Random Sampler

November 19, 2009

Sometimes women are placed in dangerous situations, that are no fault of their own. How should we best handle these difficult situations, or avoid them all together?

Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual
"We are to arise in our might and in our strength and go forth to victory; not with a desire to shed blood, not with the desire to destroy our fellow creatures, but in self defense and because we do want to maintain and hand down to our posterity those sacred principles of liberty that have been revealed from on high” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1917, 21).

We had an extremely informative and active participant evening about what women can do in dangerous situations from a local police officer in the ward. He explained that the principle mentality of those who assalt are that they are the predetor and you are the sheep (or the weak prey). They will choose their victims by deciding who they think will comply. The most important thing is to not comply, but to show you have confidence, are willing to fight him, and be very vocal and loud. Even if they say they will kill you if you do not comply (even if they have a gun or a knife), because chances are if they will actually kill you for not complying (which they usually won't), then they will do what they want with you and then kill you.

When realizing that you are being confronted by a dangerous man, lower your center of gravity (bend your knees and use your hips as your pivoting centre and where your force comes from). Put your arms up as if in a boxing stance, except instead of clenched fists, put palms straight out with fingers tight together. Use your weak hand to push him away (using the force of your pivoting hips). Then you can use your strong arm to give a blow to the nose or throat. At all times, use a loud voice, "Get away, No! Stay away from me! Help!" Using your elbows and knees are your great weapons. One of the best things is to get slowly to the ground (put all your force getting down into your arms going flat out, then get into a position that you can kick them, from lying down. You can pivot in any direction, switch legs, but this will be a very difficult position for them to get at you. At any time, if you can get away, then do so. Run somewhere safe, whether it be to a group of people, your vehicle, a home, ect...

The main thing is to make yourself the predator, not the prey. This will usually make them turn around and decide you are not worth trying to compel to do something, because they will usually not get what they want, or they will get hurt trying to get it.

Some tips to avoid ever having to use self-defense is to be confident. When talking to strangers use a smile, make eye contact (if you avoid eye contact when others are walking by it is a sign that we are not confident about ourselves). The predators will usually test the waters and might even bump into you in the mall, apologize, and give you a compliment. If you say "Thank you" then you are obviously a confident person about yourself. If you put off what he has said or look down or away, then they will usually see you as weak. Also, stay away from dangerous situations. If you don't feel comfortable about something, don't do it. If you don't feel comfortable about getting into an elevator with a single male alone, wait for the next elevator. If you see another male in a lone parking lot and you are feeling uncomfortable, wait by the door till some other shoppers are leaving at the same time. It may be inconvenient or make you run 5 minutes behind, but it is far better than the alternative. Don't go out for a walk alone after dark, don't go downtown after 10:00pm.

It is important to realize that although dangerous situations do arise, that if we are prepared, we shall not fear. This enrichment left us feeling empowered, ready to take on challenges that might someday happen to any one of us.