1. Instead, we should be teaching men not to be violent, and not to rape.
Yes, of course we should be teaching men this, but such enormous social changes take time and money, and I am not prepared to just sit around (indoors) waiting for this to happen. Also, there are some men who will never take this idea on board, including those of a psychopathic tendency.

2. Bystander Intervention, as taught in many universities now, is a much better idea.
Bystander Intervention is a great idea. Feeling able to step in and disrupt or defuse a potentially violent or aggressive situation, is a very valuable skill. I am enormously grateful to anyone, male or female, who is prepared to do this. However, violence typically occurs in a situation without witnesses present, so no bystander to intervene. I would also prefer not to delegate responsibility for my safety to a random bystander.

3. Men should protect us. (My Prince will come!) See all of number 2 above!! Plus, the men themselves are often the perpetrators of the violence.

4. It causes ‘Victim Blaming’.
The blame for violence is always with the perpetrator of that violence, never the victim. Every woman has the right to learn to defend herself, but this does not mean that every woman has either the opportunity or wish or capability to do so. This in no way makes them ‘to blame’ for violence that they suffer.

5. If we fight back the perpetrator will only get angry and hurt us more.

The advice given by the police has changed, and now it is to fight back as hard as we can. Statistically the outcomes have been shown to be much better in those situations where the woman has been able to fight back and resist her attacker.

This list is in no way exhaustive. I will be making additions as I think of them!