| 1 | 1 | | The saddening conclusion of last week's report on street violence - that nine out of |
| 2 | | ten women are frightened or cautious about going out alone after dark - probably came |
| 3 | | as no surprise to many women. Two-thirds of them have already allowed this |
| 4 | | overwhelming fear to restriet their lifestyles : the y only go out alone after dark if |
| 5 | | absolutely necessary. Something has to be done if women are not to become prisoners in |
| 6 | | their homes after dark, too afraid ever to attend a meeting, have a drink with colleagues |
| 7 | | after work or even go to the cinema. |
| 2 | 8 | | Some argue that it is the responsibility of the authorities - local government and |
| 9 | | the police - to change the environment and proteet women again st this menace. Some |
| 10 | | improvements are taking place. Local authorities such as Wand sworth have improved |
| 11 | | street lighting and re-designed housing estates to eliminate blind spots and pools of |
| 12 | | darkness. But progress is inevitably slow. |
| 3 | 13 | | In the meantime, women have to proteet themselves as best they can. A commonly |
| 14 | | suggested solution is training women in self-defence. Most people's image of self-defence |
| 15 | | is a series of physical techniques such as kicks to injure the attacker and break-away |
| 16 | | moves to escape him. A slightly chilling example of th is approach was seen in the BBC's |
| 17 | | World in Action in the person of Stan Grogan, a policeman who has trained a network of |
| 18 | | instructors. Grogan was seen handling a horrible collection of weapons (to show the |
| 19 | | women what they would be up against) and instructed them in judo 'throws'. |
| 4 | 20 | | This approach is firmly rejected by many experts in, personal safety for women. |
| 21 | | Inspeetor Sue Best of the Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention Unit recommends th at |
| 22 | | physical self-defence should be an 'absolute last resort'. It should be used only when a |
| 23 | | serious attack is actually happening and there is no alternative. Diana Lamplugh, who set |
| 24 | | up a special trust to promote women's awareness and self-protection, says that to rely |
| 25 | | completelyon self-defence can be dangerous: 'It can create a false sense of security |
| 26 | | which may collapse in the event of a violent attack and leave the victim otherwise |
| 27 | | unprepared.' |
| 5 | 28 | | Sensible instructors in personal safety regard self-defence as just one element of |
| 29 | | protection. aften it is safer and wiser to run away from the danger, talk your assailant |
| 30 | | out of his attack, use a personal alarm to frighten him off or scream to draw other |
| 31 | | people's attention. Lynne Howells, who organises courses in Birmingham to help women |
| 32 | | deal with aggression, says : 'I would only recommend classes which start from the basis of |
| 33 | | increasing women's confidence. Otherwise, we can be taught physical techniques until the |
| 34 | | cows come home and we won't use them.' |
| 6 | 35 | | Confidence is vital in two ways. First, there is evidence that you are more likely to |
| 36 | | be attacked if you look heipiess and unaware of your surroundings. Walking with your |
| 37 | | head held high, in a swinging way and an obvious awareness of your surroundings |
| 38 | | frightens off possible attackers. Of course, this 'attitude' cannot be failsafe. Secondly, |
| 39 | | training in confidence and alertness can also help if you are attacked. Many women |
| 40 | | simply freeze and cannot do anything or even make a noise if they are attacked. But |
| 41 | | special techniques help you to relax in a crisis so th at you are able to use both your voice |
| 42 | | and your brain to their best effect. |
| 7 | 43 | | Training in self-protection is not only designed for the most deadly of assaults. |
| 44 | | Many women are daily humiliated by 'lesser' offences such as being pinched by men, |
| 45 | | whistled at and followed home. Part of the 'confidence' lesson is to encourage women to |
| 46 | | do something about these incidents before they go too far. |
