I was walking in my town with my friend and we had just finished trick or treating. My mom was on her way to pick us up and it was only about 9:30. I saw an older man coming down the sidewalk and I didn’t think anything of it. My friend was walking in front of me and the minute he passed her he grabbed me around the waist. I screamed “GET OFF” and gave him a knee to the groin. He then let go of me and ran about a block before turning around and looking at us while walking away. I called my mom and she got us about two minutes later because she was already on her way. I never thought that anything like that would have happened to me, especially in an environment that I thought was completely safe. Prepare really helped me out in this situation and I encourage it to be taught in classes at high schools and middle schools all over the country.

Anonymous

Welcome Readers!

What are the trends?

Looking at national data from 2004 to 2013, the Crime Victimization Survey 2013 shows that property crime and harm from firearms went down, but rates of rape, sexual assault, and serious intimate partner and family violence increased. Reporting ticks up, but remains at under 35% for rape and sexual assault.

Have things changed for the better?

Honestly, no. Although rates for most types of crime have gone down, reports of sexual violence and harm from intimates, familiars and family have gone up. People of color, vulnerable men, people in the LGBTQH community, people with physical and cognitive disabilities, and children are all facing violence in astonishing numbers. Some groups face violence at rates six times higher than the overall population. Sexual assault on college campuses is getting a lot of media attention, but college women aren’t the only ones who are targeted.

It’s still a radical idea to empower people with resistance options if they encounter boundary violations or physical aggressors. It’s still rare that people are provided with education to understand the most common signs of danger — especially with people they know. It’s still unusual to find people who are comfortable and adept at saying “no” in any context.

Reporting is not a simple choice

Most of those who have experienced sexual violence choose not to report (in 2013, that survey showed that 34.8 percent of rape and sexual assault survivors reported to police) due to lack of social support, social policies that place the burden of proof on victims, and/or social consequences of reporting.

Understandably, survivors are fearful of the way others (including their perpetrators) will respond if they tell their stories or ask for help – law enforcement, family, and friends may not believe their experience, urge them to “forget about it,” tell them “it wasn’t a big deal,” or ostracize them from their social or workplace groups. News channels and social media rake survivors over the coals and promote victim-blaming narratives that already exist in our society – a huge disincentive to report. Justice and accountability, no matter how one defines them, is almost non-existent, and survivors are concerned about criminalization of their actions taken in self-defense.

The result is that people often face the aftermath of violation in silence and isolation. Our classes are a place where people who worry about something happening to them can express those concerns. And sometimes, for the first time, people can identify as survivors out loud, acknowledge anger or cry, without being blamed or shamed for doing so.

It’s time for a big change

Prepare wants to change this; what does the future look like? It means each of us can be, and needs to be, a part of the solution!

We can continue to build a much larger and more powerful cadre of allies to help us turn this around and shift the culture. Some of these allies will be our graduates; some will be others also doing this work that we can partner with and support. We can act to create systems and individuals free of bias, provide more education in both prevention and resistance, decrease the market for media images and content that promote or condone violence, and so much more.

It’s been over 4 decades of classes, offered by IMPACT affiliates and other violence prevention organizations and empowerment self-defense instructors. Organizations and individual activists, educators, and advocates in the sexual assault, domestic violence, feminist, and anti-bullying communities have been at it for longer. Add our tens of thousands of graduates to those efforts, and the reach is impressive.

We have work to do!

Please join us each week and invite others to do so as well. Next week –  Q & A with Carol Middleton of D.C. IMPACT – the first of a series profiling IMPACT chapter directors.

Karen

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Welcome Readers!

Over the years, Prepare’s perspective has broadened. The organization has grown from a women’s only self-defense program with public classes in Manhattan to comprehensive evidence-based violence prevention programming for all ages and all genders across the quad-state area (and beyond, if we’re invited!).

We reach groups as well as individuals:
Now we collaborate with agencies, treatment programs, and community-based organizations. These programs are customized for the specific needs for that group and are often part of a larger effort to transform communities.

Since individuals can’t always make our public class schedule fit with their schedules, Prepare teaches private classes for groups of friends. Businesses and schools are often looking for special programs for staff development and/or work safety programs for employees on-site and in the field. We hear too many stories that begin with: “I was in the field for work and then ….”

We understand that context matters:
Prepare situates violence prevention in the larger social context that our students live in. We acknowledge privilege and oppression – they inform: the roots of violence, protective factors and vulnerabilities, and what options, if any, one has available for resistance. Resistance to violence comes in many forms and the choice not to resist (for any reason) must be respected as well. We examine media and pop culture, the implications of rigid gender roles and messages about agency, and replace myths with facts.

We are always learning:
Prepare programs take into account current crime data and research as well as generate research opportunities. For example, the journal Violence Against Women recently published an Editorial Special Issue: Self-Defense Against Sexual Assault with Guest Editors Martha McCaughey and our own Jill Cermele. Along with many other wonderful articles, our colleagues Dr Rosenblum and Dr Taska’s article discuss the results of their research using Prepare’s class as a trauma intervention: Self-Defense Training as Clinical Intervention for Survivors of Trauma Gianine D. Rosenblum and Lynn S. Taska Violence Against Women, March 2014; vol. 20, 3: pp. 293-308. Prepare classes reflect best practices for those affected by all types of trauma. Our founders and instructors are committed to ongoing training both in-house and with others. Collaborations with numerous experts have helped us create programs that are adapted to more populations, including those with physical or learning disabilities.

Next post – How do we IMPACT the status quo?

Please join us each week, and invite others to do so as well.
Karen

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While I was at a party in an apartment in Brooklyn, an angry neighbor forced his way in to complain out the noise. Armed with a hammer and a large carving knife, the neighbor confronted the owner of the apartment. The owner immediately attempted to deescalate and agreed to lower the music if the neighbor would calm down. Unfortunately, several of the party-goers were intoxicated and were escalating the situation by shouting their annoyance at the neighbor. As the arguing became heated, the neighbor pointed the knife at the owner. At that point I tried to deescalate but the neighbor was too focused on the other escalating voices. As attempts to deescalate the situation failed, I weighed my options and decided to act. The neighbor kept pointing and gesturing at people with the carving knife. Every time he shouted at someone, he inched closer. I felt like I couldn’t stand by and watch him stab someone. I waited until he was distracted, and with my IMPACT instructor’s voice in my head, I moved in, took control of the weapon hand and applied the wrist flex. The neighbor went down, dropping his weapons. I put my weight on him and held him down until the police arrived. I was amazed that after several years, my muscle memory kicked in immediately, allowing me to react appropriately without over- or under- responding.

© Dave Ayala. Documented October 09.