Know your local sex criminals.

[Prudence]

I think the bigger concern for me is the proportion of rapes and molestation -- and particularly against children -- that are committed by attackers who are known to their victims.

It's been in the news this week in my area because one group of people is in favor of stricter mandatory sentences and another is concerned that action would lead to families pressuring victims to not report such crimes, because so-and-so beloved family member can't help it and you don't want them to go to jail for life, do you? I can relate to that, because my rape was by someone I knew, and because my "friends" sided with the more popular of us (it wasn't me) it would have been a he said-she said and I never reported it. I can only imagine how a child feels when their family sides with the rapist or molester.

I don't have a good solution. I'm personally more afraid of the extremely violent level 3 stranger rapist who lives not too far from me and whose victims range from children to elderly women. Little Timmy's Uncle John or Aunt Jane isn't a threat to me -- but is a huge threat to Little Timmy.