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To defend themselves, women must learn to turn this fear into rage.

This goes against traditional self-defense training which teaches the need to be in control of your emotions. While it is true that a rational mind must be present to assess and plan defenses and that intense emotion may result in knee-jerk reactions, anger can fuel a powerful attack. While men have a "make them pay" attitude and a fear of losing face, women are not used to physically fighting back. Women have been conditioned as prey. Women do not need to train to stay calm, cool, and collected, instead, they need to train to turn their fear into rage that is powerfully directed at the assailant.

No one is fearless.

The legendary former bouncer Geoff Thompson in his book Fear: The Friend of Exceptional People writes, "Saying that you don’t feel fear is like saying that you don’t feel hunger, thirst, love or hate. Everyone feels emotion, fear being one of the most powerful," The trick is to use fear itself as a stimulus to bring forth courage, to create a sense of urgency, and cause instant reaction. Fear is not your nemesis, it is the hesitation fear causes.

Resistance is not Futile

Immediate and aggressive responses, including fighting back, are effective against rape. Conversely pleading, reasoning, or appealing to a rapist’s humanity is not—the latter being "almost universally futile," notes Dr. Judith Herman, foremost authority on trauma and author of the best-selling book Trauma and Recovery.

By not resisting rape, women may be putting themselves at greater risk," says Sarah Ullman, assistant professor from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Of course fighting carries risks, but Ullman’s research on resistance strategies concluded that a woman’s "level of physical injury is mainly determined by the offender’s use of violence" and initial blows struck, not because she fought back. As stated by Ambrose Redmoon, "Only an enemy can initiate a warrior." "The women who fought to the best of their abilities were not only more likely to be successful in thwarting the rape attempt, but less likely to suffer severe distress symptoms," wrote Herman. "By contrast, women who submitted without a struggle were more likely to be highly self critical and depressed in the aftermath."  

To effectively defend against a rapist, decide that your will not be raped and not be immobilized by fear of injury. "If what you fear more than anything else is injury," says survival expert Sanford Strong, "you will not have the determination to escape an attack. You will believe all the criminal’s promises and never notice fleeting opportunities." A rapist can use a woman’s terror to gain compliance and render her powerless. The woman must channel her fear to turn the rapist’s weapons of intimidation back onto him and commence a merciless counterattack.

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