With the help of University Police, a program is teaching women that they can survive anything, even the attacks of a sexual predator.
Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) aims to empower women by teaching them they are capable of protecting and keeping themselves safe. The self-defense training classis generally offered once a semester to women in the Cal State Long Beach community.
According to the CSULB police website, RAD is an international program that demonstrates realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women of all ages and abilities. It is a comprehensive 4-week class that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, and progresses toward the basics of hands-on self defense training.
“Once you graduate from RAD, you’re a lifetime member,” CSULB Detective Ami Rzasa said. “You must keep your manual, but you can come back and refresh your skills anywhere the class is taught.”
Rzasa said rape is the least reported crime in the United States, making it difficult to track the number of rapes occurring throughout the country.
A National Institute of Justice study, which used student self-reports instead of crime reports, found that about 3 percent of all college women become victims of rape or attempted rape in a given nine-month academic year.
“[RAD] helps develop a women’s self esteem,” Rzasa said. “We teach women to use their god-given talents, and we let them use those gifts to the best of their ability.”
The instructors encounter some obstacles when teaching women how to protect themselves, according to Rzasa. One obstacle is teaching women to be aggressive because television and other media display women should be gentle and quiet people.
Also, some women in the program find it hard to believe that 95 percent of sexual assault cases are committed by someone close to the victim, according to Rzasa.
“It’s hard to imagine that someone you love can inflict that kind of damage to a loved one,” Rzasa said.
Rzasa said women should take the course so they may become more aware of their surroundings. The current semester’s class is already underway, but another is scheduled to take place on Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4 and March 11. To sign up for classes, contact University Police at (562) 985-8538 or email [email protected].