As you learn about sexual violence it is important to recognize that there are two types of criminals: those who are predatory and those who are opportunistic. Predatory criminals plan their attacks while opportunistic criminals take advantage of situations as they present themselves.

Most rapists and sexual predators are just that – predatory. They plan their crimes in advance, survey the situation and, in many cases, interview their victims well in advance.

Every single time you meet a new person you are interviewed. For example:

• Do you come here often? What you’re really being asked is whether or not you are a regular. Do people notice you when you arrive? Will you be missed if you disappear? Are you a known fixture and will people notice who you are with?
• When do you get off of work? What you’re really being asked is whether or not you have an established routine. When can your predator come back and lie in wait?
• Do you live nearby? How close are we to a place where your assailant can launch an attack?

Get the picture? Your assailant will ask you any number of questions, hoping to gain as much information about you as humanly possible. He wants ot know if you are an easy target and the answers you giveh im could save your life. You don’t need to tell anyone how often you frequent any establishment, when or where you work, or anything about where you live – especially strangers.

When a sexual predator does find what he deems a worthy fictim he will attempt to make a move and his main goal will be to distract you. In most cases this distraction will be in the form of a diversion that occupies your eyes. At the moment you least expect he’ll be on top of you. Here are a few examples, some of which should sound pretty familiar.

• A stranger in a store may point to an object and ask a question about it – divering your eyes towads the object so that he can move in. As you follow his gesture he’ll use his other hand to attack you.
• Your assailant may ask you for the time so that you will turn your eyes towards your cell phone or watch – diverting your eyes away from him.Again, as you turn your eyes away your assailant will have the perfect opportunity to take control of the situation.
• A man may approach you at the mall, claiming to be a photographer. He’ll tell you that he was just finishing a shoot and stopped at the mall on his way home. He doesn’t have any business cards with him but his camera is in his car. Can he shoot a few snapshots of you and get your information? He’ll ask you to come into the parking lot with him for the photographs.
• A man or woman approaches you in a parking lot. He’ll claim to be selling perfume and ask if you’d like to smell a sample. You end up sniffing some sort of ether or drug that knows you unconscious.

Understanding that every inquisition could be part of the interview process of a sexual predator is essential to your survival. Your first approach when it comes to self defense is to never let yourself become distracted.

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