There are rapists and murderers everywhere. I have walked with eyes in the back of my head ever since the Hamilton Heights Rapist, now in prison awaiting trial, first attacked. These sick men are still out there. One has struck in St. Albans, Queens, New York. two rapes in as many days. And we are still getting information about the gang rape of a teen girl in Richmond, California, by up to ten men. Twenty people watched and did nothing. What can women do to protect themselves if not stop these crimes?
We should not make ourselves targets. That is where the eyes in back of one’s head comes into play. Know your surroundings, know where you are and where you are going. New places are not always an adventure, they can bring danger. We’ve got the Internet so I use that to plot my course whenever I have to go some place unfamiliar. I also watch with concern when I am out after dark. It is this time when rapists look for prey. What you may consider a look of kind concern from a man you don’t know could be the beginning of something dreadful. It is sad that we have to feel that the men we pass on the street may be out to hurt us. Not all rapists are black men in black hoodies. Some wear business suits and attack after they have lured you with a free drink. Some are guys that have taken you on a date and decided that you will have sex with them whether you want to or not. Some, and this is the most disturbing, are members of your family who take you by force and apologize each time they see you after that usually leading to more rapes.
Women can help each other by reporting rapes. In a society that is still based on double standards it is not easy to make yourself a target a second time and tell the police and literally the world that you were sexually assaulted. We must be brave. We must call the police and let them take evidence from our bodies even when we would rather wash the horror of the act down the drain. It is something you cannot forget, it is something that will need treatment both physical and mental. It is something that should not happen to anyone but when it does there are places you can turn to, people who long to help not hinder even when family members try to blame you for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, wearing provocative clothes, even being too pretty. If you report a rape you may prevent another. And though that might not help you physically, it is good for your soul, your karma, your recovery.
Women should not promote the rape of other women. The gang rape in California that I mentioned was watched by 20 people. Not just men but 20 people which included women. None of those watching can be prosecuted and that is awful since they were voyeurs to a serious crime that will scar a young woman for life. Why does a woman stand by and watch another get raped? Is she so afraid of the man in her life, the man that is holding her there to watch, that she has to comply with his order to view such horror? Is she part of a gang and in order to remain a member must view and approve the act? Or does she have the fear that if she walks away those that come to bring her back will make her the next rape victim? I have no idea but every woman, and man for that matter, who watches a gang rape and does nothing to stop it, no matter if they are unsuccessful is a partner in that crime. Even if you can only help afterwards by telling what happened help the woman that was violated before you. It will help you sleep better at night unless you too have the mind of a rapist.
Unfortunately just because we are careful crimes do not stop. Most violent rapists attack women in their homes or familiar surroundings where they think they are safe. Since rape is more a crime of power the criminal wants you to realize you have no power over your environment. And right now this is what many women are feeling about their neighborhoods, their environment is not safe and will never be. Push for safety. Become an advocate for your neighborhood by asking for more police and neighborhood watches. Look out for each other. Help each other to be able to live without fear. That’s something everybody can do.
