Empowerment Self-Defense Training is Sexual Assault Prevention

Much of the research published on Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) has focused on young people in college or younger. In "Empowerment Self-Defense Training in a Community Population" Psychology of Women, Jocelyn Hollander and Jeanine Cunningham compared women who took an Empowerment Self-Defense course with a comparable group of women who did not take the course. The participants ranged in age from 18-77.  

In comparison to women who did not take an ESD course, those who did reported: 

• less sexual assault, including unwanted sexual intercourse, one year later
• greater self-defense efficacy
• more accurate knowledge about sexual assault and the possibility of resistance
• less self-silencing than those who did not take the course

Hollander and Cunningham make the case for Empowerment Self-Defense programs to be part of  comprehensive community efforts to  prevent violence against women. They make it clear that even though ESD training reduces women's risks of sexual assault, it does not mean that women are in anyway responsible for stopping or preventing violence. 

Hollander,  Jocelyn A. and Jeanine Cunningham. 2020. Empowerment self-defense training in a community population. Psychology of Women 1-16.