Since sexual assault upon women is prevalent in our society and over 80%
of these assaults are committed by an acquaintance, self-defence
is important for all women and girls. The threat of physical
violence affects us all: it can inhibit us from going where
we want, when we want or from standing up for ourselves in
relationships, at school or in the workplace. Effective self-defence
training can empower you to move more freely in the world and not
let fear restrict your life. Studies have indicated that in the
majority of cases, a woman's chances of escape from serious harm
are improved by verbal or physical resistance on her part.
Fighting back depends upon women's ability to act for
themselves. Fighting techniques can range from yelling, running
from an attacker, striking vulnerable body parts (e.g., knees,
throat, eyes, crotch, nose), to crippling an attacker. According
to Brooklyn Women's Anti-Violence Education Centre, eighty
percent of women who yelled and ran from an attacker were able to
get away without physical harm. Sixty percent who either yelled or
ran got away.
The key to fighting back lies in the transformation of fear
into anger into power. To move from fear to anger, women have to
believe that they are worth defending. When you realize that you
have worth, an attack on your person becomes unacceptable. In
attack situations, a defender's first impulse may be to freeze up
-- this is a normal, but crippling reaction to fear. Becoming
angry allows a defender to relax and use adrenaline to demand
that an attack stop and to follow-up with physical strikes. Most
women shy away from yelling and using their full physical
strength. They tend to keep their power inside, almost as if
their strength is something to hide or keep secret. Learning self-defence means developing the strength that comes from
combining physical and mental techniques to learn how to do
whatever is necessary to get away from an attacker, while
ensuring that the attacker cannot continue the attack. Self-defence
education helps women demystify myths about sexual violence and
to act against violence. How many times have we heard that a
woman was asking for it, or that a woman was lucky that she
survived an assault? When a woman survives an assault, she wasn't
lucky, she was strong. Self-defence teaches women to say "No!"
to sexual violence in ways that cannot be ignored.
go back to: Women's self-defence