Newscast can do more to prevent future sexual attacks

You may also want to share your views with your news stations when you hear similar stories. Rarely do they report when women successfully defend themselves against attackers nor do they provide helpful prevention tips. Here is a letter I emailed to KTVU in the SF Bay Area. I encourage you all to respond as well. I've not gotten an email reply but in future newscasts they did stop saying the attacker was "hugging" women from behind.

Date: Wed, March 03, 2010 10:34 pm
To: news@ktvu.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I have a few comments about your newscast this evening.

You reported on a man at San Jose State University who is committing sexual battery against women. As a major news network you have an excellent opportunity to educate the public and help to prevent such crimes in the future. However, your newscast did little if nothing to do so. The only tips given were all extremely passive responses which will do nothing to prevent future assaults from this man.

Telling women to be more alert is very vague and you could have given more specific personal safety tips such as what being aware of your surroundings means: not texting or talking on phone while walking; walking assertively by looking all around you and looking suspicious people in the eye; and yelling "NO!" or "STOP!" or "I'm being Attacked; call 911!" extremely loudly and in a deep self-defense voice as soon as you are first attacked. We know that using your voice by yelling like this will avert the majority of attacks.

As the police officer said, this man's attacks will only continue and escalate if the women he attacks do nothing in response. We give him the power and control to continue if we do nothing. Research has proven that 86% of rapes are averted or stopped by a single act of resistance which includes yelling and striking back. I never hear the news recommend that women take back their power and learn how to use verbal and physical self-defense skills. Even carrying pepper spray in your hand would be more helpful than carrying your keys between your fingers (both of these will only work if you know how to use them to defend yourself and have learned how to react with your voice and your body so that you work through the natural "freeze" response most have when attacked).

There are very simple self-defense skills that are effective when a woman is grabbed from behind (your newscasters wrongly labeled this as "hugging" which implies consent and compassion). And these techniques work even if the attacker is much bigger and stronger (this attacker was reported as being being fairly small). It would have been a great opportunity for your newscast to include a video clip of these simple self-defense techniques.

We teach on a padded mock assailant so we can show simulated attacks and we'd be happy to be interviewed, do a live demonstration or send you a video clip of specific attack scenarios. Women should be given more information that is empowering instead of info that just adds to our fear and helplessness. Yes, the attacker is 100% responsible for the attacks but we can help women and stop future attacks by arming them with useful information.

Sincerely,
Erica C. Neuman, MS
Executive Director & Certified IMPACT Self Defense Instructor
www.impactbayarea.org