Robert Siciliano, a personal security expert, discusses a series of sexual assaults in the Boston area and offers prevention advice. He emphasizes awareness, posture, distance, and fighting back as key self-defense strategies.
Chapters
A serial rapist on the loose.
A young mother is attacked in her Sudbury home.
Do you know how to protect yourself from a sexual predator?
Your brain really is your best defense weapon.
How to make yourself a tougher target, that's just minutes away on 7 News.
A rash of recent, uh, sexual attacks in the MetroWest area has many on high alert. Raises the question, would you know how to avoid becoming a victim? The 19th, Linda Ergas shows us how to make sure we we have a tougher target.
September 29th, a 19-year-old female kidnapped while walking down the street in Mission Hill.
He rushed her from behind and pulled her into the back seat of the car, which was occupied by another male. She was raped at gunpoint.
6 days earlier, a 23-year-old woman caught in the same brutal situation.
This victim was taken to an unknown and unfamiliar place where she was also raped by the suspects.
September 27th, a Sudbury woman answers her door, but an intruder had already slipped into her home.
When she went to the door, she was approached from the rear, uh, pushed to the ground, and a knife was, uh, shown.
In each case, the suspects are still on the loose.
There will always, always be predators stalking their prey, and we need to know what to do to protect ourselves.
Officials warn, especially during the night, to remember that there is always safety in numbers. But if you are walking alone and you sense Something is wrong. Go with your gut.
The moment that something seems wrong, it is wrong. You gotta pay attention to that feeling.
Personal security expert Robert Siciliano says to prevent becoming a victim, you need to have a plan.
It's about consciously making your mind up ahead of time that in the event that I was approached in that manner, this is what I do.
Siciliano says stand tall and know your surroundings.
You have your chin up, your shoulders back, you're very conscious of what's going on.
If you are approached on the street or even in your home, You should first try to create distance between yourself and the assailant.
If a car pulls up beside me and I start to get that feeling like something's not right, immediately start going in the opposite direction.
If distance isn't an option, don't be afraid to fight back.
You start scratching and clawing and biting and fighting and spitting with everything that you have, you got a much better chance of getting out of a dangerous situation.
And of course—
Back off!
—be as loud as possible to attract attention.
You don't have to be the toughest target out there.
It just can't be the easiest. Many local law enforcement agencies and private instructors offer self-defense courses geared specifically towards women. If you would like to find one in your area, log on to our website, whdh.com, and click on special features. In Boston, Linda Ergas, 7 News Nightly.
