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Free self-defense course offered to NIU women

April 3, 2014
Jennifer Kirker Priest

Jennifer Kirker Priest

As part of the campus initiative to promote Sexual Assault Awareness Month, female students, staff and faculty are invited to participate in a free nine-hour self-defense course with certified Rape Aggression Defense instructors at NIU.

The Basic Physical Defense class is offered from 1 to 4 p.m. on three consecutive Thursdays, beginning April 17, in Group Fitness Room 1 at the Student Recreation Center.

Female participants will learn risk-reducing strategies as well as physical defense techniques to avoid abduction.

“I hope my students will never need them, but it is important to give women the tools to fight, escape and survive in case they do need them one day,” says Jennifer Kirker-Priest, director of the Anthropology Museum and certified RAD instructor.

The statistics are troubling.

One in three women is the victim of a sexual assault. One in five women is the victim of attempted or completed sexual assault while in college. These numbers demonstrate the importance of educating and training women to avoid situations when possible and defend themselves when necessary.

Course instruction gradually advances women through the practice of awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance. It concludes with hands-on self-defense training.

All women are eligible to participate in this free program. Each RAD student is provided with workbooks and manuals. After completing the class, students receive lifetime free admission to any R.A.D. Basic Program.

This program is hosted by the NIU Department of Police and Public Safety. Registration is requested. RSVP to jkirker@niu.edu or call (815) 753-0230.