Education Empowers, Not Rules and Restrictions by Kristin Schlotterbeck
I grew up in a conservative environment that held girls to a lot of restrictions about how to act and behave. The same restrictions did not apply to boys in my community, which struck me as fundamentally unfair.
Since many of these rules focused on what women wore, I got the message that it was girls’ and women’s responsibility to not attract men’s attention and that, if anything were to happen, the woman was partly, if not mostly, to blame. The details of what could happen were never spoken of outright. Today, my work focuses on violence prevention that does not restrict the behavior of people targeted for violence, but rather empowers and educates.
What can Public Health Teach us About Preventing Violence?
Fear of crime is at an all-time high. In particular, Trans people, Black and Asian Americans, and women have seen disproportionate increases in violence and aggression. Public figures make the problem worse by targeting those groups with hateful speech. While blanket feelings of fear lack accuracy, the chaos of the pandemic and increased violence toward oppressed groups have left many feeling powerless. Those doubting their ability to respond to violence may avoid daily routines like commuting or shopping. Generalized fear may cause people to miss out on treasured life experiences.
Yet violence is both predictable and preventable.
There’s no easy solution to systemic violence. But, people can learn to predict and prevent interpersonal violence. Targeted groups and allies alike have the ability to make communities safer. Violence spreads much like infectious diseases. We can reduce rates of violence by applying a public health approach. Experts in the field of public health have used this approach to address drunk driving, tobacco use, and the spread of diseases like COVID. A public health approach first identifies risk and protective factors. Communities then adopt strategies to decrease risk factors or increase protective factors. The best approach to violence is two-fold. It includes strategies to decrease the likelihood that individuals will commit violence. It also includes strategies that protect potential victims and targeted groups.
Empowerment-based training programs reduce violence.
Empowerment-based training can both protect against violence and increase resiliency. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention identifies several proven violence prevention strategies. Empowerment-based training is one of those recognized as effective in reducing violence.
Not all self-defense programs or training billed as empowerment-based are effective, however.
The CDC recommends empowerment-based programs that help students:
- assess the level of risk in certain situations;
- identify reasons we might not take action, such as those related to gender roles, power differences, or fear responses; and
- provide practice breaking through barriers; and
- combine physical and verbal skills to resist violence.
That’s where Prepare comes in. Prepare combines verbal discussion with opportunities to practice. Students of all ages practice both verbal and physical skills. They learn about grooming strategies that people who harm often use. And they learn to identify risk levels in various contexts. Students get to practice resistance in scenarios based in different environments and relationships. Participants emerge with enhanced protection against violence and valuable life skills.
The protective skills practiced are accessible to people with various levels of ability. Classes allow students to use skills that don’t rely on size, strength, or physical talent. Participants practice overcoming their fears in role-playing and scenarios with expert instructors. Each scenario focuses on ways for students to overcome common fear responses like strong emotions and freezing. Students practice building calm confident body language and grounding techniques to build a foundation to practice their verbal and physical skills.
The impact is clear. A study examined empowerment-based training for college-aged women. It found those women were 50.4% less likely to experience rape or attempted rape than their peers.
We can use lessons learned about public health to make our communities safer. Programs like Prepare are one important piece of an effective violence prevention strategy. Empowerment-based training offers a way for people to regain an authentic sense of their own power and safety in the world.