Everyone should be aware of potential warning signs associated with sexual predators – people who will use a wide variety of tactics to have unwanted sex with you.
There is NO specific sex offender profile. They are a very mixed group coming from all walks of life with different levels of intellect, mental health, socio-economic status, ages and gender.
Their behavior can range from being extremely nice to disguise their true intent to being extremely abusive exhibiting an authoritarian attitude toward others in an effort to get anything they want without fear of retribution.
Predators will often “test the waters”. If their target does not stop inappropriate gradual advances such as flirting, inappropriate touching, inappropriate special treatment or laughs at inappropriate jokes, the predator will take that as permission to go further.
For this reason, it’s important to identify and address inappropriate behavior before it progresses.
Indicators And What To Do
One indicator is inappropriately excessively nice and/or overly helpful behavior; especially noticeable when the help is not wanted and/or initially refused. The perpetrator does this to build trust to disguise their true intent.
This is sometimes referred to as “sexual grooming”, as they gradually groom their target to increasingly trust them as they make advances that become increasingly difficult to stop. So what do you do – Trust your instinct.
If you do not want the help, stick to your gut instinct and do not allow the person to assist – decline firmly. Don’t allow them to make you feel bad for not doing what they want – this is a common tactic.
If they do not respect your wishes, it is they who are not being polite. The sooner you break off the contact, the better. Seek help if they will not leave you alone – where there are other people to help.
Another indicator is excessively self-centered and calloused behavior. Emphasis is solely on them; they are insensitive to others. Getting what they want is all that counts. The impact of this behavior on others, their feelings or how it might hurt them, is of no concern.
They tend to be impulsive, aggressive, and show low empathy. They often go beyond mere selfishness, and border on an “assumed supreme right”, “I am all powerful” or “I am all knowing” type thinking where they are better than anybody else.
They may think race, social position or gender make them superior and therefore assume they have the right to take what they want. They act as if the world owes them something. They may express belittling attitudes, nasty-degrading comments, offensive comments disguised in the form of jokes.
So what do you do – Discontinue contact and let responsible officials know such as the police, SARC and your supervisor, first sergeant or commander.