For women 14 and older, a free course on defending against sexual assault will be presented in two sessions.

Session one will cover awareness, assertiveness, and basic self-defense with Rob Rephan as the instructor sponsored by Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

When asked why they were presenting the workshop, Rephan replied, “that they are a self defense organization in the county and have been doing it for at least two years.” The sessions are held from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Junior League Community Center, 1928 19th street.

The primary goal of the workshops is to get women to defend themselves because most women are assaulted by someone they know or by someone they have been briefly acquainted with. There is a link between alcohol and drugs with people who do assault women. It is a well-known fact that assaults may happen on dates. A little known fact is that most rape victims are not physically injured.

According to Rephan, around half the victims who go to the hospital are under 18. Victims’ ages range from 12 to 28. He also said that “women might even be least likely to defend themselves against someone they know.”

Assertiveness can prevent 85% of sexual assault; it means a woman asserts, “I don’t want to do that.” However, this assertiveness is not something taught in school. According to Rephan, most people don’t report assaults because they usually blame themselves for what happened. Women should try not to get into situations where they find themselves in trouble, he said.

This is to make women aware and to let them know about assertiveness. If a person came to you and told you that she was sexually assaulted, would you believe her? People always blame the victim, Rephan said. Close to a third of people say they have never reported assaults. 113 victims were reported to have gone to the hospital last year. Kern Medical Center and Memorial are the only two hospitals with nurses specially trained to treat assault victims, Rephan said.

Session two is called escape techniques and is taught by Matt Baker who is the owner of Bakersfield Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu studio. He has worked with the program for at least three years and says that the form of Jui-Jitsu he teaches is a pretty established form. According to Baker, “many women have successfully used these techniques to escape a would-be attacker. The real reason Jiu-Jitsu is fit for this type of program is that it is not about strength. Jiu-Jitsu is about leverage and body movement, and anyone can learn. The moves are very basic with a realistic approach and four actions; it is very simple, according to Baker.

Scheduled dates are as follows: Feb 21 and 28; March 7 and 14; April 4 and 11; May 2 and 9; June 6 and 13.

According to Rephan, one out of six women will be a victim of sexual abuse in her lifetime, if you have been a victim once, you are more likely to be a victim again.

For more information on defending against assault, contact Rob Rephan at 322-0931 ex 122.