‘Fighting
Chance’ offers alternatives to rape
(Continued from page 1)
The workshops are offered to church groups, PTAs, women’s groups and some
business clubs, as well as colleges.
The primary goal, according to Landau and Cheek, is to teach assertiveness and
present facts and figures on assault.
“Being straight forward and honest is saying ‘I’m
in control.”
“We try to teach women to be assertive. Not just during an'attack, but 24 hours a
day to decrease vulnerability and live a better life,” Landau said.
“We focus on assertiveness because rapists aren’t fools. They’ll pick women who
give in and who’ll be too ashamed to tell anyone after.”
Landau pointed out that rapists will frequently test their potential victim and use
their reactions as an indicator. One example given was “being touched while on a bus.
If the woman scobts way over in her seat and doesn’t say anything, then that’s a sign
of a submissive victim. If she uses a clear, voice and good eye contact, and says ‘Please
don’t touch me’, then he’ll probably leave her alone,” Landau explained. “Being
straight forward and honest is saying ‘I am in control’.”
Landau and Cheek (who use the working title LC Associates) stress the statistics
of assault due to the wealth of misinformation that exists. For example, most assaults
are not committed by dark and scary strangers. In Multnomah County, 67 percent of
assaults are committed or attempted by someone the victim knows, either casually or
intimately.
“IF YOU CRUSH someone’s windpipe or put out his eye,
chances are he won’t be getting up soon.”
Landau also pointed out that, while the act of rape is violent in nature, it is rarely
violent in fact. Only about nine percent of rape victims are injured enough to require
“Rapists and killers are two different animals,”
“ALTHOUGH KNEEING SOMEONE in the groin will hurt
them it probably won’t disable them.”
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medical attention. Rapists and killers are two different animals,” Landau said.
Another misconception is the location of attacks. The places that women most
fear, such as parking lots, empty buildings or even campus at night, are the locales of
approximately 15 percent of reported assaults. The three most likely places to be at­
tacked are the victim’s home, the assailant’s home and in a car.
The foundation of the Fighting Chance workshop is the teaching of physical skills.
“We teach skills that are designed for any woman’s natural strength, and focused upon
the vulnerable areas of any human being,” Landau said.
Those vulnerable areas are the esophagus and windpipe, eyes and knees.
That list does not include the groin, which Landau feels is not as vulnerable as
most people think. “The attack areas should have four assets,” she said. “They should,
be easy to get at, produce a disabling injury, have no physical defense and no instinc­
tive defense. From the age of two, men know to protect their testicles if attacked. Also,
although kneeing someone in the groin will hurt them, it probably won’t disable them.
On the other hand, if you crush someone’s windpipe or put out his eye, chances are
he won’t be getting up too soon.”
The survival skills taught in the workshop do not depend on physical strength.
Landau pointed out that they have had students ranging from 10 years of age to the
mid-60’s.
“What people have to get into their heads is that they are fighting for their lives,
“We teach skills that are designed for any
woman’s natural strength, . . ”
“What people have to get into their heads is that
they are fighting for their lives, and to do whatever
is necessary to protect themselves,”
and to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves,” she said.
Landau and Cheek are quick to point out that fighting is not the only option, nor
is it always the best one. “When faced with four guys, and three of them have guns,
we don’t expect anyone to try to break all their knees,” Landau said.
On the other hand, the idea of fighting only as a last resort is also not advised.
The longer the attack goes on, the more confident the assailant becomes, and the
chances of beating him less likely.
If a woman must fight, then LC Associates hopes to provide her with the skills
necessary to do it right. Landau explained that 80 percent of all unsuccessful rape at­
tempts are foiled by a victim who fights back.
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