WOMEN & GUNS:
PARTING SHOTS . . .

        Women & Guns.  Guns and women. 	I am continually hearing that
the above are mutually exclusive.

	"Realistic cop dramas" show female officers in short skirts,
high heels and tailored blazers with lacy camisoles underneath.  She
manages to carry a perfectly concealed .45 in a shoulder holster and
have ruby red manicured 3 inch nails.  The other option is the young
"my dad was a cop" woman in her male counterpart's uniform with a
few darts added and a white cotton tee shirt showing at the open
collar.

	Judith Martin, the etiquette guru of the 90s, wails that "the 
day is probably not far off when people will have to install metal
detectors on their front porches." The individuals who sport buttons
that read "I'm pro-choice and I vote" are, more often than not, not
on the side of the "sister" who  chooses not to be a victim.

	The message is that you cannot have the competence, capability 
and desire to carry a firearm or other potentially deadly item of
defense and be a "woman's woman" - or be seen as female, maternal or
sane.

	I wish that our critics would take the time to read, analyze
and synthesize "Violence against Women" from the National Crime
Victimization Survey of the Bureau of Justice Statistics under the
U. S. Department of Justice.

	According to this study, two and one half million women were 
victims of violent crime in 1991.  And over the past four years these 
numbers have increased dramatically.

	The "media" has discovered domestic violence, rails and over
the senseless beating of a piano instructor in Central Park, New York,
yet never addresses the reality of thousands of women who confront
potential serious harm on a daily basis.

	Although the violent crime rate for males has decreased since 
1973; the rate for females has not. The theft victimization rates for
both males and females declined during the 1973-1991 period.  The rate
for males fell more quickly than for females.

	Women are particularly vulnerable to certain types of
predators. Men are more likely to be victimized by acquaintances or
strangers.

	Over two-thirds of violent victimizations against women are 
committed by someone known to them: only 31% of the offenders are 
strangers.  Approximately 33% are victimized by boyfriends, husbands,
or relatives.  Only five percent of the men are victims of intimates
or relatives.

	Young, single, black or Hispanic women in central cities with 
lower end education and family income levels are most likely to be 
victimized. Women are more likely to be injured if the perpetrator
was an intimate (59%) as opposed to a stranger (27%).  Additionally
an injured woman is more likely to require medical care if the
attacker is an intimate (27%) rather than a stranger (14%).

	Almost six times as many women do not report a crime if the 
predator is an intimate (18%) as those victimized by strangers (3%) 
because of fear of reprisal by the offender.

	Rape is more likely to be committed against a woman by someone 
known to them (55%) than by a stranger (44%). 	Most perpetrators of
violent crime against women are men (75%) over 21 years of age (70%).

	In cases of rape and aggravated assault, alcohol is
significantly more likely to be used by the predator than when the
crime is robbery or simple assault.  In cases of robbery, drug use is
more apparent.

	Women who are preyed upon by strangers are more likely to face
an armed assailant (33%) than those victimized by intimates (18%), 
relatives (22%) or acquaintances (21%).

	In the 27% of the cases where a weapon is present, there is a
30% chance it will be a gun, 34% chance it will be a knife or
sharpened instrument, 18% chance of a blunt weapon and 18% chance of
others.	One of the most interesting aspects of this study is the
report on the self-defense behaviors exhibited by the victims and the
outcomes based upon the reaction.  Women have been told not to resist
because it increased their chances of physical harm.  This study shows
the opposite.

	In all cases, 24% of women take no action, 30% use physical 
measures against their attacker and 45% use verbal or passive
resistance. Sixty-one percent of the women feel that their
self-defense actions helped the outcome of the situation, 23% said it
does not and 16% are not sure.

	In victimizations of women where the perpetrator is a
stranger or acquaintance, women are more likely to use verbal or
passive resistance an in over two-thirds of the cases feel that it
helps the situation.

	In cases where the offender is an intimate or relative,
women are more likely to resist and when they do, to choose physical
action.  They are also less positive  about the results of their
actions.  Fifty-three percent feel their actions helped them, 30%
feel they do not.

	There is a saying that perception is reality. Perhaps if
women would perceive the need to defend themselves and their
families, the reality would be less family trauma rather than more.

Julianne Versnel Gottlieb,
Publisher