I guess we need someone who knows how to find food and water in the woods, and how to come across as "just a runaway" or just a street kid and get food/water and protect yourself within a city, next...
Weapons improvisation and self defense would be right up my alley but you can't really do that via text, you kind of have to train it. I can give a few tips, though.
If in public, scream FIRE! Also, RAPE doesn't work, but something that would make people come pissed off would, so be racist. Screaming NIGGER, for instance, would probably get more people to flock to you than anything else.
Sad, I know, but psychology is what it is! It probably got you, the reader a little ticked off. But at any rate, blending in, seen but not noticed, you're harder to spot and someone is less likely to start shit in a crowded area.
The best way to get out of someone trying to restrain or capture you is to simply never be seen and grabbed in the first place. Learn how to be observant without visibly paranoid, and limit exposure like TSW said. The biggest thing is "not looking suspicious"... but this is street smarts and can't really be taught, especially over the internet.
Should you have to get physical with someone, besides the usual going for the eyes or solar plexus type shit, if you don't really know how to punch someone I would suggest being dirty. Go for the groin with a kick, grab someones head and jump and knee them in the face/nose if possible, and as soon as they relent or get stunned or back off, RUN WITHOUT LOOKING BACKWARDS.
Also, keep your fucking shoes tied and FIND A WEAPON. PERIOD. Unarmed vs a weapon, the armed guy almost always wins unless you're talking about a movie or make-believe, sadly enough. Interestingly tons of stores offer small folders for a few bucks, especially hardware stores, car part stores, and whatnot. Just be aware if you're gonna use one for a while to inspect the locking mechanism unless you like slicing up your fingers and you might have to super glue where bolts/screws are in it to hold it together better.
And, also, if you see a chance presented, go for it. Always be ready to bolt, always be thinking of how to escape without letting on to it. Our POW's are told to cooperate, but always try to break for it when possible. Should you find yourself as a child in a program, and if you survive, hell, if you escape, pat yourself on the back - you did what fucking soldiers don't always do, as a child, and arguably had it worse in some ways, if not all depending on where in particular you got sent.
And, worst case, a sure-fire way to get sent to a program is to commit a crime that would get you for sure put in jail. If it comes down to stabbing someone so they go to the hospital, and the hospital reports it, and you get booked for stabbing someone in the leg or whatever, that might suck, but if it would honestly be preferable to a program, well, there you go.
You can also always claim self defense depending on what they did to you, so you might want to wait until after you've been beaten up, covered in marks, underfed/malnourished, joint injured from restraints or psychologically fucked up.
Then again, if you are willing to do that to escape, I'd say you're already mentally torn up enough for a Psych to evaluate you and aid your defense.
