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.

Safe at work?

Safe at work? You mean, apart from statistics showing that more than 13,000 women are raped on the job each year in the United States?
...And then you have intimidation, harassment, neglect, bullying, assaults, threats, robberies, theft, murder...

Story:
Myfoxcleveland.com reports about a worker at University Hospitals who has been jailed.

University Circle Police say the male employee trapped another female employee inside an elevator at the hospital. According to a police report, the man forced the woman inside the elevator, picked her up from behind and started shaking her.

Police say each time the elevator stopped on a floor, the man would stop, but no one else could get on the elevator because a cart was blocking the entrance. Each time the elevator door closed, the man would resume assaulting the woman.

Eventually the woman was able to get out of the elevator. She reported the incident to police a few days later."Obviously it's a concern, but University Circle is one of the safest places in the region, it's one of the safest places in Cleveland," says a spokesperson with University Circle Incorporated.

Sexual harassment

Two South African Airways (SAA) managers and one former manager have been implicated on various charges including attempted rape and sexual harassment for allegedly imposing themselves on subordinates, City Press reported on Sunday.

The incidents allegedly took place in boardrooms, offices, car parks and hotels where team-building sessions were being held, the report read.

One recently suspended acting general manager of human resources, allegedly forcibly undressed a woman, threw her on a boardroom table at OR Tambo Airport and attempted sex.

Source

"To be expected"

Suzanne Swift went AWOL in January to avoid deployment with a battalion in which she underwent repeated incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Now she is being thrown in the brig while only one of her three alleged transgressors has received so much as a letter of reprimand.

Swift’s former lawyer said that when Swift was targeted for sexual harassment by her platoon sergeant in Kuwait in February 2005 and was then manipulated into having sex with another superior in Iraq later that year, she did not file a formal complaint out of fear.

Her alleged assailant in Iraq "made it very clear to her that there would be real repercussions if she reported it, and she believed him," the lawyer said.

A study headed by Anne Sadler, coordinator of the post-traumatic stress clinical team at the Veterans Administration hospital in Iowa City, found that Swift’s experience was not uncommon.

That nationwide survey, which included women whose terms of service fell between 1961 and 2003, found that more than three-quarters of the respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment during their military service; a third suffered one or more completed or attempted rapes.

However, only 26 percent of the rape survivors reported it through official channels while in active duty. The most common reasons given were fear that the report would negatively impact the survivor’s career or make things worse. A belief that nothing would be done and fear that they would be blamed by their co-workers were also prominent concerns. A shocking 19 percent thought that "rape [is] an expected part of military service."

Source

No hugs please

Somewhat "harmless", yet very annoying!
Here are some advice against people (mostly male family members) who insist on giving all women they meet a "friendly" bear hug.
Both methods here may indeed prove effective, one "a little" less subtle than the other ...

Story:
Dear Abby: May I offer a method that's fast, effective and creates very little attention: When Uncle Harry approaches with open arms, the woman should hold her upper arms close to her chest and slide her forearms up and in front of her breasts. Clenching her fists will provide strength to her upper arms. This position will protect her breasts from contact with Uncle Harry and increase the circumference for her upper body, making a bear hug more difficult.

While holding this posture, she should make direct eye contact and firmly say, "No!" Nothing more. A wishy-washy response will not be effective. He may object, cajole or question, but regardless of what he says, or how many times he persists, her only response should be to repeat, "I said, 'No!"' or, "I do not want you to hug me." -- An Old Man Who Knows What Works

Dear Abby: I know a lady who had the same problem, and after three warnings, she finally became fed up. She was a black belt in karate. Needless to say, it worked like a charm. And after another woman did the same thing to the man, he started being an even better "Christian." -- On the Ladies' Side in N.Y.

Source

No kidding...

A 30-year-old salaryman was riding on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line in Tokyo recently when he decided to make a pass at the woman sitting beside him. So he reached over and began fondling her thigh. Although she resisted, he kept at it for more than 10 minutes.

The man was collared on the train, then arrested on molestation charges, and has recently appeared in court.

"Did you really think you could have your way with the victim despite her resistance?" his lawyer asked while he was on the stand.

"That had crossed my mind," he told the court.

"His explanation that he thought he could make out with a resisting woman shows a complete misunderstanding of female psychology."

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No.... Are you saying women don't like being fondled by strangers? Strange creatures!
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Source

Domestic violence, Bangladesh

Figures like these really makes a painful read:

At least 3,043 women died in different incidents of domestic violence last year and of them, 1041 victims committed suicide, according to a report released by the Mass-line Media Centre (MMC) recently.

Repression and sexual harassment led most women to take their own lives while rape and abduction were identified as most common violations of child rights in 2005.

The women fell victim to repression and violence mainly because of dowry, conflicts in conjugal life and poverty, said the report.

During the one year period from January to December, a total of 54,954 women fell victim to different forms of rights violations.

The report said 875 women were raped during the period and 165 were killed after rape. And 275 rape incidents, the highest at divisional level, took place in Rajshahi.

Some 1235 women fell victim to repression over dowry. Of them, 505 victims were killed and 428 others injured. Rajshahi division witnessed the most such incidents.

The forms of repression include beating, stabbing, acid attack, burning and forced starvation, the report said.

Source