Last week, a Salt Lake City woman was out jogging early one morning when a man grabbed her from behind and began to grope her.
The woman, however, was jogging with a small knife in hand. She stabbed the man several times before he eventually fled the scene.
Indeed, the National Institute of Justice notes that certain actions reduce the risk of rape more than 80 percent compared to nonresistance, stating that the “most effective actions, according to victims, are attacking or struggling against their attacker, running away, and verbally warning the attacker.”
This isn’t to say, however, that fighting back may be an option for all victims of sexual assault. Research strongly indicates that when it comes to sexual violence, many may not find themselves responding with either fight or flight, but instead entering into a state known as “tonic immobility,” or a form of temporary paralysis.
While it’s impossible to know ahead of time how you’d react in a similar situation, perhaps being prepared is the best thing we can do. It certainly helped one Salt Lake City jogger.
