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Millstadt Police Department Presents:
Women’s Self Defense Class
Monday, November 16, 2009
Millstadt Consolidated School Multi-Purpose Room
While many men were home watching Monday Night Football, a group of local women were learning self-defense techniques that could one day save their life. The Millstadt Village Police Department sponsored the event held in the multi-purpose room at Millstadt Consolidated School. While the police were hoping for at least 5-10 ladies, 36 turned out ranging in age from girls in their early teens to senior citizens.
The course does seem relevant to this time of year, as many folks will be out doing holiday shopping, many late at night or in the early morning hours. In recent years we have read about many cases of purse snatching, theft, and muggings, some occurring in broad daylight. In over 90% of those cases women are the targets of assailants. In addition, kidnappings and abductions of women and children have increased dramatically in recent years. This course is designed to help women protect themselves against these kinds of attacks and increase the odds of surviving attacks of this kind.
The class was led by Officers Kevin Witschie and Gary Reuter of the Millstadt Village Police Department. The main focus of the class was on life saving and getting out of harms way. To escape an attack and get home safely. Officer Witschie, a fifteen-year student of the martial arts said, “We’ll teach some basic self-defense techniques, but much of it will be about mental preparedness. Something as simple as having your keys in hand before you go out to your car. Looking around you and being aware of your surroundings instead of chatting away on the cell phone.”
Here are some facts about violence against women and children in our country.
1. Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) calculation based on 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
2. One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. (Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey, National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998)
3. More than half of all rapes of women occur before age 18; 22% occur before age 12. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
4. An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor. (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2000)
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