Why do people become victims? To understand why, we need to take a close look at what the victimizer wants:

Money: The most common reason for assaults is robbery. In most, but not all cases, the perpetrator is interested only in money, and once the victim has nothing of further value, the assault will end. However, in some cases the financially motivated perpetrator has a secondary motivation, which produces a much more serious danger.

Sex: Rape is a crime of violence, not a sexually motivated crime. The real goal of the perpetrator is to gain domination over his victim using sexual assault as his weapon. He's a terrorist conducting an act of terrorism.

Ego Gratification: This motivation is most common in domestic violence or in so-called "stalking" incidents where the perpetrator takes what he believes to be love for the victim and distorts it into rage. It is the "if I can't have her, than no one else can" mindset.

Release From Pain: In the case of schizophrenics and other mentally ill perpetrators, the need to quiet voices inside their heads or other­wise exorcise perceived demons may prompt them to lash out at the first available target. The victimizer, acting on one or more of these motivations, will then choose a victim. The choice of a specific victim may have to do with one or more of the following:

Victims Act Like Victims: Most victims look and act like victims. Attitude means a great deal, and the average assailant is looking for the easiest means to his end. This may mean he chooses the person standing closest to him, but more often than not, he'll choose the one who seems the weakest. If you appear to be strong and confident, he will often let you pass by and will wait for a more vulnerable looking target. Cutting your odds of being chosen can be as easy as keeping a confident and self-assured air about you. You have to realize that criminals are lazy. That's why they become criminals in the first place. As a result, they will always go for the easiest target.

In the Wrong Place: Being a victim can result from simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most assaults take place at very specific places and times, which are normally at night or in dimly lit places. They are not in crowds of people. They are not in front of the police station. Almost everyone knows the danger areas, and yet they choose to believe that an assault won't hap­ pen to them. Avoiding dark parking structures at night, an ATM machine after dark, or leaving a bar or nightclub at closing time, are the types of places and situations that will significantly decrease your chances of trouble.

Attitude: Some people never get victimized, while others seem to be victimized over and over again. Do they subconsciously want to be victims? As mentioned earlier, attitude means a great deal, but part of it can be either subconsciously or deliberately putting oneself into victim situations as well.

Patterns of Victimization: It is well documented that abused children grow up to be abusers, and that women who divorce one abuser often marry another. This pattern is related to what was stated above, which is that some people feel that they deserve to be victims. Unfortunately, no amount of training or preparation will help them until they take care of the underlying psychological problem.

Why Females are Chosen: The biggest area­ son why females are chosen as victims is because they are females. The perpetrator perceives females as weak and unable to defend them­ selves, and as we said the perpetrator will always go for the easiest target.

What can you personally do to get yourself out of an assault situation?

Run Away: The first reaction of most people in a violent situation, and probably the most intelligent reaction, is to run away. Our bodies have been programmed for this response since the time of the caveman. If possible, this is still your best choice. If you can run, do it.

Give Him What He Wants: In any financially motivated assault, you are better off giving your assailant money and valuables to divert a violent confrontation. People have been killed over amounts of money they frequently blow on lunch just because their ego demanded a confrontation. It is not cowardice to pay an armed man not to shoot you; it is simply good sense. There are other times when the demands of the assailant cannot be met. These normally occur when the demand is not for money, but for sex or injury by a rapist or mentally disturbed person. In a case like this, if you can't run away, there is only one option left.

Fight: You must always be aware that in any fight with an armed or even unarmed assailant, you are at a serious disadvantage. A person who has chosen to become a violent criminal is probably in better shape than you, is probably willing to endure more pain than you, and is probably less concerned about administering bodily harm. If he has a knife or a gun, the odds are even more heavily in his favor. For the average person, the fight should be seen only as a way to buy enough time to get away. You are not going to overpower the assailant and hold him for the police. Rather, you are going to distract the assailant with overwhelming doses of pain and fear and run like your life depends on it, because in fact it does.