No Selves to Defend

No Selves to Defend: A Legacy of Criminalizing Women of Color for Self-Defense is a compelling anthology edited by Mariame Kaba of Project Nia and the Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander. The anthology is a collection of examples of how women who have defended themselves (particularly women of color) have been criminalized and punished. Featured are Marissa Alexander, Lena Baker, Inez Garcia, Rosa Lee Ingram, Joan Little, Cece McDonald, New Jersey 4, Cassandra Peten, Bernadette Powell, Juanita Thomas, Yvonne Wanrow, and Dessie Woods.

Kaba created the book as a consciousness-raising tool as well as a means of raising money for Marissa Alexander’s defense fund. Supporters and activists who created the Free Marissa Campaign fought for the freedom of Marissa, a survivor of domestic violence who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing one warning shot upwards to stop her abusive husband during a life-threatening beating. Her warning shot caused no injuries and she had no previous criminal record, yet the Jacksonville Florida police arrested her and charged her with aggravated assault. Earlier this year, Marissa was released from prison after a three-year term, but will remain under house arrest for two more years.

The Free Marissa Campaign kept Marissa Alexander’s case in the public eye, revealing the problems of Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws and the failure of the criminal justice system to adequately protect domestic violence survivors, particularly women of color, who defend themselves against domestic violence.

Ayanna Harris, co-organizer of the Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander said: "One of the biggest issues and injustices Marissa’s prosecution and incarceration illuminates is the criminalization of women who defend themselves. Marissa Alexander was bound at an intersection that illuminated many ills in our justice system, including mandatory minimum sentencing, the criminalizing of those who defend themselves, [and] inconsistent application of Stand Your Ground laws….(Prupis 2015).”

For more, check out the resources below.

Resources

Free Marassia Campaign 

Prison Culture Blog

Project NIA: Building Peaceful Communities

Prupis, Nadia. 2015. “Race, domestic abuse, and a warning shot:Marissa Alexander released from prison, but still not free.” Common Dreams, January 28.



Martha Thompson, IMPACT Chicago Instructor

What You Can Do to Support Sexual Assault Survivors

“A growing body of evidence indicates that the way survivors of many types of trauma are received—in the immediate aftermath of an overwhelming event, or in the course of recovery—can have tremendous impact on their resilience and healing. This means that even if we are unable to stop the evil of sexual assault from happening in every case, we can mitigate its effects.”

Lynne Marie Wanamaker, anti-violence educator and personal trainer.

For the full blog post, go to Lynne Marie Wanamaker. 2015. “First Response: Showing Compassion and Care to Assault Victims.”  MsFit Winter  #7 

http://msfitmag.com/first-response-showing-compassion-and-care-to-assault-victims/

Do the Effects of IMPACT Last?

One of the reasons IMPACT is such a powerful experience is that women who take the Core Program incorporate the tools and strategies they learn into their bodies.  We hear from many graduates how they used their verbal and physical skills years later without taking an additional self-defense course.   

Margit Cox Henderson and Jeanne Albright, along with assistance from Martha Thompson, Lisa Amoroso, and Theo Pintzuk,  conducted a study comparing IMPACT graduates the day of graduation and graduates who had completed the course 2-4 years earlier who were taking a review course.  Using videotaped scenarios from the graduation and from the follow-up program, raters assessed each participant for her use of self-defense skills (target selection, technique selection, strike accuracy, and technique quality).  In addition, participants completed a survey self-assessing their confidence in their current abilities to use specific skills in real-life situations. For the follow-up course, graduates completed the confidence survey at the beginning of the course and other grads after they completed the course.

The researchers found that whether a recent graduate or not, participants’ self-defense skills were strong and, further the skills of graduates who had taken the course 2-4 years earlier and those who had just completed the course were equivalent—that is, there was no reduction in skills years after completing the course. Although their skills were as strong as recent graduates, women who had taken IMPACT 2 or more years earlier had less confidence in their ability to use their skills in a real-life situation.

So, yes the skills last but confidence is slightly reduced over time. Since confidence is key to using the skills, consider taking a review course to invigorate your confidence in the strong tools that you have and in your ability to apply these skills to new situations.

Reference

Henderson, Margit Cox and Jeanne Albright with Martha Thompson, Lisa Amoroso, and Theo Pintzuk. 1994. "Women's Self-Defense Training: Do the Effects Last?" Paper presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association. May, Chicago IL.

Catcalling: An Intervention Story

The scene: the sidewalk outside a gym, which has a huge window/glass wall so that exercisers can see out, and pedestrians can see in. A couple of women are working out on the cardio machines. A man stands on the sidewalk, catcalling the women.

I walk up, take in the scene, and say, "That's pretty offensive, sir.

"What?" He says.

"That's pretty offensive."

"I'm lookin' at women!" He exclaims -- the implication being that he is doing nothing wrong.

"Well, they may not want to be looked at!" I say.

He walks away grumbling. One of the women mouths "thank you" through the glass. He of course catcalls me (from a safe distance) as I leave.

Amy Jones, LSW, Violence Prevention Program Manager, Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center, Chicago.

New IMPACT Office Coordinator: Kathleen Grant

Welcome to Kathleen Grant, the new Office Coordinator for IMPACT Chicago. In this part-time role, Kathleen coordinates both office and virtual office work and brings a wealth of experience and skills to IMPACT. She joins other Administrative Team Members: Lisa Amoroso and Martha Thompson (Volunteer Personnel Committee Members), Tara Brinkman (Registration and Workshop Coordinator), and Laura M. Dini (Outreach Coordinator).

Kathleen is a third generation Girl Scout and has been a member for 30 years. She comes from a home that has always focused on empowering girls and women. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute, Kathleen is also a professional photographer and has already used her professional skills for IMPACT programs (e.g. see February 2015 Core Program photos on Facebook.com/impactchicago).

Kathleen says about her first three months with IMPACT: “My first experience with an IMPACT class was taking photos for the February 2015 Core Program. After the third woman defended herself, I realized I was having trouble focusing my camera because of the tears in my eyes. I was overwhelmed with the desire to volunteer for this organization doing such powerful and amazing work and then I said to myself—‘wait a minute, I’m working for this organization—how great is that!’”

Thank you to IMPACT Chicago 2014 Volunteers

April 12-18, 2015 is National Volunteer Week. IMPACT Chicago is primarily a volunteer-run organization and all volunteer time counts. With the exception of office management, registration and workshop coordination, organizational outreach, and instructional class time, volunteers do all other work. Thank you to all the volunteers who keep IMPACT going!

There are lots of ways to support IMPACT and we invite you to consider volunteering in 2015! 

Lisa Amoroso
Rob Babcock
Tara Brinkman
Ann Botz
Bruce Brio
Courtney Childs
Kaitlin Decero
Maureen Dunn
Debborah Harp
Sheila Hickey
Jesse Holzman
Katie Kramer
Naomi Love
Jim Lucas
Rachel Marro
Katy Mattingly
Terry McDonough
Deb Mier
Mark Nessel
Molly Norris
Chemely Pomales
Ashley Ruiz
Ben Ruiz
Arden Schuman
Janette Scott
Tania Shusler
Katie Skibbe
Robyn Stellman
Tammi, WGS, Northeastern
Martha Thompson
Nate Tracy-Amoroso
Carrie Villa
Margaret Vimont
Laura Weiss
Nat Wilson
Amy Winston
Steve Wright




Please e-mail us if we have inadvertently left your name off the list!

Supporting Survivors in Community Settings

Supporting Survivors in Community Settings

This resource is based on Sarah Ullman’s (2010) research regarding social reactions to survivors who disclose sexual assault.  Ullman determined that negative social reactions have a harmful impact on survivors who disclose sexual violence (pp.74-76), and that commonly-held attitudes, such as rape myths and stereotypes, constitute “social phenomenon that maintain a rape-supportive environment” (p. 14).  Further, she concluded that anticipation of “receiving negative reactions,” such as victim-blaming, harms survivors considering disclosure (p. 19).

            Sexual violence is so epidemic that the presence of survivors can be assumed in every gathering. To support survivors in community settings, negative social reactions should be avoided proactively in every discussion of sexual violence.

ESD instructors have utilized these communication skills for many years to support survivors in our classes and to model speech that disrupts “rape-supportive” culture.  The recommended behaviors are consistent with trauma-aware and survivor-centered practices endorsed by experts such as the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), UN Women and Know Your IX (http://knowyourix.org/).  These practice behaviors are appropriate to many public settings and may have particular relevance for educators, religious congregations, policy-makers and journalists.

	Behaviors[i]
Negative social reactions[ii]:	Recommended	Avoid
Victim blaming: Suggests that assault result from a survivor’s behavior or character.	Incorporate a philosophical statement in written and spoken communication repudiating victim-blaming.  For example: “Women do not ask for, cause, invite, or deserve to be assaulted.”[iii]	Avoid questioning any survivor’s choices, even in the abstract. Avoid “why” questions, which “can sound accusatory and might bring out defensive and/or self-blaming responses.”[iv]

Egocentric response: Prioritizes concern about the effect of the victim’s assault upon the listener.	Utilize clinical interviewing skills, such as open-ended questions and active- and passive- listening.	Avoid asking too many questions or imposing your values. Be sensitive to the possibility of triggering, the experience by which trauma symptoms are evoked by experiences reminiscent of the original injury.  Do not unnecessarily introduce lurid or potentially challenging topics.
Stigmatizing response: Treat survivors of sexual violence as different than others/different than they were before the assault.	Anticipate the likelihood that survivors are present in every setting. Utilize the principle of “pre-emptive radical inclusion,” which assumes representatives of any population we might discuss are present in the conversation.[v]	Avoid assuming that survivors are not present. Avoid speaking about survivors as somehow different from those who are present, or from people who have not experienced sexual violence.
Distraction: Discouraging discussion of the details of assault.	Model empathic responses. If facilitating a group within which a disclosure is made, skillfully moderate the survivor’s needs, the group’s needs, and your own emotional response.	Avoid rapid change of subject. Avoid off-topic inquiries. Avoid extremes of either sensationalizing or dismissing the details of an assault.
Controlling response: Trying to control the victim or the situation.	Validate survivors’ choices and support their decisions. Be prepared to share information about resources to support survivors of sexual violence.	Avoid suggesting what a survivor “should” do/have done.
Rape myths: Repeat rape-promoting social attitudes.	In written and verbal communication, explicitly reject correlation of dress, behavior, location or character with deserving or inviting assault.	Avoid questions or statements that “imply that women invite rape, enjoy it, and are responsible for rape because of their dress or behavior.”[vi]
Trust violation: Betrayal of trust.	Arrange for privacy in meetings and interviews. Maintain confidentiality. Establish norms for confidentiality in groups.	Avoid compromising privacy or confidentiality.
Minimizing response: Minimize the trauma of rape and/or pathologize survivors’ coping reactions.	In written and verbal communication, acknowledge sexual violence as significantly injurious. Reflect understanding that survivors recover from sexual violence along individual trajectories and that the negative impact of sexual violence can be longstanding and idiosyncratic.	Avoid comparing one type of violation or injury to another. Never apologize for or defend the act of perpetration.
Disbelief/denial: Indicate that the listener does not believe the survivor.	In written and verbal communication, express belief in survivors’ lived experience.	Avoid expressions of surprise or disbelief.

---

[i] Specific practice behaviors derived from the feminist practice wisdom of ESD instructors and adopted from/informed by these published sources: CALCASA. (1999). Support for survivors, p. 139-145. Retrieved from http://www.calcasa.org/wp-content/uploads/files/CALCASA-1999_Support-for-Survivors.pdf; UN Women. (2012). Survivor-centred approach.  Retrieved from http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/652-survivor-centred-approach.html; Wanamaker, L.M. & Safe Passage. (2013). Say something superhero field guide:  A manual for eliminating interpersonal violence, p. 54.  Retrieved from http://www.saysomethingnow.org/uploads/2/0/7/0/20705914/saysomethingfieldguide10.12.2014-1.pdf

[ii]  Identified and defined by Ullman, S. (2010).  Talking about sexual assault: Society’s response to survivors.  (1^st ed.)  [Electronic edition].  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, p. 59-82.  Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.bc.psychbooks/publications/466417.  

[iii] National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Ad Hoc Committee on Self Defense, Cited by CALCASA, 1999, p. 401.

[iv] CALCASA, 1999, p. 141.

[v] Cindy Beal, Justice and Peace Consulting, justiceandpeaceconsulting@gmail.com

[vi] Ullman, 2010, p. 73.