We Are Worth Defending logo with green and blue lettering, alongside a silhouette of a confident Black woman ready for self-defense.

Overview of the “We Are Worth Defending” project.

WHY THIS PROJECT: Our goal is to offer empowerment self-defense to everyone, especially groups that are systematically targeted with violence. Black women have always been vulnerable to violence and at the same time historically have a complicated relationship with the choice and ability to protect themselves. In the face of enslavement and continuing up to present times, self-defense is a complex topic that contains much to unpack.
 
To unpack it, one needs to look at complex laws, oppressive institutions, systemic racism, family dynamics, historical trauma, and other intersections of oppression. Four out of every 10 Black women have been victims of rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. This means that more than 6 million Black women are survivors. In addition, many have experienced multiple forms of physical and sexual abuse in childhood and as adults. 
 
WHY EMPOWERMENT SELF-DEFENSE: Empowerment self-defense is one way to address the complexity of Black women and their relationship to self-defense. Empowerment self-defense is not a system of kicking and punching. Instead, it looks at the root causes of violence – oppression based on gender, age, race, class, identity, sexual orientation, ableism, country of origin, and immigration status. Empowerment self-defense explores the myths of aggression: perpetrator profile, societal context of resources, the legal system, and the criminalization of self-defense to marginalized populations.  
 
PROJECT OVERVIEW: We at IMPACT Safety have also found a low participation in our classes for Women of Color.  So we sought to understand the barriers Women of Color face in attending classes, accessing information, or even if Women of Color felt self-defense was important to them in the first place.  That is why we created the We Are Worth Defending project.  There are 2 major goals for this project, one: to create an ESD course that meets the specific needs of Women of Color, two: recruit Women of Color to become ESD instructors and share programming in their community.  
 

Upcoming Public/Private Trainings:

We are Worth Defending: Empowerment Self -Defense is a training offered through IMPACT Safety for women and girls, 12 years and older. Empowerment self-defense is a key violence prevention strategy. Empowerment self-defense explores the myths of aggression: perpetrator profile, societal context of resources, the legal system, and the criminalization of self-defense to marginalized populations. Join us for this 2.5-hour training to help find your voice.

Check back for future programs…OR…For more information, contact Venica Miller, vmiller@impactsafety.org

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Self-Defense Class for Women of Color

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