The escape of serial rapist Benny Sela has aroused a myriad of fears. While this evil little man cannot, of course, simultaneously attack all of Israel's female citizens, his escape has underlined the basic insecurity from which we women suffer. Unfortunately, anxiety is proving to be an effective sales promoter. Retail chains and shops specializing in self-defense products for women, such as pepper sprays, tear gas and stun guns, are reporting a dramatic increase in sales: Over the past two days, for example, the Ricochet outlet at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center shopping mall has seen its sales of self-defense products multiply by several hundred percent.

"You could feel the hysteria in the air when we opened our shop on Saturday night," says Dudu Yefet, manager of the Azrieli branch, "and many young women came here to purchase our self-defense items."

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According to Yefet, the most popular product purchased was a pepper spray: Eighty percent of the female shoppers bought it because of its effectiveness and because of the low price.

The Lamitayel retail chain reports that, prior to this week, each of its branches sold on the average one pepper spray a week. On Sunday, the chain sold dozens, with sales especially impressive in its Dizengoff Center shopping mall branch. Yesterday, the chain ran out of pepper spray.

But are the self-defense products currently being purchased really effective when they are crucially needed?

"There is a serious problem with store-bought accessories," points out Guy Dar, an expert in self-defense who teaches a hand-to-hand combat technique. In most cases, notes Dar, you do not have enough time to pull out the stun gun or tear gas canister, and thus it is much better to first try reacting with your hands or with articles that are readily available in any case. Dar believes the most effective self-defense items are ordinary items that you usually carry in your purse anyway. In this category he includes such easily accessible articles as keys, pencils, rings, even the purse itself.

The advantage of these items is twofold. First, you do not have to prepare them in advance or dig them out from the bottom of your purse. Second, they can take your assailant by surprise: They look innocent and, besides, he is probably assuming that you are a weak and completely defenseless woman.

"A woman who is attacked is not interested in fighting her assailant to overcome him," explains Dar. "The only thing she wants to do is to stun him for a few seconds so that she can run away or call for help."

Dar elaborates on these easily accessible weapons and their use. In his opinion, pencils can be deadly because they look so harmless, yet can be very sharp: "The assailant would find it very difficult to get the pencil out of his victim's hands. And all that she has to do is to point it at the upper part of his torso, preferably his eyes or neck. A pencil can neutralize an attacker instantly and can keep him out of commission for at least a few seconds."

"Keys are another accessory that can serve as a weapon in an emergency," he notes. "The best are car keys because they are longer." All you have to do, he explains, is to hold the key in the palm of your hand and use it like a spike. Here, as well, you should point the key at the eyes or neck.

Your purse can also be a self-defense weapon - the smaller and heavier, the better. If you hold it by the strap and grip the strap close to the purse, you can use it to strike your assailant, says Dar.

Even the coins in your pocket can be used in an emergency. You can throw them at your attacker's face, especially his eyes. If you have long fingernails, employ them as effective self-defense weapons.

In Dar's view, the first principle in self-defense should be prevention: Spend a few more seconds surveying the area before you emerge from your car, take a closer look at the dark stairwell before you ascend it, and look to your left and your right before entering an elevator.

Another way of protecting yourself, says Dar, is to think ahead: "Women who are afraid of being attacked - and that is the situation we are facing today - should conduct a few mental exercises, in which they say to themselves what they plan to do if the worst happens, and they are attacked." According to Dar, that way of thinking can prepare you for such an emergency and can promote a more effective response in a real-life crisis.