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Issue 7, September 2001 |
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Dear [[Name]], Welcome to the September issue of the Back off newsletter and, as always, welcome to our new subscribers whose numbers continue to grow steadily each month. With our web site, www.winningedgestrategies.com.au now listed with many search engines we are getting hits to our site from all over the world with many of those passing through signing up for the newsletter. I guess we can now lay claim to being a truly 'international' publication! |
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This months feature article comes as a result of much discussion and many requests with regard to the recent spate of gang rapes that have been reported in certain areas of Sydney. Although we have covered group and gang confrontations in a previous issue I thought this was an appropriate time to re-visit this information and expand upon it. In our Q & A segment I have addressed a number of pertinent questions relating to recent court decisions and law changes in this area. Thanks again for your ongoing support to this publication and keep sending
us your questions, feedback and stories. |
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GROUP AND GANG CONFRONTAIONS As with all forms of conflict the gang rape/abduction provides you with options. Which option you take and how you take it can ultimately determine the outcome of this situation. For the purpose of the exercise let's imagine that you have found yourself in an unavoidable confrontation with a group of guys whilst walking home from a girlfriends house. You do everything right; identify the leader, communicate with him, gain a level of control and focus on getting to safety. Unfortunately when you ask what it is that he wants you are told it's not your wallet they're after but you! The leader of the gang steps towards you and says, 'see that car over there, the boys are going to take you for a little drive and have some fun.' The alarm bells start screaming inside your head. These guys want to
rape you. No negotiation, no discussion, no using your wallet to get away-
just abduction and rape. In this situation you have two extremely contrasting options available to you: SUBMIT or CONFRONT A gang is really nothing more than a group of weak individuals who feed off the perceived strength of their leader. As a group they are strong but as individuals they are cowardly and weak. The prospect of having to physically fight your way out of a gang confrontation is a daunting one but must be compared to the likely consequences of submission. Also, the way in which you physically confront the group is paramount. Done the right way you can tap into the gang's weakest link and turn the situation to your advantage. Having determined that submitting to this type of confrontation and offering no resistance will only lead to the gang achieving their goal, we must now focus on how to best confront them and get to safety. THE PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION When faced with the prospect of fighting your way out of this situation I believe the following points greatly enhance your likelihood of succeeding: * Any form of resistance should initially be directed at the leader of
the group. In the unlikely event that a gang, whose intention is the rape and/or abduction of their victim, are in possession of a weapon or weapons your options are obviously reduced. Only the individual in the situation would be in a position to accurately gauge the likely result of offering resistance under such circumstances. I am not suggesting that resistance is futile, but rather any decision would have to be weighed up at the time with the chances of success versus that of failure, together with the inevitable outcome if you were to submit. Thankfully in my experience it would be unusual in the extreme for a confrontation of this nature to involve a weapon. I think the reason for this is the fact that a group of guys would not usually consider it necessary to have to rely on a weapon to gain control over a female victim. I'm sure they would believe that their obvious advantage of numbers is more than enough to ensure success. SUMMARY Hopefully if you ever find yourself in this type of predicament it will fall into either the 'avoidable' category or at worst the 'robbery' where you are able to use your possessions in exchange for your safety. However, if god forbid you find yourself in the rape/abduction scenario you must be prepared to fight back with absolute conviction and single-minded determination. Amongst the most inspirational stories I have relayed to me are from girls and women who have escaped from this type of situation. Recently I spoke at a secondary school in the west of Sydney. The students
had all gone through one of my seminars the previous year and had invited
me back for a follow-up course. At the end of the session I was approached
by a number of students who had had occasion to use some of my strategies
during the twelve months since I'd last spoken to them. She told me it all happened so quickly that she barely had time to think and instinct just took over. She dropped to the ground and started to scream and kick out at the two guys holding her, making it as difficult as possible for them to get her to the car. She said one thing she remembered me saying in the course was that it is a physical impossibility for two people to get one person into the back of a car unless that person submits or is knocked unconscious. She wasn't about to submit, and she was more likely to knock these guys unconscious as opposed to being knocked out herself! Once on the ground the guys grabbed hold of her by the ankles and continued to try to get her into the car. In desperation she grabbed hold of a nearby 'No Stopping' sign and held on for her life and she continued to struggle and scream for all she was worth. At this stage the driver of the car was getting very agitated and nervous. She could hear him yelling at his mates saying, 'it's not going to work, it's not going to work, just let her go and get in before some bastard catches us.' Suddenly they let her go. The back door was slammed shut and the car sped off down the street. Who knows what the intentions of that group were, all I know is that whatever their intention she beat them. The more she resisted the more nervous they became until finally the prospect of getting caught combined with their inability to make her submit led them to take off. In one way this young girl was lucky, not because she found herself in this type of situation, but because she had the presence of mind to do the right thing and avoid being abducted and probably raped. Sadly this is not always the case. I will always remember a seminar I conducted around 1992. A young lady approached me as I was packing up my notes at the end of the presentation. Her story was initially the same as the one I have just outlined. It was the conclusion that I remember most clearly. This girl was also confronted by a carload of young guys, but sadly they were successful in getting her into the car. Without going into unnecessarily graphic detail, this young schoolgirl was driven to a nearby field to be repeatedly raped and beaten by the five occupants of the car. Her abduction occurred at 4. 45pm in the afternoon on a busy four lane road in the middle of a leafy Sydney suburb. The effects of this violent, brutal sexual attack will be with this girl for life. She spoke of being too afraid to leave her house and return to school for over three months, of having to sleep in her parents bedroom with the light on, and of shaking uncontrollably every time the phone rang or there was a knock at the door. I met with this girl six months after the attack. She told me how she was now feeling a lot stronger and rather than the attack making her afraid it was now making her feel angry. She then told me something I will always remember, and to this day continue to use as motivation when speaking to girls and woman about this topic. She said, 'I only have one wish whenever I find myself thinking about what happened to me. I wish I could wind back the clock. If I could, I would wind it right back to that afternoon and put myself back in that bus stop and wait for those bastards to come back. Then I would wait for them to try and get me into the car, and if they did I'd kill them. I'd kill every one of them.' Sitting with this girl I had no doubt whatsoever that, if ever faced
with this situation again, she would in fact be prepared to kill whoever
confronted her. Sadly this motivation and determination had arrived six
months too late. I hope the knowledge you have gained from this article enables you to identify the most effective strategies for gang confrontations before rather than after the event. Always remember that by responding assertively with focus and determination it is in fact more difficult for a group to get you into a car than it is for you to prevent them getting you in. *The above excerpt is taken from the chapter on group and gang confrontations outlined in my book, 'How dangerous men think.' |
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FACT Vs FIB |
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Q & A FROM YOU THE CREW A. Yes. If more than one offender is involved in a rape all those involved are charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault, which carries an imprisonment term up to 20 years. A rape committed by a single offender draws a charge of Sexual Assault, which carries the lesser imprisonment term of up to 14 years. (The NSW government are currently passing an act to increase the maximum imprisonment term for gang rape to life imprisonment). Q. Why were the sentences handed down to the three offenders recently involved in a gang rape court case in Sydney so lenient? A. This case and the subsequent sentences handed down have caused a justifiable public out cry. Whilst not wanting to in any way support such lenient sentences for such serious crimes could I offer the following factors that I believe resulted in the judges findings. Firstly the 'statement of facts' presented to the judge had many pertinent facts omitted. This 'statement of facts' was put together, it appears, to get the offenders to plead guilty to what they had done but in doing so made no mention of the girls being 'abducted', but rather that they got into the car with the offenders willingly. Also it claimed that the girls had in fact offered to stay in the house for the night as opposed to being initially forced to do so. Whilst these details in no way justify what subsequently happened to the girls the judge can only rule on the facts presented to her, not those omitted from the statement. It now appears that the girls have strongly objected to the statement that was presented to the judge and claimed that they never approved of facts/details being removed from it. Adding to this the judge stated that the offender's sentences were reduced by 20% due to their guilty pleas. The other factors influencing the sentencing would be the relatively young age of the offenders together with the fact that none had previous criminal history relating to these types of crimes. I am in no way attempting to support the sentences that were given, but rather attempting to explain the factors that led to them. |
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JUST A THOUGHT |
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FROM YOU THE CREW Dear Cosmo, When reading your article 'Lower your rape risk', I was reminded of something that happened to me last year and how grateful I am today. Last July I was walking home from the gym when a car full of guys stopped and tried to force me to get in, all the while telling me how they were going to rape me. However, I was lucky enough to know what to do. Brent Sanders, the author you quoted in your article, came to my high school a couple of years back to give a series of self defence talks. I remembered his advice, dropped to the ground and started screaming making it virtually impossible for these guys to get me into the car. People heard me shouting and came over, the guys got nervous and drove off. I believe the advice that Brent gave me saved my life and I can't thank him enough for that. S.C - Sydney Dear Brent, Many years ago I attended a seminar you conducted whilst I was at high school, I now teach at a secondary school in Sydney, a school you recently visited to conduct the same course I did all those years ago. I spoke with the girls afterwards who all had a great time and got so much valuable information from your presentation. I just wanted to pass on to you that there have been many occasions over the past eight years when the skills you taught me have enabled me to both identify and get out of potentially dangerous situations. I remember most of what you said as if I heard it yesterday and am so pleased that you are still passing this knowledge on to young women through out Australia. A. G - Sydney |
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