This isn't the fucking Middle Ages. If you're scared to walk to your car from Wal-Mart at 11:30PM, there are two courses of action:
1) Stop going to Wal-Mart at 11:00PM.
2) Buy a gun.
A gun costs $200. Learning how to use it takes 2 weeks and another $100. For $300, you never have to feel vulnerable again.
More importantly, if you're truly terrified of being raped, spend more time researching the incidence of rape. The vast majority of rapes are not performed by some hulking man that sneaks up on you at the gas station and throws you in his trunk. The vast majority of rapes are perpetrated by people the victim knows, or people the victim has willingly put himself or herself into contact with. In other words, a guy that starts talking to you at a bar and slips something into your drink. A guy you go on a date with that decides you aren't allowed to swat his hand away when he's pulling your skirt off. A gardener, electrician, or basically anyone you allow into your home. A huge percentage of rapes are also targeted specifically at children and inmates, so assuming you're not in grade school or prison, and you're not an altar boy, you should be in the clear from that angle.
Basically, as long as you keep an eye on your drinks and avoid being anywhere alone with a man you don't trust, you don't really have to worry about being raped anymore than you have to worry about being mugged or hit by a car. Walking through a bad neighborhood late at night is always going to be dangerous, and not simply because of rapists. A woman might get raped; a man might get beaten into a coma for his wallet, or because some retarded gang-banger wants to prove a point. You're not experiencing some gender-specific terror if you have to gas your car up at midnight. Men don't like it, either.
Are men more naturally equipped to handle ourselves? Yes, but again, it's not the fucking Middle Ages. That is completely changeable. Rapists aren't bulletproof.
tl;dr -- Buy a gun, don't put yourself in stupid situations, and you'll be fine.
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