’t offer to lead a person to where they’re going or ride along with them.
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12. Always avoid shortcuts at night—alleys, parks, backyards, dark streets, etc. In some neighborhoods it is a good idea to avoid shortcuts down alleys and hidden streets during the daytime too.
B.
Public Transportation
.
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1. Sit with most passengers or next to the driver—especially at night or when the bus is almost empty. The same goes for a subway or train. If you can’t sit next to the driver, take an aisle seat next to the exit—never be trapped next to a window or wall.
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____
2. If you are bothered by a man on the bus, don’t get off at your regular stop. Inform the bus driver.
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3. Change seats if you’re uncomfortable where you are.
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4. Don’t take rides from “bus stop samaritans” who stop to give you a lift in their car, even if you’ve missed the bus.
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5. When getting into a taxi, check the driver’s identification immediately. If his or her face doesn’t match the picture—get out.
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6. It is better not to enter an elevator alone with a strange man or men if possible. Stand near the control panel so that you can push the alarm button if necessary.
C.
In your car
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____
1. Look into your back seat before you get into the car.
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2. Keep car doors locked at all times including when you are riding in the car. Assailants have been known to jump into cars at stop lights.
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3. Never pick up a hitchhiker.
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4. Do not stop to help a motorist. Think of your safety first, and be a good samaritan by stopping at the nearest phone and calling for help.
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5. If you have car trouble and have to pull over, keep your doors locked and windows up. Always carry a road flare to signal when you have car trouble. It should be outside the car, not you. If no one is nearby, or you don’t have a flare, jump out and raise the hood and get back into the car and lock it. If someone stops and offers to help you, ask them to call the police or a garage.
Do not open your door
.
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6. If you believe that you are being followed by another car, don’t pull into your driveway. Drive straight to the nearest police station or fire station and honk your horn. Do not leave your car until you are
sure
that it’s safe.
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7. If your car is ransacked, don’t get in, someone may be hiding and waiting for you, leave and call the police.
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8. Try to keep your gas tank full, so you won’t run out of gas in an isolated place.
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9. Always carry enough money for an emergency phone call or taxi ride.
III.
At Home Precautions
A.
Be careful who you let into your home
.
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1. Never let a stranger into your home. Check identification through the viewer and don’t let anyone in who doesn’t have identification, including repairmen. Before opening the door check with their supervisor by phone if you are suspicious. If a repairman or some other stranger has to come into your home, try to make sure someone will be there with you.
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2. If a stranded motorist or someone else comes to your door asking to make an emergency phone call,
don’t
let them in. Ask them who they want called and make the call for them.
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3. Never feel guilty about closing the door on someone you don’t know.
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4. Always talk to strangers through your door, don’t open the door.
B.
General precautions at home
.
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1. If you’re at home and hear an unusual noise outside don’t be enticed outside. If the noise worries you, call the police.
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2. If you live in an apartment, make sure the area around the apartment house is well lighted and that hallways and stairwells are well lighted.
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3. If you come home and your home looks like it has been broken into, do
not
go in, someone may be in there. Leave and call the police.
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4. Always have your keys ready to be inserted in the lock before reaching your door.
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5. Keep your curtains drawn at night to avoid being observed and your home being cased.