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Pepper spray is legal
but can be risky

Question: With assaults on women, especially around the University of Hawaii, on the rise, what kind of self-defense items -- pepper spray, mace, electric batons, etc. -- are prohibited by law?

Answer: All except pepper spray.

The City Council made it legal for people 18 and older to buy pepper sprays, designed to fit in purses or pants pockets, from licensed retailers in 1996.

Capt. Frank Fujii, spokesman for the Honolulu Police Department, cautioned that you should know how to use the spray properly for it to be effective.

"Realistically," he said, the spray often ends up at the bottom of a purse, where it's not of any use.

Instead of relying on such things as pepper sprays, Fujii said the best defense is being aware of your surroundings and to follow your instincts.

"The important thing for people to remember is that awareness is the key to being safe," he said. "That awareness can keep you away from trouble so you don't need to deploy self-defense measures."

He also pointed out that if you carry pepper sprays, bats or any kind of weapon, "you could put the weapon in the hands of the perpetrator."

Fujii passed on some words of advice if you are attacked. There are three things you can do, he said. One is passive resistance.

People should realize that "survival is the most important thing," Fujii said. Understanding that, submission should be considered a real option when attacked.

The second is active resistance, in which your goal is to do anything to escape -- "not to overcome the (attacker), but to get away," Fujii said. "This is where awareness comes into play again. You should know where your escape routes are, know where you're going to run."

The third is to turn the element of surprise, often used by perpetrators, against them, Fujii said.

"Do something unexpected," he said. Depending on the situation, you could just "faint."

Or if you're being sexually attacked, you could say something unexpected and alarming, such as "Please, if you rape me, I hope you don't sue me for giving you HIV," Fujii said. Or, fall to the ground and start babbling, as if you're going into convulsions.

That could be especially effective in sex assaults, "which are all about power and control. If you do something like that, you take away the power, you take away the control," he said. "Will these measures work? There's no guarantee. But any plan is better than having no plan."

On a last note, Fujii said, "People need to trust their instincts."

So many times, people will "get this feeling (about danger), yet what do we do? We continue down this path of possible danger. You get these instincts telling you, 'No, no, no, don't go,'" but ignore them."

The bottom line: "It's better to be safe than sorry; it's better to be a little embarrassed than sorry," he said. Remember: "The most important thing is survival."

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