Eyes, nose, mouth, throat, solar plexus, groin, knee, and instep are all vulnerable areas. Aim for them. If you are being mugged, throw your money one way and run in the opposite direction screaming "Fire! Help! Fire!" as loudly as humanly possible.

If someone is trying to abduct you, drop whatever you are carrying, and run away screaming and drawing attention to yourself. If he catches you, drop to the ground, and start kicking. If he grabs your arms, spin them like windmills so he can't hold on for too long.

My sister's former co-worker's sister is a survivor of an abduction. She was grabbed off the street by two men who were looking to rape a woman. It happened so quickly that there was nothing that she could do to prevent it. She screamed as it happened so some witnesses called 911. The police were alerted, but she didn't know that. As far as she knew, she was on her own. She assessed the situation, and she knew that she was in a fight for her life. When they attempted to violate her, she told them that she had her period. For some reason that prevented the rape. Instead, they tied her up and took turns beating her as the other drove around. She knew that she had to get out. When they stopped and left the van to eat, she managed to escape. She somehow kicked open the van door and ran as fast as possible toward the sound of traffic since she had no idea where she was. The police said that it was good that she had escaped because they had allowed her to see their faces which meant that they probably intended to kill her so there would be no witness.

When attacked from behind, don't forget to S-I-N-G:

* quick and forceful jab to the attacker's Solar Plexus (area just under the rib cage) with your elbow.

* drop the weight of your body into one foot on top of the attacker's Instep (top of the foot, on the pressure point where that highest bone is)

* thrust your head upward and back to break (or injure) the attacker's

Nose , causing pain and watering of the eyes.

* shift your hip to one side and drop your fist behind you to smack the attacker in the Groin . You don't have to do this heavily--sometimes just a quick, light slap causes enough pain to give you time to get away.

So S-I-N-G: Solar Plexus, Instep, Noise, Groin....and then RUN AWAY AND YELL "FIRE." Do not yell "Help."

rings
 

I read somewhere once about how sometimes attackers will try to befriend the victim first. Well, I seem to attrack a lot of men who want to be 'friendly' when we're on the subway. many strike up conversations with me and ask what stop I get off at, where I'm from (i always say from NY, not a lie!) etc etc. actions that i hope are innocent but you never know. I started wearing a ring that is only a simple band, similar to a wedding band, but i tell ya the unwanted attention has stopped dramatically. i even have co-workers asking me about my husband and kids bc they assume from the ring that i'm married and all. i kinda think of it as a prevantative measure if not a true self-defense strategy.