How can a person help alvieate a fear of being mugged, raped, or murdered?

Take self defense classes. Always walk with somebody/bring a friend with you if you can. Work out inside of a gym instead of outside where you can possibly be jumped.

 

Well my first idea was to mug somebody but then I remembered that that's somewhat on illegal side of things...

Take self defence classes, wear body armour, carry a handgun or knife, get possessed by satan, carry an empty spare wallet (or has fake money in) and a shitty phone to give if you do get mugged, etc.

Just what I would do in that position.

 

Carry pepper spray.

 

Stay in a group when it is dark, carry pepper spray (if legal where you are), take self defence, don't take unnecessary risks.

 

Buy a gun.

 

Yeah, I would carry pepper spray. You'd have to look into the laws for that where you live but I think at most you just need a permit and they sell it at certain places. And just be smart. Avoid places you think might be less safe unless with a group, especially at night. If you're ever in a situation where you feel uneasy, then trust your instincts.

 

-carry a weapon
-wear a belt and/or tight pants

 

People always have three weapons on them: adrenaline, their limbs, and their wits.

Pepper spray can be useful, provided the individual isn't immune to it. Adrenaline, again, can make you do some crazy stuff. Powering through something temporarily is possible -- though it sucks later on when the immensity of your bruises catch up...

Staying in numbers is pretty common sense. Avoiding places on foot that you don't know too well, especially at night, is easy enough to figure out. But there is always the chance that trouble may come to you, and I suspect you want something fairly practical, so here it is:

Keys are an effective weapon. Find your largest/longest/sturdiest keys, place them in between your fingers, which should be clenched into a fist. You may not be Wolverine, but you'll fuck somebody's day up like that.

When in doubt, choke 'em out. I'm not kidding--

If you feel your well being is at stake, particularly your dignity or life, you aim for the eyes or throat. If possible, run, but don't forget about your attacker. In my earlier youth bullying others, the throat was always the go-to for me. Almost immediately, people stop swinging at you and go to grab at your hands, trying to pry them off -- and then, without their arms to shield them, you begin to kick them at their groin and ankles.

They should fall, at which point you need to shift your weight with the fall. If possible, fall into their stomach or chest with your knee, which should knock the wind out of them... or, if you want to be really mean, shift the weight into your hands. Since you're holding their throat as you fall, you can, quite harshly, slam their head into the ground. Maybe even twice.

After this, you run. Even if they can get up, they won't move very far without their lungs functioning or being in a dazed state. You'll have bought time to get some distance, and maybe even rethink your situation.

I suppose you could resort to carrying a knife or gun, but in many places, just having those is enough to get you in trouble as well. Also, if you have no intention on using your weapon, you may as well not even bring it. There's also this little tidbit:

Every time you carry a weapon on you, you're providing an accessible means of possibly killing yourself.

Take that for what it's worth.

 

I second taking self defense classes.

 

Well if is a male attacking kick him in the nuts as hard as you can, bite, scratch, gouge their eyes, spit on them, yell and scream as loud as you can. Don't stop beating on them until you know they can not or will not get up and try to keep fighting. If you are going to punch them in the face go for their nose, eyes, side of the jaw, or temple. Also while you may not like or want to carry a pocket knife that a lone will discourage a lot of people.

 

Honestly, I'd love to walk around town with a katana strapped to my back and claw gloves, maybe a bulletproof vest... but I'd probably be the one getting the Police attention then.

So yeah, no weapons. While I'd love to go around mauling rapists, I've only got one shot at life. I've always just always avoided others, and I'll probably keep doing that until I move out of this country, the violence here is too much.

 

Well you could either learn a martial art, carry a weapon, or generally avoid travelling alone, especially in unfamiliar places, but mostly you kind of have to just accept that life involves taking some risks, so even if there's a small chance of them happening, it's smart to be prepared.

 

I think using a knife for self-defense, is more trouble than it is worth, but for anyone that has their heart set on this:

Don't carry a knife for self-defense, until you've practiced self-defense with the knife, to the point where you can draw the knife with SPEED, and ideally your attacker doesn't see the knife until they FEEL it. I recommend something such as a Spyderco Cricket, because you can open it with one hand and it's inconspicuous. You want to cut their hand or arm, and run. I can vouch (from an accident) that plain edge Spyderco blades hurt like a bitch. And I think my pain tolerance is slightly higher than average.

Just as a side note, 99% of the time it's a dangerous idea to threaten someone with a knife.

However, I do agree with using aggression to your advantage, because you've won the fight, if you scare off the attacker!

Personally, I'd tell them whatever they want to hear, and metaphorically stick the knife in later.

If the attacker's got the jump on you and/or cannot be deterred, then you'd best follow Kaiser's advice.

 

Agreed that a knife is a bad idea. If you're not good with it, you're asking to get *that* taken from you as well and quite possibly stuck in you.

But about nonviolence except for self-defense, what is a mugging then? The point at which they stop you is the point where it becomes self-defense. Carrying a dummy wallet is a good idea if you think you'll be vulnerable to muggings. But if the crime is motivated by trans-hate rather than desire for money, it won't help you much.

That's where the defense skills come in. It's up to you to decide what works, even if something like "build up your stamina and outrun them". Unfortunately, there's little to no outrunning a gun. The best defense against that is either solid skills and REALLY close range (like within arm's length) or your own gun which you've practiced with until its drawing and use is smooth as a reflex. Of course that carries with it other responsibilities so isn't something to be taken lightly, but as far as self defense goes, it's the end of the line.

As one who has been pepper-sprayed as part of police training, somebody who knows what it does will hardly be fazed in the short term. I can't think of many situations where it would help. How about a stun gun? The contact ones are inexpensive, and the dart-firing ones have a bit of a range and the chance for full incapacitation. Those things hurt like a mother and people are inherently really afraid of getting electrocuted, go figure. Just hearing the loud CRACKCRACKCRACK of a stun gun going off is enough to have somebody think twice.

 

I would also suggest taking self-defense classes just as a precaution. Even if you never use them, it feels good to know you can protect yourself and possibly intimidate someone without hurting them if someone is threatening you. There is also an iPhone app called Companion which I find helps me feel a lot safer when I'm out alone. It's hard to explain, but it will "walk" you home (show your route on the map app while you're going somewhere), and you can contact the police and they'll know where you are at a moment's notice if something happens. You can also anonymously let the police department know of a neighborhood that makes you nervous.