The world isn’t always a safe place. It’s also home to psychopaths who can do just about anything to get their way. Although severe psychopathy affects just 1% of the population, research suggests that nearly 30% of people have some psychopathic traits, meaning the other 70% could be their potential victims.
That’s why a woman on TikTok shared her forensic psychology expertise to warn folks about how they could avoid becoming the next victim of a predator. Turns out it has something to do with the way we walk.
More info: TikTok
Apparently, the way you walk can tell a predator a lot about you and signal whether you’re a good target for them to attack
“What if I told you that the way you walk could determine whether or not you’re more likely to become a target of a predator?”
“A research study was done where incarcerated males convicted of violent crimes such as kidnappings, assaults, ras, muers, etc. were shown a series of videos of different women, and then asked to indicate which of the women in the videos they would be most likely to choose as a target. Now, the results of this study may surprise you, because they do contradict a lot of the typical information that you hear regarding victim typologies and how a predator chooses their victims.”
“Out of all of the women shown in the videos, only a select few were unanimously chosen by the incarcerated males. You may be thinking that these women were chosen because of something to do with their physical appearance, such as their body size, if they were small and petite, certain hair color or a certain overall physical appearance. But, that actually isn’t the case.”
“What the selected women all had in common was the way that they walked, and how they generally held themselves in public”
“The selected women all had a similar ‘awkwardness’ to the way that they walked and carried themselves. So let me explain to you what that looked like. The first part of the woman had a gait that was a little bit too small for their body, which resulted in smaller steps, slower speed, and their arms more typically to their sides, or crossed, as well as their heads being down, and not really taking in their general surroundings, which indicated three different things to these potential attackers.”
“A) It signaled to potential attackers that they were a lot more fearful and anxious , and because their heads were down instead of looking at their general surroundings, that would be a lot easier to surprise. B) It signaled to potential attackers that these women were generally weaker than other potential victims. It gave them the indication that they may be ill, injured, or just generally more fragile than other women and easier to subdue.”
“And C) because these women had their arms close to their body or crossed, it seemed easier for an attacker to come up behind them and wrap their arms around them with less resistance. On the other hand, the other part of the women that were selected had a gait that seemed a bit too big for their body, and their arms tended to flail to the sides and seemed just overly awkward.”
“And this signaled to the men, two things: A) That they were probably more clumsy and had less coordination than other potential victims. So if they were to attack these women, they would not be able to put up as much of a good fight. And B) because their arms were out and flailing to the side, it left the lower body open to, again, come around and grab them.”
“So let’s talk about the women who weren’t chosen and why the women who were not selected walked with a gait that tended to be more natural to their body. And as far as pace goes, they kept the same pace as everyone else in the immediate area. They also tended to walk with their shoulders back and their chins up. And they looked around at their surroundings and asserted more of a general confidence.”
“Essentially, the women that were not selected gave off an energy that said, ‘Don’t mess with me, I will put up a good fight.’ And that’s why they weren’t selected. I know that it sounds silly, but something as simple as the way you walk or the way that you carry yourself in public could determine the likelihood that you become a target of a predator.”
“But because we have this study, we know that it’s a possibility. And I know that it can seem difficult to consciously think about the way that you’re walking or carrying yourself in public.”
“But I do have a method to share with you to help you think about it more, and that is the STAAR method”
“S is for stride. Walk with a stride that is natural to your body and not too far apart or not too short. T is for tall. Stand tall. Keep your shoulders back and your chin up. Assert a natural confidence and dominance to those around you. The first A stands for arms. Make sure that your arms are swinging naturally by your sides and avoid keeping your arms too close to your body or flailing out of your natural range of motion.”
“The second A stands for awareness. Stay aware of your surroundings. Take notice if something feels or looks off. And lastly, R stands for relax. Make sure that you stay cool, calm and collected and don’t give off any indication that you feel or see that something is wrong, to a potential attacker.”
“That’s all I have for this video, but I hope that you guys learned something that you didn’t already know and that you can implement into your daily life. Like this video and share it so that other people know and stay tuned for some more educational content about how to keep yourself safe. Stay safe, and have a great rest of your day. Bye, guys.”
Check out the original video here
@alextaylorrc welcome to video #1 in my new safety series: the way you walk could decrease the likelihood of becoming a target of a potential attacker. something as simple as changing the way that you walk and the way that you carry yourself could keep you safe from a possible threat! your overall demeanor could be the deterrent of an attacker, so this is something to keep in mind day to day! much love to you all and stay safe 🖤 #safetytips #womenssafety #educationalcontent #educationalcontentcreator #truecrime #truecrimecommunity #truecrimetok ♬ original sound – alextaylorrc
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