We got an email yesterday about two different guys who had flashed groups of women who were walking around campus in broad daylight from campus police.
At the end of the email, it had “risk reduction techniques.”
Those techniques were to not travel anywhere alone, to not travel in dark, isolated spaces, to avail yourself of campus police when walking to and from your car, to feel free to avoid sketchy people, and to trust your instincts. I’m paraphrasing slightly, but not much.
As you can see, none of these “risk reduction techniques” would have prevented these women from being flashed.
So, they’re a superstition, no better than “don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back.” Just some shit women are supposed to do that isn’t directly applicable to the situations we encounter trouble in that assume we have some control over who does us wrong.
I’m especially loving the idea that we’re all supposed to call for an escort to and from our cars. All of us? Just how many police officers do we have?
Tiny Cat Pants 
I’m thinking that every woman on campus should request a police escort to and from her car at all times. Especially in daylight since that’s when this guy is flashing.
I guess I should be glad they didn’t have the ‘don’t wear provocative clothes’ risk reduction suggestion, but wow. Just wow.
I’m about to suggest to our Industry Officials that their next similar memo say “Wear burqas and only go about escorted by a male family member armed with a scimitar, you rebellious whores, what do you expect.”
Here’s something useful, Folks in Charge at B’s Industry, my Industry, other Industries:
Inform your community that nasty people are afoot and that members should be aware of their surroundings, keep their phones fully charged at all times and have the police dispatch number memorized or easily at hand to report said nasty people. Use the camera or video function on the phone, too, so said nasty people can be identified and prosecuted. Also, encourage community members not to show fear or alarm but to loudly mock, laugh and point at these nasty people and to tell them to get away because no one’s impressed by nor interested in their pitiful offering.
Following these tips can almost guarantee that nasty people will begin to avoid your community in favor of another that will give them what they want: shock, fear, alarm, horror. And if they avoid your community, they won’t escalate into attacking your community.
Reduce the incidence of offenders, Folks in Charge. Don’t tell your people to run and hide and be scared when they’re simply walking by and minding their own business.
Good lord.
I don’t know why Grandfille would want the Internut, but she owns it today.
You guys. I emailed them about the risk reduction tips and they tried to spin it like these women were examples of what TO do, as if they’d followed the risk reduction tips and this was the best case outcome–flashing that doesn’t escalate to some kind of assault.
So… yeah.
I’m still not over the response you got.