People resistant to training women in domestic violence situations to defend themselves often offer three concerns : women will feel blamed for the violence, it will be too risky for women in domestic violence situations, and it will trigger traumatic memories.
In "Get Out of My Home and Don't Come Back: Empowering Women Through Self-Defense," Jan Jordan and Elaine Mossman highlight the responses they got from participants in self-defense courses with refugees and others related to these concerns (Violence Against Women 2019. 25(6):313-336.
THEIR FINDINGS
1. Empowerment Self-Defense Training Affirms Violence is Not Women's Fault While Equipping Women with Skills for Protection of Themselves and Others
"Participants and refuge workers were typically insistent about experiencing the course only in empowering
ways and with no hint of victim blaming. This finding reinforced what the self-defense
teachers told us about the ways they consciously strove to validate the many different
ways women responded to prior victimization. A pragmatic approach to ensuring
women’s safety meant that while emphatically affirming violence against women is
not their fault, they considered it essential to equip women with skills they could use
in their own, and others,’ protection." (p. 329)
Women Practice Recognizing Risks and Explore Options to Minimize Violence
"The feedback we received indicated that an important aspect of the
courses involved time spent talking about ways to minimize or avoid the use of violence. The emphasis was on learning ways to manage fear and read situations so that
each woman could choose the best and safest response in any given context. This was
likely to differ for different women, and even for the same women at different times,
being influenced by factors such as how drunk or drugged their partner might be or
whether a weapon was present. The self-defense teachers talked us through the ways
they worked with the women to explore different options and courses of action they
could take when they felt the tension building. The emphasis on protection, not aggression, was well-recognized." (p. 329)
Triggering is Not Necessarily Negative and Empowerment Self-Defense Provides Support
"Both refuge workers and the self-defense instructors themselves spoke
of their awareness that the material presented could trigger reactions and traumatic
memories in course participants and sought to be well equipped in each environment
with what supports were available. Several of the self-defense teachers said how much
they valued support workers participating in the course alongside the women. If someone was triggered, one of the workers could take them aside, while the teacher continued with the rest of the group. Triggering per se was not viewed as a negative
consequence." (p. 329-330).
