This is not a happy topic. At an e-mailer’s request and already on my mind, we will review some cold hard facts about a very uncomfortable subject matter. Nearly every post-collapse movie or book that is produced will touch on the reality that criminals resort quickly to raping people. It’s just what they do…that is the reality. It can bee seen in fictional dystopian movies: The Road Warrior, The Book of Eli
Prevention is number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 on the top ten issues about rape in a TEOTWAWKI situation. Guns deter rapists. Guns kill rapists. That’s pretty much the end of the prevention lecture. All preppers know that unarmed women and girls (along with everyone else that is unarmed) are going to be “easy pickins” for criminals. And, as mentioned above, criminals tend to rape as a sick outlet of their inferior minds and abilities. So, in dealing with rape prevention, there is one simple rule: superior firepower is the best possible prevention. Always walking in pairs or groups is not a prevention tool, as there will be large groups of criminals that will easily be able to overpower smaller groups of unarmed folks. It is never a woman that is responsible in any way for a rape they suffer. But, sometimes it is a woman’s naivety or overestimation of her own present security that puts her in harms way. Don’t be that woman. With the structure of society and a 911 police backup around us, most of the time whistles, sprays, and proper self defense training can be effective deterrents to rapes. Without the structure of society around us, that ratio will change radically.
Most serious preppers will be rarely faced with sheltering a rape victim that actually survives and then escapes the scene. What is a group to do to help this poor woman (or man) that has been victimized by thug rapists? First, talk to the person and help care for them with as much charity and heart available. The victim will be most likely to be withdrawn and “closed” both mentally and physically. I am certainly not a counseling expert in any way, so I defer to the experts and some sites are found here, here and here. Surely there are others that are probably excellent, but after an evening of review these are the ones that seemed easy to access and have good support sites. I would think about printing off the last handbook if your group is large enough to realistically face dealing with a rape victim. Writing, exercise and music have been ranked by victims as the most helpful things that helped them recover. Other highly ranked activities were: positive thinking, prayer, talking, group therapy (not available WTSHTF), crying, receiving support from family or friends (limited availability WTSHTF depending on circumstance), and medications (not available WTSHTF either). There will also be the occasional victim within a group, which certainly creates another entire list of problems which are far beyond the scope of this post to discuss. Whether outside or inside your group, dealing with any victim of rape will be a stressful and difficult situation for the entire group and will need valuable time, energy, and possibly resources.
It is my assumption that there will be no “law” and “prosecution” for rapists once they escape the scene. Therefore, the entire topic and process of criminal processing of a rape victim will be ignored. Not that it is not important, but it will be unlikely to be necessary in TEOTWAWKI. Justice will be swift and final for rapists caught in the act WTSHTF. Many are likely to be hunted down and brought to justice if at all possible. If there would be some form of “crime lab” or “evidence collection” available, there is much more information that would be needed…but again this is beyond the scope of this post.
Treatment of a victim should be immediate and based on physical risk to life and limb. If the person has been seriously traumatized, then attending to the immediate concerns of active bleeding and other trauma take precedence. After those types of injuries have been stabilized to the best of your abilities and the person is stable and conscious, then post-rape treatments need to be addressed. STDs are and will continue to be common in rapists…not surprising. Vaccinations against Hepatitis B are important to keep updated now as prevention. Treatment for STD should be given the victim if available. Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Trichomoniasis all need to be treated if medications are available. The easiest was to accomplish this is with single dose medications. Trichomoniasis can be treated with 2,000 mg of Metronidazole one time. Chlamydia can be treated with single dose Azithromycin 1000 mg. Gonorrhea can be treated with Cefixime 400 mg once. There are alternative treatments available for all these infections and can be found in The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
Hopefully, this post will help gather information for some and get others thinking seriously about prevention. If this post causes one person to increase their personal arsenal and prevent a rape in the future–mission accomplished. Let’s hope that many people do instead. If the rapists roam the armed countryside, they won’t roam for long. Unfortunately, none of us can expect that this will be enough to prevent all rapes and rape victims will be plentiful in TEOTWAWKI. It will more likely for prepared people to have to care for those that were unprepared. Unprepared people will also be much more likely to be victims. Again–DON’T BE UNPREPARED. Stay strong, – Dr. Bob and Docswife
JWR Adds: I’ve had several female readers mention that they plan to disguise themselves as men, in the event that they ever have to “bug out” on foot, in the midst of a societal collapse. That would probably be wise.
Dr. Bob is is one of the few consulting physicians in the U.S. who dispenses antibiotics for disaster preparedness as part of his normal scope of practice. His web site is: SurvivingHealthy.com.