Imagine you are walking alone at night in a parking garage and are busy debriefing your scattered mind from the daily burdens of general academic and professional mishaps and to-do lists. As you approach your car, someone pops out from behind a nearby pillar and begins running toward you, mal-intent brazen in their eyes.
Quick: What do you do?
Do you run? Do you scream? Do you prepare for a fight or curl up in the fetal position — perhaps your attacker is a bear.
As a female, this very scenario has been burned into my mind as an impending reality through a combination of the media’s grim portrayal of city streets and the wide-eyed warnings from paranoid family members.
(As a caveat to the remainder of this column, I am here acknowledging what is perhaps a grand failure of society in assuming that women are more likely than men to be assaulted in public spaces. However, this article’s goal is to address that assumption as a common perception, not to empirically study its abstract plausibility.)
As a woman, there are few good options for self-defense. Either I take countless precautions at night, armed with pepper spray and 9-1-1 on speed dial, or I take up some form of martial arts, drink protein shakes and hope my attacker is smaller and less prepared.
So, what’s a girl to do? Find a tower to take refuge in? I think not.
Arming Women Against Rape and Endangerment, an organization aimed at self-defense for women based out of Harvard University, asserts, “It's virtually always better to fight back, particularly if you are trained in how to fight back appropriately. Women who fight back are injured less often, are more successful in stopping the attack, regardless of what kind of attack it is, and feel better … afterwards.”
The idea of defending yourself instead of crumpling to the ground is pretty inspiring, but what if you don’t have the time or money to take fancy seminars that show you just where to kick and punch?
One possible solution is to call the ASU Police Department and take a “Personal Safety Training Class.” This is a great way to avoid the fees some other companies charge. The only catch is getting together a group of people in a place on campus all at one time. But, it’s a free opportunity to hear the police weigh in on self-preservation in real-life situations. For more info call 480-965-3456.
In 2008, psychologist Erica Weissman published a study she carried out in conjunction with the University of Iowa Police titled “Does Self-Defense Really Work?” Unsurprisingly, she found that women’s self-esteem translated into an assertiveness that was in many cases more useful than learned physical self-defense maneuvers.
What’s the best way to avoid an aggressive encounter with an assailant? Avoid wandering around alone, especially in a compromised state.
The last thing the world needs is women clinging to their cans of mace, scurrying about like they’re walking through a minefield. Be smart about where you go alone, but walk tall, with purpose, too.
Take a self-defense or yoga class. Apparently, they lend the most salient skill to self-protection: confidence.
Send escape stories to abethancourt@gmail.com
