Homeless

Unusual? Just because attacks on prostitutes and homeless people don't get reported to authorities, doesn't make them unusual.

Story:
California -- A homeless woman fought off a would-be rapist in Mountain View this week, an attack police described as unusual.

The attack happened about 3:30 a.m. Monday. The woman, sleeping in bushes, began to scream for help when a man tried to pull off her sleeping bag.

The assailant began strangling the woman and sexually assaulted her before fleeing. Her screams alerted someone in the neighborhood, who in turn called police.

Some formerly homeless local residents say sexual assaults on homeless women are pervasive but simply never reported to the police.

"For women out there, there's always people coming on to them, all the time," said an outreach worker.

A former homeless woman in Palo Alto, said women living on the streets frequently have to fight off unwanted advances. Men approached her regularly, she said.

Reportedly, the most dangerous time is the first week of each month, when some predators spend welfare and Social Security checks on drugs and alcohol.

Source

The 'Milky' Way

Can't help it, but I have quite a soft spot for fighter girls like this :-)
Drink you milk kids!

Story ("Milk-do" - or 'The Way Of The Milk'):
Massachusetts -- A 14-year-old Fairhaven girl fought off a man who first offered her a ride in his truck and then tried to grab her near a boat ramp early yesterday afternoon.

The girl said she was walking when a man in his early 30s pulled up and asked if she needed a ride. She refused, but the man allegedly began following her in his truck. As she neared the parking lot of the Pease Park boat ramp, he pulled in front of her, blocking her way, police said.

The teenager told police the man then got out of his truck and walked up behind her. He grabbed her by the back of the arm, trying to get her to stop, and said, "Come on and get in my car."

The girl struck her attacker in the face with a container of milk she was carrying, causing him to let go. When he tried to grab her arm a second time, she kneed him in the groin.

The man (wisely) gave up and the girl ran home to report the incident.

Source

False reports

In New South Wales, Australia, about 30 people faked their own kidnappings in the past year.

Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures show that NSW has the highest recorded kidnapping rate in the country, with 6.9 abductions per 100,000 people.

However, the bureau's report found that of the 238 cases of alleged abduction reviewed by researchers, only 57 per cent involved an actual abduction.

About one-third of victims experienced an attempted abduction and 4 per cent of cases did not fall into the legal description of abduction. In 7 per cent of cases, either no abduction took place or a false report was given to police.

There were 422 recorded abductions between October 2005 and September 2006. That would suggest about 30 people falsified kidnappings last year.

Source

'Mall-Wart'?

Quite alarming statistics regarding Wal-Mart ...

Story:
Wal-Mart complexes experience a significant number of police incidents, more so than at other shopping complexes. This is according to a national study published less than a year ago by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union at WakeUpWalMart.com.

The study examined police reports associated with 551 Wal-Mart stores across the country. It collected data from 404 police departments from 434 cities and towns.

The study demonstrates that nationally, Wal-Mart stores cost local taxpayers an estimated $77 million in increased police costs in 2004.

What the report calls "magnet for crime" is not limited to merely in-store crimes like shoplifting and check forgery. Included is also violent and serious crimes including rape, attempted rape, aggravated assault, burglary, auto-theft, arson, narcotics, kidnapping and murder.

The report shows that there were 1,024 auto thefts reported at Wal-Mart stores, 154 sex crimes, 23 kidnappings or attempted kidnappings and 1,145 assaults with a deadly weapon.

Source

Stockholm stats

A recent report from the 'Center for Public Health' shows that there was 6800 cases of assault on women reported to police in Stockholm during 2006 (in average 19 cases per day). There was 1178 rapes, on average 3 reports per day.

Two thirds of the women was subject to assault indoor, often by a spouse or family member. Karen Leander (who wrote the report) criticise the media for giving a false image of violence towards women. Media tend to spread the idea that women are being assaulted and raped by strangers, outside in the dark, she says.

She goes on to state that even rapes and assaults outdoors are, for a major part, being carried out by someone the victim knows.

Another washroom incident

Florida -- A man in his 20s was spotted lurking inside a clubhouse in Miramar.

According to detectives, the man grabbed a female housekeeper in the men's room, bent her arm behind her back and raised her skirt, tearing it.

"The subject entered the bathroom and basically tried to pin her into one of the stalls," a police spokesman said.

"At that point, there was a confrontation and the subject tried to lift her dress, tried to reach in under her dress and she was able, at that point, to fight him off."

Source

Alcohol

I may enjoy a drink or two now and then - more and more seldom I might add. Still I have no problem seeing the potential dangers connected with alcohol consumption.

Story:
Guam -- Alcohol is the number one drug of choice among Guam's adolescents, and used by more young adults than any other illicit drug.

According to recent studies published in the medical journal, The Lancet, alcohol ranks among the five most dangerous drugs in our society. It has been ranked as being more dangerous than illegal drugs like marijuana or ecstasy.

Source

A target

A brilliant conclusion by the police: "Investigators believe the would-be robbers had figured out that the victim was depositing a large amount of money and waited for her to arrive at the bank."
Nooo! Really? Wow ... Do you mean it wasn't random?

Story:
California -- An employee at a Starbucks in El Segundo, was attempting to deposit money from the business when the assailants approached her at 11:50 a.m. in Manhattan Beach.

The woman was struck several times, but refused to let go of her backpack as a suspect tried to grab it from her. She held on real tight, and yelled 'help' as loud as she could. She continued screaming as she fought off the men, prompting people in the parking lot to call police.

Source

(No rest) restaurant restroom

California -- A 26-year-old man entered a restaurant south of St. Helena, Napa Valley by the side door. This was on March 26. He then went straight to the women's bathroom and entered the back stall and removed his clothes.

A woman came into the bathroom and saw the suspect standing there naked. The attacker grabbed her and tried to pull her inside the back stall. The woman spun around and was able to break loose from his grip.

Her sweater got torn in the process. The woman ran from the bathroom.

Just as that was happening, a woman in another stall came out and the assailant grabbed her and tried to pull her into the back stall.

She was fighting him off when some men, who had heard the noise, came in and wrestled the man to the ground.

The woman who was in the stall heard the commotion between the man and the first woman, but thought it was just some girls playing around.

Both women had visible injuries to their arms, according to the report.

Source

(Not too) cleaver clever

Pretending to be an express courier, a 24-year-old robber was permitted entry in a trading company in Hong Kong.

He then tried to attack the receptionist with a stun gun but she fought back. The stun gun dropped to the ground in the scuffle.

When the "stunner" bent to pick it up, a sharp cleaver he hid in his trousers pierced an artery in his thigh. The man tried to flee but collapsed in a pool of blood. He died of major blood loss.

Source

Mobile theft capital

UK -- A survey has revealed that Glasgow is the mobile phone theft capital of the British Isles.

With one in five cases involving phones being snatched from bags, almost a third of people living in the city have had their mobile stolen.

The study also shows phone thieves are most likely to strike in the evenings; the months April and August had the highest rates of phone theft in the city, and one in five admitted falling victim while on night out.

Source

Usually been drinking

You must be kidding; Consuming alcohol and walking alone through a secluded area at night "may increase the chances of being attacked". Wow, that is a huge surprise...

Story:
Edinburgh, Scotland -- Every week, according to police, one person is assaulted in the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links. The total number of (recorded) crimes in the area has soared from 68 in 2003-4 to 166 in 2006-7 according to police.

The majority of victims of serious assaults and hold-ups have usually been drinking, and they are white males aged between 21 and 25. They are mostly attacked by gangs of youths aged under 20 - many culprits in their mid teens.

"Pedestrians walking through the area at night after consuming alcohol may be increasing their chances of being attacked as they are less aware of their surroundings and therefore more vulnerable (...)"

Source

Internet predators

The (Australian) federal government body NetAlert, along with ninemsn, have done a survey, showing that boys were more willing to share information and more trusting of people they met online than girls.

Subsequently they have warned parents their sons are just as likely to be preyed on by internet predators as their daughters.

A NetAlert spokesperson have stated that "(...) boys are just as much at risk from online dangers, including predators, as girls."

Source

Hotel rooms

In the eyes of a perpetrator, a hotel room is a "perfect" place for criminal activities - it's secluded and you can lock the door. Plus, people are used to a certain level of noise. In a sense it is "private" - kind of like domestic disturbances coming form a neighbor.

Story:
A female guest reported a male maid sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Middletown. She said the man came into her room around noon Saturday and fondled her in the bathroom.

When she tried to make him leave, he pushed her into a corner and attempted to kiss her, according to a police report.

Source

Hazards at work, 42

Jamaica -- Three male students allegedly attempted to rape a female teacher at a Kingston high School yesterday.

A source said the teacher was taking a Grade 10 class in a building to the back of the school, called 'the temple', when the boys - the only ones who had turned up for the class - reportedly started saying things which made the teacher feel uncomfortable.

The teacher reportedly set the afternoon's work on the board and started to leave, but was allegedly blocked by the boys.

"One of them held her hands behind her and another held her around her waist, she literally had to fight her way from them," the source said, adding that the teacher was so distraught, she had been crying all afternoon.

Source

A discovery

My kind of woman completely - this is one smart and tough mama :-)

Story:
Canada -- A Moose Jaw woman credits the Discovery Channel with saving her life after tips she learned on a program about shark attacks helped her fend off an intruder who broke into her apartment in Medicine Hat.

The 27-year-old female was alone in her home around 4:30 p.m. March 25 when she was confronted by a man armed with a crowbar, duct tape and handcuffs.

"I poked him in the eye like you do to a shark that’s attacking you," she said. "I was also trying to fish-hook my fingers inside his lips because I know that hurts. I scratched his hands really good and got as much of my blood on him as possible because I knew he’d have to have my DNA on him and I’d have to have his DNA on me for there to be any evidence."

Source

Snatch and run

Snatch and run - almost sounds like a slogan: Thieves-R-Us.
Seriously, why does women A. keep all their important things - house keys, credit cards, ID, etc. - inside a purse, and B. leave the purse on the seat beside them? How about making it just a tiny bit harder for the criminals? Why not put the important items in the glove department, and leave a "decoy purse" on the seat?

Story:
Four women have become victims of snatch and run thefts in Istanbul following an attack on Republican People's Party deputy Zeynep Damla Gürel.

Thieves who take advantage of traffic jams that occur on the streets specifically target the lone female drivers of luxury vehicles. The assailants flee after breaking car windows, typically with a spark plug, and taking the victims' purses.

Source

Fighting food

Some people seems to belong on the inside of a prison - and no, they're not the ones working there ...

Story:
Turkey -- On the day he was released from prison in Izmir after serving time for purse snatching, a 24-year-old man was taken into custody for trying to snatch the purse of 54-year-old woman.

The incident occurred Saturday evening in Izmir. The newly released purse-snatcher chose the woman, who was on her way out of the mall, as a victim.

After sneaking up from behind her, he tried to snatch her purse by pulling on it; however, the woman resisted so he tried to take her down.

The woman hit the purse-snatcher on his head with the grocery she had and began yelling for help. The man panicked and tried to escape.

He was captured by police teams patrolling the area shortly after the police was notified of his purse-snatching attempt.

Source

Hazards at work, 41

And of course any teacher who lay hands on these "poor kids" would find themselves in trouble, right?

Story:
Yet another teacher was assaulted at violence-plagued West Philadelphia High School - the seventh in two weeks and at least the 18th this school year.

Around 11 a.m., a trash fire was set in an unoccupied classroom, one in a series of small blazes set by students in protest of the removal of the principal this week.

Students were evacuated and when one teacher tried to tell students to get off a car, a ninth-grade girl punched him in the jaw, police said. Another girl and a boy also tried to hit the 53-year-old teacher, a long-term substitute.

Source

A high price

I find it really strange that such an initiative should be so hard to implement - this includes Norway, where I come from. If something obviously is funded by criminal activities, then just let the state confiscate it! You say its yours? Well then, prove it ...

Story:
UK -- Criminals who think they can cash in on their crimes are being warned to think again.

The force-wide initiative is a major push to seize the assets of lawbreakers, whether they are low-level offenders or the Mr Bigs of the criminal world.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, police can seize cash or goods if they are believed to be criminal property or used to commit crime. Already, £3m has been seized by Northumbria Police since the operation started last April.

Source

Restrooms

Sweden - A woman has reported to police that she was raped by an acquaintance at a public restroom in Stockholm Monday evening.

This was the second rape committed in a public restroom during a period of just two days in the Swedish capital.

Source

Hazards at work, 40

Norway -- A social service client in Vaaler went berserk during a meeting there on February 23.

The man threw furniture around the room and assaulted a female employee who came to see what was going on.

Wandering around the office, the enraged man threatened to kill three members of the staff.

Police later arrested the man.

A kid will remember

It could be wise to reflect on this story, next time an adult wonders if a child simply makes up a story. We may begin to wonder since a child seemingly remembers so many details.
Yes, a few kids make up a story to get attention, or cover up something else. Most however, do not.

Story:
On a Monday night in January, Mitchell Hults received a phone call from his friend's dad. "He called me and asked if I'd seen Ben or if Ben had been on the bus," says Mitchell, 15, of Beaufort, Mo.

Mitchell had seen Ben Ownby on the school bus. He also saw something unusual when Ben got off the bus -- a strange white pickup truck.

"I know pretty much all the cars that come down here," Mitchell says of the rural area in which he lives.

Mitchell told Ben's dad, and then the police, about the white pickup. He remembered it was a Nissan, and even knew the places where the truck had dents and rust. He also remembered what his friend was wearing when he disappeared.

Ben, 13, had been kidnapped, but was found by police four days after his abduction, along with Shawn Hornbeck, 15, who vanished four years ago. Michael Devlin was arrested for kidnapping Ben and Shawn, and is in jail awaiting trial. Mitchell's description was a huge help, and two officers recalled it when they saw Devlin's truck.

It may seem surprising that a kid could remember so many details. But safety instructor Tom Patire wasn't surprised. "Adults have so much going through their minds, they get mixed up in the description," Patire says, whereas a kid will remember.

Source

Hazards at work, 39

Australia -- A 48-year-old woman punched a 26-year-old male nurse in the face and repeatedly struck him with her walking stick on December 8, 2003 because she was irate about having to wait for hospital treatment, a court has heard.

The hostile woman wanted to be seen "immediately" when she arrived at the Royal Brisbane Hospital's psychiatric ward about 2:40pm.

However, the woman was left to wait and as the nurse emerged from one of the wards she yelled out "you Scottish bastard". "The complainant had an Irish accent," the prosecutor told the court.

The accused then struck the nurse's face with a clenched fist before repeatedly hitting him with her black walking cane as if it were a baseball bat. She was yelling obscenities ... he was walking backwards trying to stop the blows, calling for security.

He was fearful because she wouldn't stop. She was eventually brought to the ground before others helped restrain her.

Source

Scary attitudes

Arcane moral values and scary attitudes towards women are being presented in a recent report from a research group at the Norwegian Attorney General.

The report shows that several jury members in rape cases often times will question the moral character of the female victim - "nice girls don't act like this", seems to be a common allegation. Members of the jury will many times challenge the actions of the victim prior to the alleged rape.

On the other hand, the defendant may likely get sympathy from these jury members.

The people in this report had been jury members in six cases which had overturned a previous court sentence.

One may really begin to wonder the jury selection process ...

"Poor kid"

Sweden -- How dare these pesky teachers harass a "poor kid" like this. Since the kids are allowed to do exactly as they please at home, they sure can't expect to do less at school, right?

So, we must consider if this 45-year-old teacher had it coming when he told a 19-year-old student to remove his caps in class.

The student probably had a bad hair day, so he assaulted the nagging teacher, trying to choke him (probably just trying to get him to "shut the f*** up").

The poor, helpless, freezing kid - being shown so little respect - was arrested by police.

Seriously, how are these youngsters brought up at home?

Hazards at work, 38

Oh yes, that's a fine way to raise your children - a swell mother and outstanding citizen indeed!

Story:
UK -- A shop assistant has been attacked by an angry customer who threw a bottle at her after complaining about the price of her shopping.

Witnesses said there was blood 'all over the floor' when the shop worker was attacked by the woman who was with her two children.

The shopper hit out at the assistant at Savers Health and Beauty in Woolwich at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The woman had been turned away from the shop because she had become abusive, saying "I'll knock you out".

She exploded when the price of her shopping came to £51, and returned 20 minutes later when staff again refused to serve her. The shopper then turned violent.

"We refused to serve her so she kicked off, started running her pram into other customers. She called us racist. Then she threw a bottle at me, a full bottle of water. It must have been the lid that hit me because it cut into my head and there was blood all over my head."

The shop assistant says she has been suffering from headaches since the incident.

Source

Paranoid?

Maybe it's a bit paranoid to look into your vehicle before entering?
Or maybe it's a good idea? After all things like this happen to someone ...
And this someone could never be you or me, right?

Story:
Tennessee -- Sheer terror greeted a woman early Sunday as she drove away from a Memphis gas station and a carjacker popped up in her car's back seat.

The woman had filled up at the a gas station about 3 a.m. When she went inside to pay the carjacker got into her car. As she drove away from the station he attacked her.

The woman fought with the suspect, then jumped from her moving vehicle and ran toward the store, police said.

Instead of driving away with the car, the carjacker turned it around and began chasing her. The woman was able to evade the carjacker by running between two buildings. The suspect then drove off.

Source

Hazards at work, 37

A 34-year-old Arizona man has been charged with assaulting two crew members aboard a flight from Phoenix to Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Saturday, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority police.

The man assaulted the crew members aboard the America West flight that landed at BWI around 4 p.m. Saturday. The man, who may have been under the influence of alcohol, had to be restrained with flexicuffs.

Source

Asking for directions

Asking for directions is a very common way to distract a potential victim...

Story 1:
West Virginia -- City police are working to determine if a possible abduction attempt in Martins Ferry late Sunday involved the man wanted in the recent abduction and rape of a Wheeling girl.

The suspect wanted in the abduction of the Wheeling girl also is believed to have been responsible for the attempted abduction of a Martins Ferry teen on Feb. 18. In both of those instances, the suspect asked the victim for directions before attacking them.

According to a report from the Martins Ferry Police Department, the suspect in Sunday's incident pulled along side the teen, and he became aggravated when she would not answer his questions. The report does not indicate what was asked.

Story 2:
Illinois -- Chicago Police are looking for two people who attempted to abduct a woman in the Hyde Park area on the South Side on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old woman was walking in the area about 10 p.m. Tuesday when a man asked her for directions, then grabbed her as she approached his vehicle. A struggle ensued and the woman was able to flee from the offender.

Story 3:
New Zealand -- Police are looking for a man in his late 20s or early 30s who attempted to get a 15 year old girl into his car in Wainuiomata last night.

Lower Hutt Police said the girl was walking home alone around 6.50pm when the man approached her in a car and asked for directions.

After giving him directions she carried on but a short time later noticed the same vehicle approach and stop in the middle of the road.

Police said the driver aggressively demanded she get into the vehicle the girl responded by screaming out which caused the man to drive away.

Source (1) - Source (2) - Source (3)

Hazards at work, 36

Seems like this guy didn't want to be released from prison.

Story:
Louisiana -- A 70-year-old Dixon Correctional Institution inmate is accused of choking and attempting to rape a woman security officer at the Jackson prison Friday.

The inmate, who was arrested in 1984 and sent to Angola four years later on an attempted murder conviction, had been respected by security officers and other inmates alike, a warden said. The man was scheduled to be released in 2009.

The woman officer, who momentarily blacked out during the attack but regained consciousness to fend off the rape attempt, was not seriously injured, the warden said.

The attack occurred shortly after 10 a.m. as the officer and the inmate worked in a canteen at one of the two main housing units of the prison, bagging items for sale to inmates when the canteen would open.

The inmate is accused of using a bandanna from the canteen's inventory to temporarily subdue the officer, but she was able to resume her struggle as "he tried to take advantage of her," the spokesman said.

"She fought her way out of there," the spokesman said, adding that the officer eventually put out a call for help on her radio.

Source

Raised no flags

Sadly, even if you follow all security procedures, there's no way to avoid "smart" criminals.

Story:
Missouri -- Authorities continued their search Wednesday for a 48-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a 24-year-old real estate agent while pretending to be in the market to buy a house.

The man, formerly of Las Vegas, was released January 23 from a Texas prison after serving a five-year sentence for bank fraud.

Using an alias, he allegedly pulled out a handgun about 5 p.m. Sunday when he and the real estate agent were in the basement of a house in Weldon Spring. Wilson handcuffed the woman to a pole and sexually assaulted her. The assailant also allegedly put a knife to her throat.

The woman was later found by her husband and co-workers.

Source

Hazards at work, 35

Denmark -- It was close to 4 a.m. in the morning in central Copenhagen, when a man attempted to rape a woman delivering newspapers.

The 24-year-old woman was halfway through her round when a man accosted her at a street corner and offered her money.

When the woman refused his offer, the man assaulted her. He punched her to the face several times and forced her to the ground.

The woman was screaming as the perpetrator managed to remove the her pants. Luckily, a witness was awakened by the noise. As the witness opened his windows to see what was going on, the perpetrator took off.

Source

UN report critisises Sweden

Sweden -- According to gotlandstidningar.se, a resent UN report criticises the Swedish government, stating more should be done to protect Swedish women against violence.

The reported number of crimes against women in Sweden is on the rise. During the month of January (2007), there were 60 more instances of rape and 200 more instances of assault being reported to police compared to the same period in 2006.

On a total, there was 3 250 reported instances of such crimes being reported during January 2007.

Not paying attention

Illinois -- A 19-year-old Millikin University student fought off a would-be robber about 7:45 p.m. Friday.

The young woman told police she was walking from her apartment to a friend's apartment, Decatur police said.

"She was trying to text message a friend on her cell phone and wasn't paying a lot of attention to her surroundings," a police spokesman said. "A man came up behind her and grabbed her purse. She tried to run but the assailant grabbed the front of her shirt."

The woman punched her assailant in the upper body and ran back to her apartment where she called university security personnel. The would-be robber left empty-handed.

Source

Hazards at work, 34

Sweden -- Threats and violence against Uppsala ambulance personnel is far more widespread than what the official statistics show, according to unt.se.

In fact, violence is such a regular occurrence that many don't bother to press charges or even file reports, according to health personnel.

Patients starting to fight during rescue operations, threats and violence from bystanders, drunken people interfering during the Weekends, and even assaults with axes and knives, are just some of the examples.

Classic distraction

Here's a classic distraction technique, involving two or more perpetrators. This incident describes a carjacking, but similar methods is used in thefts and robberies as well.

Story:
California -- The 4:03 p.m. carjacking occurred in a Kmart parking.

A 24-year-old man pulled into the lot in his car Saturday afternoon, when a woman approached and began a conversation, according to Antioch police.

While they spoke, the gunman climbed into the driver's-side passenger door, held a revolver to the back of driver's head and ordered him to empty his pockets.

The gunman then ordered the driver out of the vehicle, which he then stole. The woman fled in another vehicle.

Source

Hazards at work, 33

Sweden -- A bus driver in Umeaa was assaulted Saturday night by an unruly passenger - a drunken male in his 50s.

The passenger claimed the driver was playing music too loud, and subsequently hit the driver with a shoe.

The driver was not badly injured from the assault, and the man was later arrested by police.

Source

'Peas-keeper'

Here's your new self-defense weapon "the peas-keeper" :-)
Brilliant teamwork, I'd say!

Story:
UK -- Two plucky pensioners foiled a chip shop robber with a bowl of mushy peas and a pan of boiling hot water, a court heard today.

The 21-year-old robber stormed in with a hammer and jumped over the counter of shop in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

The masked raider struck the 65-year-old male owner on the head and shoulder before his 61-year-old partner came into the room with a bowl of peas. She threw the peas at the robber causing him to slip over.

The robber got back to his feet and tried to open the cash till but was stopped in his tracks as the couple picked up a pan of water and launched it at him.

The raider ran out of the shop empty-handed and was later found to have suffered burns to his right arm, chest and neck, which needed hospital treatment.

Source

Hazards at work, 32

Story 1:
A 15-year-old girl punched her teacher 10 times in the face and chest Tuesday morning after the teacher tried to take her cell phone away, police and MPS officials said.

A stricter ban on cell phones went into effect last month in Milwaukee Public Schools after several students used their phones to call outsiders to participate in fights.

Police said the student at Fritsche Middle School's LEAP program was talking on the phone during class when the teacher, a 54-year-old female, tried to confiscate it.

She wound up with a "chipped tooth and pain and redness in the face," an MPS spokeswoman said.

---

Story 2:
Another Philadelphia schoolteacher has been the victim of a vicious attack by students.
Joseph Smith, a teacher at the Deburgos School in North Philadelphia, said on Thursday he was attacked by a 14-year-old girl.

"Our kids have no belief and respect, no respect. There's no respect for authority," Smith said.

He was attacked after he said a 14-year-old female student grabbed a classroom phone to make prank calls and refused to stop. Smith said the girl hit him with the telephone and then hit him again with a dictionary, before more students joined in on the attack.

The attack comes a week after a Germantown High School teacher had his neck broken allegedly by two students.

Another teacher told NBC 10 News that his jaw was broken by a student at West Philadelphia High School in November.

The beatings come as a new report on violence in Philadelphia schools is released.

Source 1
Source 2

Busted

In one word: Respect. This gent is really something! Karate, kung-fu, who cares - this is just one tough dude.

Story ('Karate kick Buster, 100, floors gang'):
Britain's oldest worker told on Wednesday how he fought off a gang of would-be muggers – using kung fu. Buster Martin showed that, even at 100, he still knew how to handle himself when he was confronted by the teenagers after a night at the pub.

The World War II veteran scared his three attackers so much they fled empty-handed. Mr Martin, a car washer-cum-mechanic, said: 'They just came at me and pushed me against a wall and tried to take my money from me.

'Then they pushed me on the floor and I went mad. I was lashing out on the floor and then I stood up and was kicking them all.

'I pushed one and kung fu kicked the other one between the legs and he let out a scream. They ran off scared after I did that and I still had all my money.'

Source

More music

Australia -- Police investigating a sexual assault in Sydney have warned women wearing iPods to stay alert to what is going on around them.

The 22-year-old victim had been listening to music on her iPod and was unaware a man had followed her from Town Hall Station to her work about 9:15 a.m. on February 20.

Police say the man indecently assaulted her in a stairwell leading from the foyer to the first floor, before she managed to fight him off and run to a nearby shop for help.

She returned to work and immediately contacted police, who are treating the case as an attempted sexual assault.

Source

Entering your car

Entering you house or your car is the moment you should be aware - unfortunately many are not. We are often preoccupied by things we are going to do, rather than what we are doing right there and then.
Criminals are aware of the fact, and may strike at that point.

Story:
Indiana -- Police on Wednesday night released a composite sketch of a male they believe raped, robbed and carjacked an Indianapolis woman this week and had received numerous tips after that release.

The woman told police that she had just returned to her car in a downtown parking garage after work Monday when a male approached her, told her he had a weapon and forced her to drive him to a bank. The attacker made her withdraw money and raped her before she escaped, police said.

Also Wednesday, police said they're checking similarities between Monday's rape and an unsolved rape of a teacher in 2006.

Police said the teacher had just entered her car to leave the Sycamore School in April when a male entered the vehicle, pulled out a gun and told her to drive.

The gunman forced the teacher to drive to a nearby neighborhood before sexually assaulting her in the car, police said. Then they drove to a bank, where he made her withdraw money from an automated teller machine, police said.

They then drove to a different school and raped her in the car, according to police. The gunman then left the teacher, taking the money, her driver's license and her cell phone.

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Multiple strategies

Research has clearly shown that your odds increase if you use multiple strategies in defending yourself. Here's a great example.
I would also like to praise this young woman for her will to fight back, and by doing so, getting this perpetrator off the streets.

Story:
California -- A 33-year-old man, whose injuries matched those inflicted by a woman on an attacker who attempted to rape her, was arrested Tuesday.

On Saturday at approximately 3:45 p.m. a man entered a model home and asked the 19-year-old woman working there if he could use the bathroom.

The man exited the bathroom and after mumbling a few words to the victim, lunged at her, grabbing her by the neck.

As she fought back, the young woman was thrown into a back office where her pants were ripped as the attacker attempted to remove them.

Fighting the attacker off, she managed to dial 911 on a desk phone and her screams were heard. The man ripped the phone from the wall but the call was responded to by Apple Valley deputies.

They found the woman bleeding and suffering from injuries to the head and neck. She had stopped her attacker by kicking and scratching him. She had also bit the attacker’s index finger before he fled.

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'A-door-able'

Florida -- A woman slammed a man's arm in her front door after he barged into her apartment and tried to sexually assault her, a spokesman of the Tallahassee police said.

The 20-year-old woman was at her home about 11:20 a.m. when she heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, a man she didn't know forced his way inside, and the two struggled.

He grabbed her, ripped her shirt and tried to take off her pants, police said. She fought back, slamming his arm in the door several times before she got him out.

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Hazards at work, 31

A French television host, accused of attacking and sexually harassing Air France cabin staff while under the influence of alcohol, will appear in court next month, a court official said on Monday.

The man was detained on Sunday after returning from a visit to South Africa. According to French media, witnesses said he insulted cabin staff on board an Air France flight to South Africa on February 13, fondled a fellow passenger and slapped an air steward who tried to prevent him from drinking.

He was forcibly restrained, finishing the flight tied to his seat, media said, and cabin staff filed charges against him.

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Fought him off

Australia -- A serial rapist may be at work in Brisbane. In the second sex attack within a week, an 18-year-old woman managed to fight off a man who entered her home yesterday afternoon in East Brisbane, and tried to rape her.

There were striking similarities between the incident and the rape of a woman on Tuesday of last week – in the method of attack and description of the offender.

In yesterday's incident, the woman answered a knock at her front door at 2:40 p.m. to a man asking about her house being up for sale.

The woman gave the man a card but would not allow him in and told him to leave. A few minutes after she had closed the door and returned to her lounge room, the man, believed to be in his late 20s to early 30s, appeared and dragged her into a rear bedroom.

The pair struggled throughout the house before she fought him off, kicking him in the groin. When she pulled a carving knife out of a kitchen drawer, he ran out the front.

The man was described as about 177cm tall, with a slim but athletic build.

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A coincidence?

Just a coincidence that this woman believed she was being followed, then notices she's got a flat tire, and then just out of nowhere the man shows up to "help her fix" the tyre ...?

Story:
New Jersey -- A 31-year-old Easton man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly kidnapped his ex-girlfriend and then tried to sexually assault her.

Authorities said the 26-year-old Hillsborough Township woman believed the man was following her Tuesday as she drove into Franklin Township and then noticed she had a flat tire.

The victim pulled into a motel and asked the manager to call 911 if he noticed anyone following her. She then drove away and pulled into a nearby service station.

Authorities said that's when the suspect pulled up and offered to fix the flat tire as the woman tried to make other arrangements to get home.

The suspect allegedly shoved her into his car and locked the doors before driving away with her. At some point he tried to sexually assault her. The woman escaped from the car at a red light and called 911, authorities said.

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Didn't feel right

Illinois - It started off as an ordinary walk to school Wednesday, just like others the 13-year-old Peoria girl has taken countless times. But something didn't feel right.

She looked over her shoulder and saw a man she didn't know walking not far behind her.

No one else was around on this overgrown path next to railroad tracks in a wooded, secluded area in the city's North Valley.

She looked behind her again. He quickened his pace. Her heart beat faster. She started running, knowing she was trapped.

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Shin kick

Does it hurt to get a solid kick i the shins? Well why don't you just slam your leg into something hard and pointy to find out?

Story:
Australia -- A teenage girl was walking to a school bus stop in Orelia (Perth) when she was grabbed by a well dressed man who had moments earlier stopped and asked for directions.

The quick thinking 13-year-old was pulled to within a metre of her attacker's car when she managed to break free.

"I was thinking how I could get away and what to do if he got me in the car,'' she said.

"I kicked him in the shin as hard as I could. He bent over and grunted and let go of me.''

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More (un)safe deposits

North Carolina -- A Fayetteville gas station manager fought off a man trying to rob her of the station's nightly deposit Friday at a bank near a mall.

The man walked up to the woman while she was depositing the day's cash at Bank of America and pointed a gun at her, police said.

The two struggled, and the manager managed to get the cash into the deposit box.

After she did, the man hit her in the head with the butt of his gun, then ran off. Police said the woman had minor injuries.

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Shock waves

The number of attempted child abductions in Northern Ireland has rocketed by more than 50% in two years, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

Incidents reported to police as 'attempted child abduction' totalled a shock 71 last year, compared to 49 in 2005 and 42 in 2004.

The figures sent shock waves through the community last night - with calls for more action to be taken to protect children.

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Unsafe deposit

California -- A businessman en route to make a deposit in Antioch was robbed in a bank parking lot Tuesday afternoon.

The 3:24 p.m. robbery occurred at a Bank of America branch parking lot. The 59-year-old victim had exited his vehicle when a pickup truck pulled up.

A man exited the passenger side, sprayed the victim in the face with peppers spray and tried to grab a deposit bag. The victim fought back but the assailant overwhelmed him.

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Hazards at work, 30

As a corruption probe begins in New Zealand prisons, there is evidence an increasing number of guards and their families are living in fear.

New Corrections figures show a record nine prison officers called on police for protection last year.

One family was removed from its home and put into protective custody.

The Corrections Association president says threats to staff are increasing, along with beefed up prison security.

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He acted that way

I commend this woman for fighting back and probably saving her own life.
But seriously, does anyone believe that self-defense/fighting back is as easy as it looks on television?
There's however another far more interesting observation here:
"I was aware of him, I saw him there. I thought he was a caretaker at the cemetery. He acted that way."
Most likely, if you are being that aware about someone, your intuition has told you that something is not right!
Think about it, we will register that someone has legitimate business being around us - like in working there.
If, however we are being aware of the person, there might absolutely be something else we have noticed. This may be that the person acts like it. Really, this phrase alone tells the whole story - acting. This woman has seen already that this was not real.

Story:
Texas -- A 43-year-old man has been charged with attacking a woman at a Beaumont cemetery.

The 45 year old woman from Beaumont said she was visiting her husband's grave on Valentine's Day when she saw the man who would soon attack her.

"I was aware of him," she told us. "I saw him there. I thought he was a caretaker at the cemetery. He acted that way."

The woman says he struck her with decorative items from her husband's grave."They were square cross luminary lights," she said. "He broke them on me. He beat my head to a pulp. I needed stitches in my forehead, left eye and eyebrow. I spent five days in a hospital. My jaw was injured. I had bruises down my cheeks and behind my ears, and scratches on my shoulders. My hands and arms were bruised."

"I'm alive, that's the main thing," she said. "I thanked my big brother for fighting with me while we were growing up because that made me fight that guy. It isn't as easy as it looks on television, but that definitely saved my life because I think he was going to kill me."

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Hazards at work, 29

North Carolina -- A prisoner at the a Correctional Institute will face attempted rape charges after allegedly attacking a female guard and attempting to rape her in a bathroom at the prison on Sunday.

According to the Lillington Police Department, a female sergeant was working on paperwork in her office when the 40-year-old inmate entered the office. The door to the office automatically shut when he entered.

The sergeant was attempting to locate a clothes hanger for the inmate when he began pushing her into a bathroom. She fell to the floor with enough force to tear a bathroom toilet from its permanent mounting on the floor when she hit it with her neck.

Once he had her on the floor, the inmate was attempting to remove the woman's clothes with one hand while he tried to lock the bathroom door with the other.

The guard attempted to use her protective pepper spray to fend the attacker off, but was not successful. She also began screaming for help as she fought off her attacker.

Two prison employees told Lillington police they heard her screams and went to help. They went into the bathroom to find the inmate on top of the woman. They physically removed him and placed him in handcuffs.

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Band of muggers

It is always sad when someone gets killed. Still, I applaud this gentleman for fighting back.
If someone decide to be a criminal, that person should also be prepared to pay the consequences. My sympathy will never be with the criminals ...

Story:
San Jose, Costa Rica: A tour group of U.S. senior citizens fought off a band of muggers in eastern Costa Rica, sending two of the assailants fleeing and killing a third, police said Thursday.

One of the tourists — a retired U.S. serviceman whom officials estimated was in his 70s — allegedly put one assailant in a headlock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus Wednesday, said the police chief of Limon, 130 kilometers east of San Jose.

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Twisted free

Ontario, Canada -- An attempted abduction of the 14-year-old girl has her scared of walking to school during the day.

The incident occurred Friday when the teen was walking to secondary school around 8 a.m. A man pulled up in a red car, got out and tried to grab her. But at five-foot-five and 150 pounds, the teen used her height, weight and self-defence training to her advantage.

"I just knew I didn’t want to get into his car, so I fought back," said the girl. "He grabbed my arm, but I twisted free. Then he grabbed my waist and I just kicked and screamed and elbowed him in the face. Then I ran away."

The girl told South Simcoe police her attacker was in his 20s, about six feet tall. He was clean shaven with a heavy build.

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Women turn to violence

Scary perspectives indeed!
The good part is that more girls and women learn to stand up for themselves if they ever should need it in a physical self-defense situation. The bad part ...

Story:
They graduated from pushing and shoving and name-calling to straight up duking it out. Now a furious debate is on over the reasons girls are fighting and how we can stop it.

The urgency is underscored by the millions of references and thousands of videos of violent fights on the Internet.

The beatings are punishing – fists flying, hair pulling and kicking. This is how more and more girls these days handle disputes.

"Me or my friend bumped into a girl in the lunch line and I didn't say sorry," said a high school senior. "She came at me. We started fighting."

"If you just look at them a certain way, they'll try to fight you," said one high school sophomore.

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Fighting dirty

A University of Florida graduate assistant who was walking toward campus Thursday morning fought off a man who knocked her to the ground and attacked her.

"I chose not to be a victim," said the 23-year-old woman. "I thought to myself, 'I'm not going to let this happen.'"

The woman struggled with the man, who had first asked her for money as she was walking at about 11 a.m., Gainesville Police said. The woman told the man she was sorry, she didn't have anything she could give him, and kept walking.

"He just sort of came up behind me and pushed me to the ground," she said. "I just kept kicking him. My hands were already in the dirt. I grabbed dirt and started throwing the dirt."

When the woman fought back, her attacker let her go and fled.

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Non-lethal weapons

I don't get this at all ...
The US police - at least some places it seems - are armed with guns, but have to ask for special trained officers to get a beanbag shotgun or Taser ...? Wow, I'm speechless.
Mind you, I'm not really talking here about shooting and killing a teen armed with a pair of scissors - strange and senseless as it may be.
What I do find really weird is that they are not provided with less lethal options. Double wow.

Story:
A limited number of nonlethal weapons in the county Police Department arsenal may have led to the fatal shooting of a mentally ill teenager who threatened officers with scissors, a newly released report shows.

The 251-page police report on the May 14 shooting of Justin James Fisher, released last week after a Maryland Public Information Act request by The Capital, reveals new details of the case.

Anne Arundel police have since increased the number of beanbag shotguns issued to officers and are considering buying Tasers - plans that were already in the works before the fatal shooting.

Fifteen minutes before officers shot Mr. Fisher, the report shows, an officer radioed to ask whether someone could bring a beanbag shotgun to the scene so officers wouldn't have to kill him.

But no special-operations officers - the only ones who carried beanbag shotguns at the time - were on duty that midnight shift, the report shows.

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Use the door!

A woman was rescued by a co-worker after she was held at knifepoint by a masked man outside a hardware supply on on Friday evening, Redding police said.

Judith Schmidt, 19, was heading to her car in the store's parking lot after work when an unidentified man grabbed her, held a knife to her throat and forced her into the passenger seat, she said Saturday. Co-worker Theodore Lidgett, 59, had just gotten into his car, which was parked beside Schmidt's, when he saw the assault taking place about 9:20 p.m.

"I heard her scream and when I looked over, I saw a flash of light on the knife," Lidgett said.

Despite the assailant's warning to "get the bleep out of here," Lidgett pulled Schmidt out the passenger-side door. The man then came after Lidgett, who slammed him with the car door a few times.

"I was trying to keep that knife away," Lidgett said. "It was about 9 inches long."

Schmidt suffered a cut to her lower left leg. Lidgett was not injured.

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Illegal cabs

I would not at all suggest this woman asked for it - that would be both grossly unfair and really insensitive. Still, going alone into a car with a total strangers at 3 am in the morning, probably both tired and a little (if not a lot) tipsy ...?
It amazes me that everyone seems to think this is just something they hear about - the "This only happens to others" syndrome.

Norway -- At around 3 a.m. Sunday morning, this woman decided to take an illegal taxi home after a night on town.

The 23-year-old female is taken to another place than the address given to the driver.

According to police, the driver takes his passenger to the new Opera construction site in Oslo where he attempts to rape her.

After fighting back hard the woman manage to escape the ordeal.

(Un)happy slapping

UK -- A gang of teenagers attacked a man in a suspected happy-slapping incident in a busy shopping area.

But the incident turned against the youths as the man fought back and knocked one of them unconscious.

Two of the gang of eight 16 and 17- year-olds had to be taken to hospital and were later arrested.

31-year-old Curtis Mulcare from Brighton said he had been determined not to let the "gang of chavs" get away with attacking him.

The former amateur boxer, said: "I can't believe they attacked me. I'm a big bloke and I wouldn't have thought I was an obvious victim but they've just got no respect for anyone. They thought it was going to be happyslapping but it didn't end up too happy for them."

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Attempted rapist killed

India -- The Delhi High Court today acquitted a 30-year-old woman sentenced to life for killing her molester, holding that her act amounted to self-defence and not murder.

It was held that Simmi, a resident of Daryaganj was only trying to protect herself and did not "intend" to murder her assailant.

A Sessions Court had in September 21, 2006 sentenced Simmi to life imprisonment on finding her guilty of bludgeoning her atacker, identified as a vagabond, to death with a heavy stone in the early hours of April 22, 2004.

In her appeal, Simmi, through her counsel, contended that Mastana had attempted to rape her under the influence of alcohol. She had "pushed him away" in self-defence and he had fallen on a stone, fatally injuring himself on the head.

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Hazards at work, 28

I'm willing to bet that this perpetrator tailgated his intended victim. If you start to look at how employees use the doors when they enter back-rooms etc., it is easy to see how this is possible. It is scarily simple when someone is unaware!

A 20-year-old man was charged Saturday with attempted rape in an attack in the backroom of a K-Mart store.

Jackson County prosecutors accused Wilbert L. Hutchinson of following the victim, an employee, into the backroom then hitting and choking her.

According to court records, a security guard spotted Hutchinson as he followed the employee into the backroom and decided to check on the situation. When he arrived, he spotted Hutchinson choking the woman with both hands and trying to pull her pants down.

The security guard used a choke hold to get Hutchinson off the woman.

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Welsh school violence

UK -- Police are called into Welsh schools at least 16 times every day in term time to deal with reported crimes.

And in the past year, they have included serious allegations of rape, indecent assault, grievous bodily harm and possession of weapons and drugs.

Figures released to Wales on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act showed cops went to schools on at least 3,169 occasions last year.

The true figure will be higher, possibly double the number, because two forces refused to provide figures, namely South Wales Police, the largest in the country and Gwent.

North Wales Police recorded a total of 2,384 reports of crimes in schools in their area last year, with the most common being criminal damage, burglary and theft.

The smaller Dyfed-Powys Police recorded 785 occasions they went into schools. They broke the numbers down crime by crime, revealing that last year they had to deal with reports of six rapes, four indecent assaults, eight incidents of GBH, 29 of cannabis possession, 76 of actual bodily harm and 46 assaults.

Along with these, they had countless reports of other crimes, including harassment, thefts and robberies.

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Hazards at work, 27

The streets of Los Angeles are becoming more dangerous for city traffic officers.

Appalled by a growing increase in assaults against the 550 civilian employees who write parking tickets and direct traffic, city officials Monday endorsed state legislation to increase penalties for attackers.

Last week in Hollywood, for example, someone took a baseball bat to the windshield of a traffic enforcement officer's vehicle. Three other cars had their tires slashed. And one officer was pulled from his car and beaten with fists after an alleged assailant did not like the answer to a question he asked.

"This is just an indication of the intense violence our guys experience out there," said Jimmy Price, the city's chief of parking enforcement. "These kinds of situations traumatize our employees and make them reluctant to engage in their activities when they are in the field."

The number of assaults on traffic officers has increased steadily over the last five years, Price told a City Council panel.

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The second ordeal

In short: Read this story! It is about the need to come forward, and the - sometimes enormous - pressure that a victim/witness may face in a court of law.

Story:
A traumatised victim of a child-molesting teacher told last night of her second ordeal - helping bring him to justice.

The woman, now in her 40s, said giving evidence in court brought back the full horror of the abuse.

Fighting back tears, the woman told how her cross-examination by the defence barrister had left her feeling "isolated, violated and bullied".

She said: "The experience of being a witness, cross-examined in a very challenging and adversarial manner by the defending barrister, has had a significant impact on me. His attempts to discredit me and my occupation, has reopened old wounds and hurts."

During the trial, the defending barrister accused her of inventing the allegations because of an infatuation with him, and she broke down several times.

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Hazards at work, 26

A recent attack on a nurse at Marquette Branch Prison suggests officials are classifying dangerous criminals as low-risk to save money, a union leader said.

State police are investigating reports that a 57-year-old rapist assaulted the female nurse on Saturday during an examination for abdominal pain.

The prisoner choked the nurse and threatened her with a razor blade he had concealed in his mouth.

The woman fought back and knocked a phone off the hook, setting off an alarm. Corrections officers subdued the inmate.

The man was assigned to the prison's minimum-security Trusty Division, despite six criminal sexual conduct convictions.

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No push-over

An 82-year-old Seattle man whose walking stick was damaged when he struck a younger man who witnesses say had doused him with lighter fluid is getting a replacement cane from the Seattle Police Officers' Guild.

Gus Jones responded to the January 31 attack by smacking his assailant with his cane. Police say the attacker then ran over to two women, doused them with lighter fluid and lit a match, singeing their coats and one woman's hair. The women were not seriously injured.

The older man survived the ordeal with just a cut to his ring finger. His cane, however, was bent in the attack and rendered unusable.

"Maybe if he didn't take the action he did, more people could've been hurt," a police spokesman said. "He was going to fight back -- he wasn't going to be a passive victim."

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Hazards at work, 25

India -- The State may claim to have a lion’s share in the national cotton industry, but those who make the ginning wheels run are being subjected to atrocities by unit owners and labour contractors. For thousands of tribal labourers from Rajasthan, who flock to the cotton ginning mills in Gujarat, the situation is only getting worse.

Sixteen-year-old Meena (name changed) from Dungarpur in Rajasthan escaped a rape attempt in the Neminath Cotton Mill in Shekhpur village, Surendranagar district. Her colleagues who came from villages in Dungarpur district were forced to flee without getting paid for their work. There are allegations of harassment, physical assault and sexual harassment against the mill contractor.

Sudhir Katiyar, executive member of Dakshini Rajasthan Majdoor Union (DRMU) said that since November, this was the third case of atrocity against the Rajasthani tribal labourers in the cotton ginning mills of Gujarat. "While the cases of atrocities are rampant, these people are also exploited by mill owners in a big way," Katiyar said, adding that cases of accidents are also very common in these mills. "Apart from number of cases of loss of limbs, as many as four deaths due to accidents in these mills have been reported from Kadi in the last one month alone," he said.

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Not (really) assaulted

It's quite typical how many (if not most) teachers, social workers, nurses, doctors and others in similar professions tend to view some forms of verbal and physical harassment/violence as "nothing serious".

Each episode may not be that damaging, but we tend to forget two major things:
1. The sum of all the episodes may add up to be simply too much to handle.
2. If we accept the "lesser incidents", then we are opening the flood-gates for more serious situations.

This article is from 2002, but it shows what many teachers have to deal with on a daily basis. And this will continue as long as teachers are not allowed to use any form of force what-so-ever, plus being skilled in keeping control - visually, mentally, verbally, non-verbally, strategically and physically.

Story:
She has been kicked, bitten, scratched, pushed and hit - but the Doncaster primary school teacher does not consider she has been assaulted.

It is all part of the job nowadays, she says - "water off a duck's back".

Proposing the motion - which was passed unanimously - The teacher told delegates at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers conference that teachers' human rights were breached on a daily basis as they grew to accept verbal and physical attacks.

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No "clean" fight

Australia -- A woman has told police she used a vacuum cleaner to fight off a man who tried to sexually assault her while she was sleeping in her Gold Coast home.

The 35-year-old Beenleigh woman told police a man entered her room yesterday around 2:40 a.m. and put his hand over her mouth.

She said the man ripped at her clothing during a struggle, and she tried to beat him off with the handle of a vacuum cleaner.

The offender punched the woman in the face before fleeing with her handbag.

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Loan sharking

In his brilliant book: "The Gift of Fear" - you can read more about it here - Gavin De Becker also refers to what a criminal might do or say to get to his victims.
One of those things is what he calls "Loan Sharking"; offering some kind of help or assistance in order to have the intended victim to perceive some sort of "debt". This help can be anything from carrying bags, or like in this incident, fixing a flat tyre.

Story:
It was late September, 1995, and a 22-year-old woman was leaving a shopping mall in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. About the time she noticed she had a flat, a man approached her and offered to fix it.

The man fixed the flat and then asked the woman for a ride.

Perhaps understandably, the woman was willing to return a favor, but as she and the good Samaritan drove she realized he didn't seem to have any place to go. When the young woman refused to drive any further, the man held a screwdriver to her throat.

Luckily, she escaped and was able to flag down another motorist. The abductor took off in the woman’s car.

The good Samaritan turned screwdriver-wielding kidnapper was a man, recently arrested as a suspect in kidnapping a missing 13-year-old girl, called Kaitlin.

Kaitlin disappeared from the small community that sits between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on Thursday, February 1. She apparently vanished just after getting off her school bus.

The suspect is related to the girl by marriage and lives with his wife in a mobile home behind the girl's family residence.

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"A victim tatoo"

Put simply: Read this article in full!

Story:
Hiding pain is one thing. Erasing the scars is quite another.

The rape changed Laurel's understanding of the world. She had nightmares. The world was no longer safe. She became the archetype of a victim - the vulnerable, docile person that violent criminals hone in on.

"I had a victim tattoo on my forehead," Laurel says now.

She was assaulted again during her junior year of high school. It was at a party when she went out to a car with a boy to get more beer and he pulled out a pocket knife.

It's no surprise Laurel again was a sex crime victim, experts say. Someone sexually abused as a child is nearly five times as likely to be raped again, says Lynn Parrish of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the nation's largest anti-sexual-assault organization.

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Fake heart attack

Maine -- A convicted rapist is in custody after an elderly woman says he attacked her and tried to rape her. The attack happened Sunday night at a house in Hampden.

The woman was watching the Super Bowl when she saw a man walk through her house. When she yelled at him, the man attacked her from behind. The attacker then forced her to the bedroom.

Police say that's when the woman faked a heart attack, causing her assailant to panic and try to flee. The woman called the police and he was quickly caught while sitting idly in his vehicle on a nearby road.

In 1984, the man was charged with first degree rape in Alabama and sentenced to 15 years.

The woman was not injured in the attack. Police say her quick thinking by faking a heart attack likely kept her from being sexually assaulted.

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Restroom attack

California -- An 18-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly tried to rape a woman at knifepoint inside a restroom of a fast food restaurant, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 4:16 p.m. Friday at a McDonald's in Cabazon, the Riverside County sheriff's office said.

According to police reports, the entered the restaurant, brandished a box-cutter knife and demanded food from workers.

When he was turned away, he then allegedly followed a 23-year-old woman into the restroom, held her down and attempted to rape her.

The woman's screams alerted customers and workers who came in, stopped the suspect and detained him until police arrived.

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Conservative costs

UK -- Violent sex attackers cost the Northern Ireland economy at least £30m-a-year.

And that figure is "only the tip of the iceberg" according to a major government paper.

'Hidden Crimes, Secret Pain' estimates that the cost to society of each rape or attempted rape at £79,000 - there were 391 such offences in 2005/6.

The costs to provide health treatment alone to the victims of rape annually top £1m.

The report adds that the figures it uses are very conservative: "It should be remembered that the recorded sexual offence statistics represent only the tip of the sexual violence iceberg."

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Eat Snow!

Ohio -- Massillon Police are asking for help in finding a suspect in an apparent abduction attempt that occurred Tuesday afternoon.

"A 14-year-old girl told us a man grabbed her and tried to drag her off," a Massillon police spokesman said. "She said she threw snow in his face and kicked his ankle and was able to get away."

Police says the abduction attempt occurred between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The description given is of a man in his mid-40s, about 5-foot-8, medium build, probably 140 to 150 pounds.

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More light

Feltham, UK -- At 2:20 p.m. Friday a woman was passing a pub on foot when a car approached and the driver asked her if she had a light.

When the woman replied "no", the suspect continued to ask questions and then grabbed her right wrist, attempting to force her into the car.

After the woman got herself free, the suspect drove off towards Hounslow.

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Got a light?

This is a very common method of approaching, interviewing and distracting a potential victim.
If someone ask for a light, the time, distraction, some small change - anything that would potentially have you take the eyes off the subject in front of you - be aware!

Story:
UK -- A sex beast feared to have raped up to 20 women stole cigarette lighters from them as sick trophies, police believe.

The 43-year-old crack addict pounced on random victims walking in South London. He approached asking if they had a light — then attacked them at knifepoint.

Last night cops put on display the twisted predator’s haul of lighters.

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Hazards at work, 24

Minnesota -- A housekeeper was attacked Friday morning while making beds in a downtown hotel room, police say.

According to a Minneapolis police report, the 43-year-old woman was working when a man attacked her and attempted to rape her while she was cleaning a room.

A report said the woman engaged in a struggle with her attacker, who attempted to hold her down on a bed and hit her with an alarm clock.

The woman was able to fight off her attacker and escape with minor injuries. She was treated at a medical center.

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To gain access

This is a very common method, used to gain access to a residence.

Story:
Ireland -- A man is sought by gardai (Irish police) for an attempted rape in Ferrybank, Graiguecullen on Thursday, between 11:35 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Further information suggests he may have attempted to strike before.

The woman said the man gained entry to the apartment when he claimed to be a plumber. Once inside he pretended to examine a heater before he went into the kitchen and got a knife.

He then pinned the terrified woman to the wall, threatening to kill her if she didn't take her clothes off.

The screams of the intended victim startled her attacker and he fled from the scene.

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Common trick

This is a common ploy, used by carjackers, robbers, rapists and other criminals.
The safest advice is to think twice before stopping where the person/s in the vehicle behind you want you to pull over!

Chula Vista, California -- Police were looking for a man suspected of trying to rape a 19-year-old motorist Tuesday afternoon after she said he feigned an emergency to lure her out of her car.

The female told police she had been driving on Broadway when she noticed a car directly behind her flashing its lights. She pulled over and got out of her car, because she thought there was something wrong with it, police said.

The driver jumped out of his car as soon as she did, she said, then grabbed her and forced her into her rear seat and began fondling her. She said she struggled and pushed him out. Then she locked her doors, and he drove off, police said.

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Another push-in

Kansas -- In Shawnee, an attack happened at 7:25 a.m. at an Apartment complex as a woman was going outside to warm up her car. When she opened her apartment door the man pushed his way inside.

The two struggled, toppling furniture, before the man pinned her. During the melee he said he wanted to have sex with her.

The woman broke free, grabbed a telephone, locked herself in the bathroom and yelled she was calling police. The man had fled when officers arrived.

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No sugar-cane

...This was the real thing - strong cane-fu :-)
I sincerely hope this intruder got a headache that will lasts a long time.

Story:
Pennsylvania -- In Derry Township a 70-year-old woman fought off an intruder with her cane.

The woman says several nights ago a strange man broke through her screen door and made his way through her front door.

The elderly woman came face-to-face with the would-be robber in her doorway.

What happened next, he probably did not expect. The intended victim hit him in the head with her metal cane. The suspect took off after being hit. The woman was not hurt.

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Push-in

This is a classical attempt at something commonly called a "push-in".

Story:
Virginia -- A man started following a 21-year-old University of Virginia student as she walked home from a party, a Charlottesville police spokesman said.

"When she opened up the door to her home, he rushed her and tried to force her inside," the spokesman said.

The student's roommate and her boyfriend were inside the home when she arrived and came to her assistance when they heard her screaming, police said.

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Instincts

The woman in the earliest incident here obviously trusted her instincts!
If you get this feeling that something isn't quite right, then leave immediately, it's always better to feel "stupid" than being robbed or assaulted, or something even worse.

Chicago - A man abducted and attempted to rob a female graduate student in the Hyde Park area on Thursday, January 25.

Police believe this may be the same man who parked a similar van in the area at 9:45 p.m., Thursday, January 18, and asked a passing woman for the time.

When she felt uncomfortable and subsequently fled, the man briefly pursued her. The woman was not hurt.

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Took a lickin'

Licking the shoes of people walking in New York City ... Yeah I love New York, but not this much. And I kind of "worship" women too, but again, there's a limit to it!

Story:
New York -- A man was recently sentenced for kissing and licking the shoes and feet of women on the subway. The man reportedly bowed down and chanted, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"

The Brooklyn man was snagged by police last May after a woman fought off his foot-licking on a Queens-bound E train. He later confessed to police that he had assaulted more than 70 women.

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At a price

This is a sad reminder of what might happen if we do what I really hope any decent citizen would to - helping someone in need.
It is a crying shame that people like this man here, absolutely a hero in my book, doesn't receive more help.
The story also points at someone I've mentioned at several occasions - the danger that knives represent.

Story:
A hero who was left disabled after preventing a crazed knife attacker from killing his neighbour has blasted the lack of support he has received as he recovers from his injuries.

Simon de Blanc, 36, was stabbed repeatedly in Holtspur, after he went to the aid of a neighbour as she was attacked in her car.

Since last April's attack, Mr de Blanc, who used to earn £1,000 a week running his own business, has struggled to make ends meet on the £90 per week he receives in income support.

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Sword nuts

South Dakota -- Police killed a teenager who they said used a sword to kill his mother and injure three other people, including an officer.

Officers called to the family’s home Friday found a 14-year-old girl with several cuts on her lower arms and hands. The officers then spotted her 16-year-old brother swinging a long sword, police said.

The boy struck one of the officers several times before the others fired several shots, killing him.
Police then found the body of the boy’s mother, 49-year-old mom and an injured foreign exchange student.

Schmitt said he believes the boy collected swords.

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Concrete evidence

UK -- A drug addict who was caught red-handed hurling a lump of concrete through his neighbour's lounge window needed hospital treatment after his outraged victim took the law into his own hands.

The 28-year-old man still suffers scars following the attempted break-in which backfired in Canford Heath, Poole, on August 28 last year.

The victim was in bed when he heard his door being knocked and the lounge window being rattled. After hearing a loud smash, he ran into the living room to find the window had been smashed and a large chunk of concrete on the floor.

The victim picked up the concrete and threw it back through the hole in the window, hitting the suspect, who ran off.

The suspect, who suffered a severe cut to his left cheek and a wound to his mouth, as well as cuts to his arm and chest, was arrested at his home later that night.

He claimed he had been subjected to a hammer attack and told police: "I wouldn't be so stupid to burgle homes near me."

But glass fragments from both properties were discovered in his jacket.

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Mexican femicide?

Here's a report you definitely should read. It's by Ellen Snortland, the author of "Beauty Bites Beast"

Story:
According to a report issued by Amnesty International in November, more than 400 women have been kidnapped and murdered over the past 14 years, many of them raped, mutilated and tortured first. One man couldn't possibly slaughter so many. It's gender terrorism.

Is this a horror film tease? Tragically, no. The unsolved murders in Ciudad Juárez and the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, of mostly young and indigenous working-class women, are very real.

In Juárez, females of all backgrounds breathe terror, night and day.

Is that man who just whispered “Mamacita” dangerous and sizing them up for abduction, or is he merely a nonlethal creep? Globally, the mysterious killings in Juárez have stumped and horrified us in the international women's rights community. Who is responsible? How can we resist femicide? What can be done?

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Sticks and stones ...

Scotland -- A 26-year-old woman fought off a would-be rapist with a stone, a court was told.

The 25-year-old Security guard, pounced as his victim walked past him around midnight as she went to buy a takeaway.

The man followed her, asked for sex and when she refused, dragged her into bushes and pushed her to the ground.

The High Court in Glasgow was told the woman put up a struggle and managed to pick up a stone and hit The culprit. He ran away and the woman managed to flag down a passing police car.

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Hazards at work, 23

A woman is accused of scuffling with flight attendants and passengers on a San Francisco-bound flight from Boston on Sunday - threatening to open a cabin door in mid-flight, authorities said.

The woman told flight attendants, "I'm calling 911 because the plane is being hijacked," according to an FBI affidavit.

The 28-year-old woman also said, "I'm getting off the aircraft" and threatened to open the cabin door while the plane was airborne, according to the affidavit.

After taking a passenger's seat and trying to take her own dog in a carrier to the restroom, she fought with passengers and flight attendants and spat at them, authorities said. She was restrained with plastic ties.

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Boxing

"Boxing is not self-defense!"
I hear this statement from time to time, and I not only disagree, I just laugh. Sure it's not a solution for every scenario, but to claim it's a sport and not self-defense ...

Just a few incidents:
An obviously skilled boxer in Norway played (I mean literally played) with two attackers on Aker Brygge in Oslo without throwing a single punch. This was a couple of years back.
He just moved around, rolled, deflected and dodged. Finally the two morons were gasping for air from hitting nothing but air, while our guy simply walked off.

Many years ago, Otto Von Porat, a famous Norwegian heavy weight boxer, floored a young man with one single punch. The guy had harassed his wife, and was politely but firmly told to leave it alone by the elderly gentleman.
The stupid goon never knew what hit him, when the 80-something former champ sent him to la-la land.

In November 2006, Ananova told the story about three thugs who tried to mug a British pensioner.
The intended victim turned out to be an ex-Army boxing champ.
67-year-old George Bayliss had just drawn his pension at the post office when the gang demanded his cash.
The retired builder, who boxed for England in the 1960s, hit the ringleader with a left hook to the chin and his pals fled empty-handed.

And in Sweden, an attempted robbery in Västerås on Saturday night ended in ignominious failure for the two young assailants.
The attack on their supposed victim, a 70 year old man, began just after midnight with a punch in his face.
What they didn't know was that the 70 year old used to be a boxer. And it didn't take long for the old moves to come back.
The man gave as good as he got - and then some more - and the robbers legged it.


Need more examples? Just say the word :-)

'Honkido'

Biloxi, Mississippi -- The victim of an attempted sexual assault and carjacking attracted attention by honking her horn, which scared off her attacker, police confirmed after announcing the suspect's arrest.

The 18-year-old suspect was arrested Wednesday at his home a few blocks from the convenience store where the crimes were reported early Sunday.

The woman was hurt, but her physical injuries were not believed to be serious.

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Hazards at work, 22

A federal appeals court upheld an $8 million verdict against Greyhound Lines for a woman injured while on her way to Atlanta when another passenger cut the driver's neck and the bus crashed, just after the September 11 terrorist attacks made her afraid to fly.

The Greyhound bus was traveling from Chicago to Orlando, Florida on October 3, 2001, when a 29-year-old Croatian man attacked driver Garfield Sands around 4 a.m. as the bus was passing through Manchester.

The bus crashed on rural Interstate 24 between Chattanooga and Nashville. Six passengers, including the attacker, were killed. A seventh died later at a hospital and 34 others on board were injured.

The driver was admitted to a hospital with two 5-inch-long, 2-inch-deep cuts on his neck.

The crash prompted Greyhound to shut down all bus service for a few hours, and the FBI was called in to investigate whether it was an act of terrorism. Croatian media reported that the attacker suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Greyhound spokeswoman said the company has since installed shields that separate drivers from passengers on all of its more than 1,200 buses nationwide.

At the trial on the woman's lawsuit, her attorney introduced reports showing 42 other incidents of passengers grabbing or attempting to assault or grab the driver, steering wheel or brakes.

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Wearing headphones

Police are advising women not to run alone at night and recommending they don't use headphones, like iPods, while exercising in the dark after a jogger was attacked on West Cliff Drive Saturday.

A man repeatedly stabbed a 22-year-old Santa Cruz woman who was jogging alone and wearing headphones on a popular trail near Natural Bridges State Beach just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, police say.

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