Do's and Don'ts

Check out this great post by Kidpower Founder and Executive Director Irene van der Zande on how negative prevention advice (don’ts) differs from empowerment-based safety strategies (dos).

Does self-defense increase a woman’s risk of injury?

Excerpt from Jocelyn Hollander, Ph.D. University of Oregon
“Women’s Self-Defense Frequently Asked Questions,” September 15, 2014. 

No. There is an association between resistance and injury, in that women who resist a sexual assault are also more likely to be injured. But research that looks at the sequence of events has found that in general, the injury precedes the resistance. In other words, women resist because they are being injured, rather than being injured because they resist. On average, resistance does not increase the risk of injury.

References
Ullman, Sarah E., and R. A. Knight. 1992. “Fighting Back: Women’s Resistance to Rape.”Journal of Interpersonal Violence 7:31–43.

Ullman, Sarah E, and Raymond A Knight. 1993. “The efficacy of women’s resistance strategies in rape situations.” Psychology of Women Quarterly17(1):23–38.

I acted upon my assessment: A Self-Defense Story

I am pretty sure I averted a robbery last night in the Mexico City metro. My family and I were about as ridiculously conspicuous as could be, the only people dressed in formal wear on the train platform (we were here because my spouse was to officiate at a wedding and we were on our way there).

A group of three people standing about 10 feet away from us went from speaking quietly with one another to one person tilting their head towards my husband, and then moved to within 2 feet of us on an otherwise not crowded platform. I told my spouse and son to move down as the train arrived, so we could just get on another car (hoping this was all in my head and would just be over once we moved), so as the train arrived, we moved down about 20 feet to get on one car down.

The three people ran to get on the same car as us (neither car was crowded when the train arrived) and split up, entering the car behind us through both doors and sitting spread out from one another across the car. I made very solid, uncomfortably long and serious eye contact with the individual sitting nearest to me (while I stood with my back against the doors). Scanning the train, I also saw that a train security officer was in our car. I made eye contact with him as well.

When we left the train, I was prepared to make noise, and the security officer held up the train, making eye contact again with us (I nodded and said in Spanish that we were okay) before the train pulled off with the three people still on it.

I'll never know whether they intended to rob or otherwise harm us, and I am fine with that. It was an uncomfortable situation where my first benefit-of-the-doubt assessment revealed that something was not right about the situation, and I acted upon that assessment. We've ridden the metro several times since then with increased awareness and have encountered nothing but grace from our fellow riders.

Thank you to everyone who has taught and practiced self-defense with me for helping me manage this situation, whatever it was, and helping me develop tools to make myself and others around me safe in the places where I want to be. Thank you Sei Shihan Nancy Lanoue, for having us practice physical self-defense last Wednesday in black belt class!

Kate, Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center

What if Every Woman and Girl Had Self-Defense Tools?

“IMPACT is not about ‘kicking butt.’ It’s about learning to ‘look’ at my surroundings, ‘assess’ my situation and take appropriate action. This makes the world a safer place for me and for all those I encounter.” Tess
Imagine if every girl and woman had self-defense tools and the confidence to act upon their assessment of situations in which they found themselves!

Your Donation Matters!

If you've been around, you know the drill. If you’re new to IMPACT, here's the drill: IMPACT asks for financial support once per year. Donations of all sizes matter! They have allowed us to move to a Sliding Scale for the Core Program this year. Also, we have been able to offer free or reduced workshops to organizations serving lower income women and girls. Please donate today.

Self-Defense Training Empowers!
Women who have had self-defense training are more likely to stop rape and sexual assault than women who have not. Learning self-defense is not victim-blaming or shaming — it is empowerment and increases women’s options.

Word of Mouth Works!
Sharing your experience is one of the best ways to help IMPACT fulfill its mission to bring self-defense to all women and girls. Our new Referral Program recognizes you for encouraging other women to take IMPACT by giving you 25% off an Advanced Program.

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FAQ: What is women’s self-defense?

Over the next few months, the IMPACT Chicago blog will feature a section each month from Women’s Self-Defense Frequently Asked Questions. Jocelyn A. Hollander, Ph.D. University of Oregon, September 15, 2014. First up:

WHAT IS WOMEN'S SELF DEFENSE?

• Perhaps the most common stereotype of women’s self-defense is a woman—probably young, white, and fit—karate-kicking a stranger in a dark alley or parking garage. However, self-defense is far more than just physical fighting and it is accessible to all women, regardless of their age, race, level of fitness, or physical ability. It also addresses far more than just assaults by strangers.

• There are many types of self-defense training. The kind that has been most frequently studied by researchers is empowerment self-defense. These classes:
• Focus on the full range of violence against women, especially acquaintance assaults, which are the most common type of sexual assault.
  
• Include awareness and verbal self-defense strategies as well as physical techniques. These skills empower women to stop assaults in their early stages, before they escalate to physical danger.
  
• Teach effective physical tactics that build on the strengths of women’s bodies and require minutes or hours rather than years to master.
  
• Offer a toolbox of strategies for avoiding and interrupting violence, and, rather than teaching a single “best” way to respond to violence, empower women to choose the options that are appropriate for their own situations.
  
• Address the social conditions that facilitate sexual assault and the psychological barriers to self-defense that women face as a result of gender socialization.

Further resource

Thompson, Martha E. 2014. “Empowering Self-Defense Training.” Violence Against Women 20 (3): 351-359.

Top Five Self-Defense Techniques Most People Don’t Know They Already Have

Tagg Magazine recently published an article about what Defend Yourself in Washington D.C. says are “5 self-defense techniques you didn’t know you could use.” 

IMPACT grads know these, but not everyone does:  loud voice, foot stomp, use what’s around you, size doesn’t matter, power of a strike to the groin.

See the full article for details and videos.

Gun Control and Women’s Self-Defense

In her article "From Gun Politics to Self -Defense Politics: A Feminist Critique of the Great Gun Debate," Jennifer D. Carlson takes a hard look at how the issues of self-defense are often confused with general issues around gun rights.  She points out that debates about self-defense are often presented as a false choice, what she refers to as "self-protection with a gun or no protection at all."

She points out that on the pro gun rights side, owning a gun and having the right to use it is the only effective means of self-defense.  On the pro gun control side, targets of violence should rely only on the police and non-violent methods of protection. In terms of self-defense for women and sexual violence, Carlson argues advocates on both sides of the debate are failing to present realistic solutions - that women need options for "effective, physical unarmed resistance" that fall in-between the two extremes. 

One problem however is that our culture does not accept the idea that women can, and should, defend themselves.  Take for example the case of Marissa Alexander.   She is currently on trial in Florida for firing a warning shot to protect herself from her abusive husband who had strangled her and threatened to kill her.  She originally lost her case and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but her case is now being appealed and she is now under house arrest.  Even though she had a gun, had cause to use it and showed restraint in how she used it, she is still being punished for protecting herself. 

Alexander's case is one of many illustrating that self-defense is more than simply a matter of superior firepower; issues of gender, race and class all limit the ways women can keep themselves safe.  Guns will continue to be one method of self protection, but women should have access to a wide variety of options for defense, as well as the legal right to act.    

Nat Wilson, IMPACT Chicago Suited Instructor