Crime Against Women

I am a very panicky person, which means I get panic easily, so easily that my first reaction when I am in trouble, is to cry, THEN think of what to do. Angah and I once talked about what we would do if we get into car trouble in the middle of the road, both our responses were the same, we would cry in the car first, THEN get help. And that imaginary situation is not even a dangerous one! What if we get into a dangerous situation, like being held at a gun/knife point, or maybe kidnapped, or maybe sexually harassed? What are we really going to do? Cry? That isn't exactly gonna help, is it? Or maybe we'll pass out from being too terrified! That is surely going to make the attacker's job easier.

Furthermore, the rate of crime against women in Malaysia nowadays is very worrisome. Every day, we hear cases involving women as victims of rape, murder, snatch, kidnap, abuse, etc. It happens to MEN as well, surprisingly, and believe it or not, the rate is increasing fast! Yes, men also get into trouble, more serious ones like getting into a brawl and get shot! Yang kena dera pun ada, ok! Scary, right? These things can happen any time, any where, at home, at a parking space, at a bus stop, in your car, on the road side, broad daylight, after dark, ANY where, ANY time at all. So, how do we prevent these from happening to us? Truth be told, we can't.

I was lucky enough because BAKAT (L) PTKK organized a workshop on "Menangani Keganasan Terhadap Wanita" earlier today, for FREE. Yes, I love free things. But, don't be fooled by the given topic, it is actually for men and children as well. The workshop was a whole lot of fun. No, we did not learn fancy martial art moves to fight the assailant, but we were taught how to react when shoved into certain circumstances. Our brain will process panic and fear in the first 20 seconds and we really have to act fast before becoming another victim. So yeah, crying is really not an option. Once we have assessed the situation, we need to figure out what to do, most importantly, we DO NOT want to provoke the aggressor, so communication plays a great role. Especially for men, you can't fight with ego, if you did, it would only worsen the situation. Kalau kita kasar, dia lagi kasar, get it?

Verbal communication is used to delay the process, ask what the attacker wants, GIVE IN, NOTHING is more precious than your life, not even your car, no matter how expensive it is. And you should not let yourself get into second phase, what I mean by second phase is, following the assailant to a more remote place. Use your voice to attract attention. Struggle until he lets you loose and RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! You're not going to fight him, you are going to get away as far as you can from him and into a crowded place. If he assaults you, remember, most people's weakest points are their knees and feet. STOMP and KICK your way out. If he's carrying a knife, BITE his hand or if you think it's disgusting, SLAP it as hard as you can, or just punch it with your knuckles, he is surely going to let go of his weapon. If you get hurt, it's ok, what we are trying to do is to minimize the injury and STAY ALIVE. See, no fancy jujitsu or judo or silat and the likes. It comes back to common sense. Really easy moves, so when you get into panicky mode like Moi, you don't go totally blank. You don't need to think of what move you should do first.

Same routine can be applied to other kinds of attacks, no matter where you are. Same things go to men. No need to go all macho-I'm-better-than-you-I-can-definitely-take-you-down on the assailant. The goal is to get away, alive. Even if the attacks occur at your own home, you can do the same thing. Try not to get anyone killed. Don't be violent, but don't get yourself dragged into a more serious situation. It is better to get away as fast as you can, do not wait and see. Things are not going to get any better and you are putting yourself in danger.

Guys, if you ever come across a workshop like this, make time for it. It is very useful and I'm sure it will come in handy someday. Don't ever think that whatever we read in the news and see on TV, is not going to happen to us. We need to educate ourselves with knowledge on how to tackle the problem. There is just too many things going on around us today and not many people we can trust, some are more desperate than others. It is always better to be safe than sorry! :)

So, my Saturday was well spent learning interesting stuffs. And I'm glad I could share some of the things I remember despite having pregnancy brain right now. Mama bought us each a pepper spray. LOL. Very thoughtful of her. Anyways, bed's calling. Good night! :)

Moi xx

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