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Old 10-03-2012, 02:42 PM   #10
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,253
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Re: Most common attacks against women? Self defense class research

The reason I mentioned earlier that the available statistics probably won't be available or verifiable is that those doing the research usually are looking at more global issues such as the relationship of the victim and attacker and not the specifics of the actual attack. If Rebecca is looking to develop curriculum to address what attacks are frequently encountered, I think most information will be anecdotal as I mentioned. The police agencies will generally know the mechanism of injury in each case, even if the victim refuses to cooperate in the investigation - and that happens all too often.

My experience in investigating these events over the years suggests the following attacks were most common:

In domestic violence the victim was usually punched in the face or torso with a closed fist, often unexpectedly. Hard, open-handed slaps to the face were common as well.

In street crimes such as purse snatchings, the attacker would try to strip the purse away from the victim. If she maintained her grasp, she would often be met with a punch to the face.

With sexual assaults, a violent blitz attack would often take place. In some cases the attacker would hold both of the victim's arms to either pull or push her to a better location for the attack. In others, an attack from behind with a choke hold was fairly common.

If the attacker was armed, it was usually enough to display the knife or gun to force cooperation.

Even this limited description of force used rarely turns up in crime statistics, but is contained in the narrative portion of police reports and based on victim's accounts and the physical evidence of injuries and bruising and the like.

I hope your program is a success!

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
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