The Young Women’s Self Defense Initiative

Hi Feministing readers and writers,
My name is Kendall and I had an idea today that I’d really love to expand upon with some of your help.
There have been so many appalling instances in the news recently regarding men’s violence against young women…two events of high school girls being kidnapped in my hometown in Southern CA, the mob rape in Richmond, CA and many, many more. It just got me thinking, why on earth are self defense classes for young women not more prevalent on high school campuses? I am sure some schools have them, but I get the feeling they are not at all popular. What is preventing people from acknowledging that if girls knew how to physically fight back against male attackers, maybe some of their lives could be saved?
I have created a rough draft of what I am calling “The Young Women’s Self Defense Initiative.” Basically what I have so far is a cover letter for a petition to provide and popularize female oriented self defense classes on high school campuses. The optional classes could take the place of other mandatory PE classes. I was thinking of making an E-petition and also a facebook group, and then either mailing or e-mailing the results to as many California high school administrators as I can. I’d also mail it to the Governor.

As you can tell, I’m not really knowledgeable on how a process like this would work, who I’d really need to get in contact with, etc. I would appreciate any suggestions at all. Also, I realize that funding would be a big issue for many of the schools which might make them reluctant to add new PE classes that would require additional training for the instructors. Any ideas anyone can provide me with?
Young Women’s Self Defense Initiative
To the administrators, teachers, students and other affiliates of California’s Public High Schools:
Year after year, young women and girls fall victim to the violence of boys and men. Recent cases include the gang rape of a 15 year old female student from Richmond High School, the gang rape of a 17 year old high school female who attended a party with De Anza College athletes, and Amber Dubois, a 14 year old high school female who was kidnapped on her way to school. Yet, we continually fail to provide our female students with the information, skills and tools necessary to potentially stop physical and sexual attacks.
Despite the social and political advancements of females in the past half-century, American culture (namely film, TV, music, the media and even parents and educators) remains quite explicit in its polarized expectations for young women and men; in many ways, our culture paints a picture of a sweet, tame, organized and ever-attractive femininity and another picture of a masculinity that is out of control, aggressive, assertive, and largely centered around violence, sports, and the objectification of women. It is no wonder then that when certain men lash out, their anger and violence are often directed at women–the perceived weaker party and the perpetually easy target. In writing, the problem is simple; we raise our boys to fight and we raise our girls to be gentle and more emotional.
Obviously, not all young men are violent, aggressive human beings, and not all young women are passive and soft. But the fact remains that the widespread established dynamic between men and women is one of power. And typically, it is the male that wields the physical power.
As a female college student, I am painfully aware of the statistic provide by RAINN.org (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) that 1 in 6 American women will be raped in her lifetime, and that college females are 4 times more likely to be raped. If high-school is preparation for college, shouldn’t we specifically be preparing our female students for the unjust, gender-based dangers that lie ahead of them not only in college, but for the rest of their lives?
My proposal, backed by the ____ California college students, male and female, who have signed this petition is this: create optional female-only Self Defense courses that take the place of other mandatory physical educated classes. Offer them every semester of every year, and promote them heavily to female students. If we, as a culture, insist on raising our boys to fight through our movies, TV, music and media, it is high time that we raise our girls to physically fight back in defense. This effort, combined with other equally crucial efforts to educate male students on the importance of taking full responsibility for their interactions with women can help bring an end to the cycle of violence that occurs between the genders in high school, college, and beyond.
With your wives, girlfriends, daughters, sisters, nieces, aunts, grandmothers and female friends in mind and heart, please begin to take the necessary steps toward enacting The Young Woman’s Self Defense Initiative on your high school campus. Contact your superiors and your Governor and request funding for these courses. Female safety and lives depend on it.