Using a belt for self-defense

This self-defense related post from latimesblogs.latimes.com points to at least two interesting pieces of information.

First, it describes how highly effective a common belt can be when it is used as a self-defense weapon of choice. I have personally witnessed this in real life, and friends have used it to great effect. Here's the situation with the belt in use:

"A woman in her 30s was molested by a large group of men in the middle of a Cairo street. It was said that none of the onlookers dared to intervene until a taxi driver stopped by and got out of his car. The man then took off his belt and used it to whip the harassers, who soon left their victim half-naked."

Furthermore, there's a telling point of statistics in the article. It points to a survey which has shown that 83% of Egyptian women reported exposure to verbal and sexual harassment.

This included men staring inappropriately at their bodies, inappropriate touching, sexually explicit comments, stalking and telephone stalking.

And here's the interesting part: Almost 70% of harassed women are veiled. This clearly challenges the perception that puts the blame for harassment on women for wearing revealing outfits.