"I was having some trouble getting the car door to open when I suddenly felt hands around my neck. A voice behind me said Give me your purse. In the grip around my neck, I could feel something sharp, cool and metal against my skin. Time slowed down. I remember thinking, is this my friends playing a prank on me? I now work as a psychologist and what happened next is what they call, in trauma studies, the ocean moment."
"My body just reacted without my mind making a decision about what to do. I threw my arms back up over my head and yelled Get out! even though, at 153 centimetres tall, I had no chance of actually hitting my assailant. My cry sounded like a thin whisper to me, but someone heard it. In an instant, out of the dark, a gang of youths appeared from behind the supermarket."
Late one evening in 1986, a woman left her dog in a parked car and returned alone to retrieve it. A man grabbed her, pressed a sharp metal object against her neck, and demanded her purse. Her body reacted with an involuntary 'ocean moment' and she yelled, which attracted attention. A group of youths emerged, chased the assailant away, stayed with her, helped retrieve the dog, and escorted her to the police station. The experience taught lessons about not judging appearances, the willingness of strangers to help, and the importance of asking for accompaniment to car parks at night.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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