The Citizen, 1991-02-06, Page 13Women get ‘Street Smart’
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BY BONNIE GROPP
Getting “Street Smart” was the
objective of a group of women and
teenage girls in Brussels over the
course of the last few weeks.
Chuck Hasson of Samurai Self-
Defence Academy and his assistant
Virginia Van Gorder, instructed the
women in a three-day comprehen
sive self-defence course geared to
making yourself “Street Smart”.
He explained the course provides
females with the essential basics
and tecniques to defend them
selves against rape or assault, an
increasingly significant concern.
A study published by the Cana
dian Advisory Council on the Status
of Women reported:
•your teenage daughter
one in nine chance of
assaulted sexually in a
relationship.
•An adult female has a
eight chance of being assaulted by
a spouse or boyfriend.
•In Canada one out of every
seven women are sexually assault
ed at some time in their life.
•Females have a 38 per cent
chance of being sexually abused
before the age of 16.
Julie Lee, of Survival Through
Friendship House, a shelter for
battered women, says these statis
tics are seen as a conservative
estimate.
Yet, despite these alarming
facts, few women will learn to
protect themselves, according to
Mr. Hasson. “I think many feel it
will never happen to them; it’s not
prevalent in Huron County. But,
how many of us never leave here,
never go to larger areas to shop,
attend concerts or visit?”
Also, that assumption it seems
is hopelessly naive. Ms. Lee says
putting those statistics in terms of
Huron County means that at one
time or another 4,800 families in
Huron will be affected by this form
of violence.
Mr. Hasson’s instruction is gear
ed primarily to dating relation
ships, rape or muggings. Young
women attending university are
particularly susceptible to these
forms of attack.
Dr. Gail Hutchinson, Counsell
ing and Career Development at the
University of Western Ontario in
London says a lot of research being
done recently shows this happens
frequently.
In a study conducted by Dr.
Hutchinson and her team on female
undergraduate General Psychology
students, many of them first-year,
23 per cent admitted to have being
victims of physical violence, pri
marily date rapes.
Another study conducted on
7,000 students showed that 27.5
per cent were victims of rape or
attempted rape. In a study done at
the University of Manitoba 26 per
cent of the 291 females surveyed
admitted to having being raped.
Dr. Hutchinson said last year her
service counselled 36 sexual abuse
victims, while another 34 received
counselling as victims of physical
abuse. Seventy others, who had
been raped or abused before the
age of 15 also sought counselling
through the service.
These are not the sum total of
cases as many go unreported;
about 47 per cent according to Dr.
Hutchinson. Many others would
show up at other campus depart
ments, like Health Services, due to
fear of pregnancy and communi
cable disease. “1 can only tell the
numbers that come in our door.”
She encourages self-defence, be
lieving it should become an inher
ent part of the school system.
Young girls, sne said, should be
taught some form of self-defence
from the time they enter Kinder
garten. “Studies have shown that
athletic women are less likely to be
raped, because, among other
things they react quickly. Trained
in self-defence, women would learn
to act reflexively.” Also, for
women who have been battered,
she said, it helps them get a sense
of safety psychologically.
Self-defence classes may be a
protective measure, but Mr. Has
son emphasizes that common sense
could be a preventative one.
‘‘Don’t park your car too far away
from your destination. Walking
may be good exercise, but not if it
is going to endanger you. Try and
walk with a friend at night and stay
in well-lit areas. Check the back
seat of the car before you unlock it.
Don’t let anyone in your house
when you are alone. If someone
asks to use the phone, get the
number and make the call for them.
It's not fair, but women have to
learn to be more cautious. You
really can’t take the chance of
trusting anyone anymore.”
The answers to the problem
don’t lie with women, says Dr.
Hutchinson. “People may have to
change their behaviour and they
don’t like to do that. They can see
that it makes sense to change the
lighting in areas where women
have to walk, but they can’t see
that maybe they should stop shopp
to
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ing in stores that sell pornography,
or stop telling sexist jokes. We
have to label this problem and
make sure men know it’s wrong.
They have to start looking at what
they’re doing and courts have to
learn to deal with the issue
sensitively.”
Campuses, she added, need to
make students aware so that
women can talk freely and men
begin to understand they are the
cause of the problem. “Women
don’t cause rape by what they wear
or how they walk,” she said.
Church news
Greeters at the Blyth United
Church on Sunday, January 27
were Lloyd and Donna Sippel.
Ushers were Brenda Brooks,
Nicole Kerr, Steve and Frances
Bearss.
Rev. Ramirez opened the service
with “Call to Worship’’ followed by
the hymn “O Worship the King’’.
Responsive reading was Psalm 27.
The scripture reading was from
Mathew 4: 12-25.
The hymn “Where cross the
crowded ways of life’’. Rev. Rami
rez’ sermon was “Called to be in
Mission”.
V
V
THE CITIZEN. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 6, 1991. PAGE 13.
Street savvy
No, means no and Laura Cousins of Brussels shows
instructor Chuck Hasson she means business with a tried and
true defensive technique. Mr. Hasson In his Street Smart
defense course shows women and teens the quickest and
most effective ways to fend off an attacker or overly
suitor.
ardent