Through
a Rapist's Eyes
- Metropolitan Police Issued This
Newsletter October 2003
A group of rapists and date rapists in
prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here
are some interesting facts:
1. The first thing men look for in a
potential victim is hairstyle.
They are most likely to go after a woman
with a ponytail 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.
2. The second thing men look for is
clothing. They will look for woman who’s clothing is easy to remove
quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing.
3. They also look for women on their
mobile phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while
walking, because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.
4. The time of day men is most likely to
attack and rape a woman is in the early morning, between 05.00 and 08.30 am.
5. 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.
6. Only 2% said they carried weapons
because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence, but rape with a weapon is 15-20
years.
7. 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.
8. These men said they would 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. So, the idea is to
convince these guys you're not worth it.
9. Several defense mechanisms he taught
us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or
with you in a lift 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
line-up, you lose appeal as a target.
10. If someone is coming toward you, hold
out your hands in front of you and yell "Stop" or "Stay
back!" Most of the rapists talked to say 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.
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