The ONE thing you need to know to avoid DATE RAPE!

     After more than 10 years of experience in treating dating abuse & date rape victims at my counseling center in NJ called Express Yourself Today LLC, I want to share with you the single most important thing you can do to avoid becoming a victim of date rape.  I am going to tell you some real life stories, so you can see for yourself.  Let this be a teachable moment.
     One night a girl is at the beach with her friend.  They rented a hotel room & were there to party and have fun.  They have a great night out dancing at the local club.  After getting back to their room, the girl's phone rings at 2am.  It's a guy she met at the club.  He wants her to come down to the parking lot because he is there in his car.  Her friend kind of knows the guy, so she thinks it will be okay. She walks down and gets into his car.  He had been drinking & so had she.  They drive off and park in a secluded area.  He is much bigger than she is.  They start kissing and then all of a sudden he overpowers her, lays on top of her, locks the doors & proceeds to forcibly rape her.  No one could hear her scream.  Being raped was her first sexual experience ever.
     At a college party one night, a girl gets a phone call from an upperclassman guy she is absolutely in love with and has had a crush on forever.  He has barely paid any attention to her before tonight.  He invites her over to his apartment because he is having some friends over for a party.  She is so excited!  She leaves alone and takes a cab over to his place.  There are about 15 people there- mostly guys and some girls.  She had already been drinking earlier in the night.  They were making her do shots & play a drinking game.  Before long, she is feeling really out of it.  She can barely focus and the room is spinning.  He takes her into his room to lay her down.  All of a sudden she is going in and out of consciousness and realizes that he is raping her.  She cannot move her body or yell.  She feels paralyzed.  It is like an out of body experience.  She is sobbing while he is raping her.  After he is done, he tells her to get dressed and get out of his house.  No one at the party did anything to help her- even the girls. 
     These are 2 real life stories of date rape.  The single most important thing you can do as a GIRL or WOMAN is to NEVER GO ANYWHERE ALONE.  Late night after drinking, guys don't want to have small talk or get to know you better.  They want sex.  There is always strength in numbers.  When you are alone, there is no one there to help you or call for help.  Girls and women need to stick together and support each other.  We need to watch out for each other.  Most importantly, we need to speak out about this issue that has slowly become a national epidemic.  Awareness & education is the key to change.  Date rape is the highest unreported crime in college.  Please share this with your friends and family.  Together we can and will make a positive difference!
In your Safety,
Dari
http://www.safedatingcoach.com/