Carry Out the Assault

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable.” - Sun Tzu

In this series, we’ve been talking about the four phases of an attack from a stranger. First was to “identify an unsuspecting target”. Second was to “subdue and isolate the target”. The third phase is to “control and exhaust the target”. The fourth and final phase is to “carry out the assault”. Phase four begins when the target has surrendered and the predator attempts to carry out the sexual assault, and ends with the completion of the crime.

If the target is unable to escape, a “false surrender” is an option to create an opportunity for an escape. By telling the predator that “I give up; Please don’t hurt me; I’ll do whatever you want”, we can convince the assailant that we are willing to cooperate. If the assailant believes that we are going to cooperate, they will focus less on control and more on carrying out the assault. This will open an opportunity to use one of the several Women Empowered techniques to escape or incapacitate the assailant.

Using this type of strategy to escape can be difficult, but is important. Each phase of an attack requires a different mindset and different techniques. During this phase we must deceive our attacker, and make them believe we have given up. We must seem unable, when we are in fact able