Assault on East Dulwich Grove

[pickle23]

A woman in her late teens was attacked and raped just off East Dulwich Grove (near Elsie Road) in East Dulwich last night around 2am. The attacker was a black male in his late 20's.

Please be vigilant.

[gsirett]

I saw the police cordon... Actually on glengarry road

Can I ask how you know this ? Did the police tell you ? Have they arrested anyone ?

There are a lot of people in this immediate area very upset and worried by this news. Worried for their safety

My thoughts are with the victim

[dulwichgirl2]

Dear God, poor girl.

[pickle23]

The lady in question works for me.

We are working with the police and right now no one has been arrested to our knowledge.

[gsirett]

I can't say this without sounding, well sensationalist .....

But right now, there is a rapist loose In the area ?

[Belle]

Oh god, that's terrible - poor, poor girl. And how brave of her to report it. Really hope they find him soon and that she gets lots of support.

[uncleglen]

Vile scum

[vanessa520]

How sad. Hope the young lady is ok as can be. Was this connected to the police on glengary road today?

[New Girl]

Oh my word. I really hope the lady is alright and receiving much support. My thoughts are with her.

I actually live very near the scene and know that there is a young black male who randomly shouts at passers by. It's unrelated but scares the bejebus out of me. Please be vigilant. I know I certainly will be.

[kr1st3l]

omg! does that mean us ladies are no longer safe to walk home frm work or a night out after midnight.... or walk da dog....or pop to budgens etc. my boyf wont let me hear the end of this as he always telling me not to walk/ride pushbike out late, and I guess he is spot on......This is really scary & my thoughts and prayers are with the young lady in question. I hope they catch him b4 he hurts anyone else.....i thnk ill carry a fork in my handbag frm nw on!!! anyone comes nr me il stickm in d eye........

[Damon Baird]

Absolutely horrid news and my thoughts go out to the girl. I hope she has a good support unit and strong family.

This happens too much and too often, makes me sick.

It mortifying that people do things like this and almost a bad that they some times get away it. I can't stand to see blokes leering and shouting at women (bet they'd be pi$$ed if it was their sister, mum or girlfriend being letched over) because you can see so many woman feel uncomfortable and sometimes scared.

I'd go absolutely psycho if I saw something like this happening and batter the person.

kr1st3l Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

i thnk ill carry a

> fork in my handbag frm nw on!!! anyone comes nr me

> il stickm in d eye........

Be careful how you word yourself if you did use a fork in self defence. I'm not encouraging assault in any way but, if you intentionally carry a fork for defence and knowingly use it, it's classed as assualt with a weapon.

If you happen to have the fork in your bag, as say your young child must have put it in there (or whatever reason), you got jumped and your hand was in your bag and just grabbed the fork as it was the first thing your hand felt; then that's legal. I spent 3 years working closely with CPS (Criminal Protection.. sorry I mean Crime Procescution Service) in a previous job. It's dishearting to see the amount of regular people who don't mean harm to anyone get prosecuted while the mugger/burgler gets off completely free.

[Huggers]

my thoughts to the victim at this appalling time.

Didn't a lady come on here a few weeks ago to warn thata man had put his hand over her mouth as she approached her front door but then ran off, in the same bit of east Dulwich? I wonder if the two incidents are connected?

found it http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,862611,page=1

[Townleygreen]

HORRIBLE.

Kick/knee your attacker in the scrotum and scream as loud as you can.

[debs]

Huggers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> my thoughts to the victim at this appalling time.

>

> Didn't a lady come on here a few weeks ago to warn

> thata man had put his hand over her mouth as she

> approached her front door but then ran off, in the

> same bit of east Dulwich? I wonder if the two

> incidents are connected?

> found it

Yes you're right. Also, a 20 year old neighbour of mine was attacked at the Grove Vale end of Ondine road a few weeks back. Same method, approached from behind in the early hours, hand across mouth and told if she didnt give him her bag he'd hurt her. Sounds like the same guy..same description.

> http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5

> ,862611,page=1

[Cyclemonkey]

How horrible for the person concerned - i hope they catch the person that did it soon.

It goes without saying but everyone needs to remember to aware of their surroundings when walking home at night - no headphones on, no checking the phone, make sure you look around you as you walk down the road checking for suspicious people (having said that i did this walking hom along East Dulwich Road last week - getting increasingly concerned about a man in front of me who kept slowing down and looking back at me furtively - i went and stoood by the 24 hour Costcutter and chatted to the workers there and waited for him to pass my road as i was a bit worried about what he was doing - turned out he was looking for a quiet place to urinate!

Self defence wise i would recommend women in particular do a self defence course - i recomemnd this one (not one i run but one i have done and heartily recommend it)

http://www.kbselfdefence.co.uk/kbsd/about.htm

Townleygreen - i understand your advice and a lot of people would do it but as a fairly high level kickboxer and someone who does a lot of self defence, kicking in self defence is not recommended unless you are a very well trained Martial Artist for the following reasosns:

1. It can unbalance you and give your attacker the chance to grab your leg and tip you on to the floor

2. Kicking someone in the groin can just anger them and unless you are sure you are fit enough to run away fast you will get yourself into more trouble - it also requires you to get quite close to the assailant allowing them greater opportunity to grab you.

3. Back to the reasonable force issue - kicking can do a lot of damage unless you have been trained how to control your kicks so it could end up in a worse situation.

4. If you are not very flexible or wearing high heels you can just end up injuring yourself badly

The first rule of self defence is to run away, if you can't do that learn so techniques to disarm your assailant - eye gouges, finger bends, neck chops etc.. but as i said learn them properly from a qualifed self defence instructor so you can be sure that they are effective and within the law.

finalyl, something i did when there were a few muggings on the road i lived on in Camberwell a few years back. Other women - if you get off the bus or train and are walking the same way as another lone woman why not offer to walk together

[Jeremy]

Although I've taken some stick for it on here, I'm generally of the opinion that it's never wise for women to walk alone at night. You should always try to get someone to meet you at the station or bus stop, or get a minicab from a reputable company. If you absolutely have to walk alone, carry a personal alarm in your pocket, and keep your hand on it at all times. Wear flat shoes that you can run in.

[Otta]

Have to agree with Jeremy. It's shit that that is reality, and not fair, but better that than being attacked.

The fact this particular attack resulted in the rape of a very young woman is absolutely vile. I hope the scum that did it ends up getting beaten to a pulp!

[lpool]

Attended a Suzy Lamplough session recently where they presented an air alarm. Would recommend it as it has ability to disable person for few seconds as so loud.

[Cyclemonkey]

Jenny - i can't agree with you there. I will, to be fair, assess the situation idividually. If i am on my own very late at night and have had a bit to drink i will often get a cab. But i refuse to accept that i must curtail my life completely - we need to work towards making streets safer not making the victims curtail their lives. You need to be sensible, as i have outlined above, but advising women to not go out after dark alone is not a place i want to arrive at - what if you are single and live alone? What if you are ona low income and cannot often afford a cab? Here is a positive response to this issue http://www.reclaimthenight.org/

Also please remember whilst this incident is shocking and vile and we should all take extra care at this time women are LESS likely to be attacked at night than young men who are the most at risk group at night. Also women are more likely to be raped and attacked by someone they know (eg on a date, by someone they met in a bar, sadly even by a partner or former partner) than by a random stranger in the street.

[jumpinjackflash]

Also, walk with keys in hand. Two reasons - it looks as though you are near to your house and they could be used to defend yourself.

[healey]

Cyclemonkey Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The first rule of self defence is to run away, if

> you can't do that learn so techniques to disarm

> your assailant - eye gouges, finger bends, neck

> chops etc.. but as i said learn them properly

> from a qualifed self defence instructor so you can

> be sure that they are effective and within the

> law.

Self defense classes can give a false sense of security, as under stress situations even experienced people will go to pieces trying to remember some sequence of movements. Fighting is, of course, chaotic so there is limited value in teaching responses to very specific scenarios.

I do, however, agree that it is best to run, shout, gouge or scratch.

Anyway, my thoughts are with the poor lady in question.

[jumpinjackflash]

No. there is a difference in learning a martial art discipline and self defense. My instructor used to teach us self defense in addtion to our training sessions. These actions can be prove to be very effective - they don't involve 'fighting'. But it DOES depend on how you react at the time and of course the situation you're facing. It can't hurt to know some very basic techniques however.

Here's hoping they catch this guy very soon.

[cab]

I live right next to where this happened and didn't hear a thing, when usually I hear everything that goes on in that alley. I think despite recommendations for self-defence classes, alarms etc, screaming etc, when someone is threatening you and you are terrified there's not a lot you can do.

I was mugged on my doorstep (poor Glengarry Road!) a year ago and despite screaming very loudly, no one heard me apart from one of neighbours but even then they thought it was just a fox. I was being vigilant, wasn't drunk, did'nt have my phone out or headphones in but was just followed and before I knew it was on the ground having had my bag ripped from me. It all happens very quickly.

[Cyclemonkey]

Absolutely - i train at Kickboxing and Kung Fu for around 4 - 6 hours a week. We do self defence as a separate discipline and are taught very very strongly that the frist defence is to run away and force should only be used in extreme circumstances. Also that knowlign self defence will not always protect you - complacency is not good. however as jumpinjackflash says it is better to kwo soem basci techniques.

As an fairly experienced fighter i would never fight someone in a street situation - partly because my Martial Arts discipline forbids that sort of behaviour and as you say i have enough self knowledge and awereness to recognise the difference between a well organised and controlled bout in a Dojo and a street fight - never fight someone in the street but you can learn and use techniques to avoid conflict and release your self if an attacker grabs you.

[owlwise]

That's terrible! I do hope the young lady in question gets all the support she needs and that the b*st*rd is caught.

I'd recommend ladies carrying with them the following in case they feel vulnerable in the streets at night:

http://www.stoppashop.co.uk/self-defence-products/personal-attack-alarms-and-sprays/stoppa-red-mk3-uv-self-defence-spray.html

or this:

http://shop.suzylamplugh.org/Alarms-and-Devices/Personal-Shriek-Attack-Alarm/prod_7.html