Day 8
London Centre for Personal Safety
Submitted by jill on Tue, 12/02/2008 - 15:17.
The London Centre for Personal Safety is a charity working to prevent and reduce violence and the fear of violence, and empower individuals to manage safer lives. We work from a feminist perspective, and provide services that recognize the importance of gender in understanding and stopping violence and take in consideration the age, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality and disability of our users.
We have 27 years experience of providing personal safety and self defence training information, a Consultancy service for organisations, information, advice and resources on a number of safety issues. We are independent advisors to the Metropolitan Police Service Project Sapphire Specialist Advisory Group, which works to improve rape and sexual assault investigation and victim care.
We are pioneers in our field and have conducted Women’s Safety and Self-defence programmes for thousands of residents and workers across Greater London, in partnership with local authority and regeneration agencies. Our work has been cited as best practice by the London Strategic Policy Unit (1987), the Safer Islington Strategic Group (1995/98), by the Home Office and Cabinet Office Women’s Unit- in “Living Without Fear” (1999), The British Council Directory of UK Resources on Violence Against Women (2001). We received a Hounslow Chamber of Commerce Award for our Children Safety Programme (2001) and Eaves House Lilith Project Award for the best intervention for women in the public space (2005).
Women resisting violence is a London Centre for Personal Safety initiative, and is inspired by “Her Wits About Her” (1989), a book by Denise Caignon and Gail Groves, that celebrates the ingenuity, courage, intelligence and power of women facing harassment, abuse and violence. We are inviting all women and girls to share a personal experience of resisting harassment, abuse and violence.
Most women have the experience of feeling threatened by a male. Most women, at some point in their lives have done something, to manage threat and keep safe. Every day, in everyway women and girls use their wits, to prevent becoming victims of abuse and violence, but their courage and the lessons of RESISTANCE remain hidden.
“I was followed home, from the train station by this young man. He was walking very close to me and asking questions, like “what is your name?” and “have you got a boyfriend?”. First I was scared, and then I got so mad! I turned around and shouted “Can’t a woman walk home without being hassled by men? Everyone in the street turned to look at me. He put his head down and went really fast!”(LCPS student)
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“ There’s a famous story about a woman who was grabbed while ridding a crowded subway. She plucked the hand off her body, raised it over her head, and announced loudly: “Who does this belong to? I found it on my ass”. Her assailant did his best to melt into the crowd.” (Her Wits About Her)
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"I was coming home from the Gym on foot. As I approached the block I live in, I heard steps behind me. I sped up but he caught up with me, pushing into me from the side. "What?" I said to him. "I just want to talk" he replied, but by then he had propelled into the wall, fencing me in with his torso and arms, with his tongue on my face and a hand on my chest. He was taller that I so all I could think to do was to swear loudly and punch him in the direction of his groin, The poorly aimed punches had an effect though, for he was gone in seconds." (LCPS student)
LCPS and Women's Self-Defence.
“Self-defence is the most evidence based prevention method, focused on the direct empowerment of women and girls. Yet, it is seldom included as a vital aspect of strategies to address gender violence. All research that asks about avoidance and resistance in relation to rape, child sexual assault, domestic violence and sexual harassment finds that preventing and limiting assaults correlates with use of multiple and more assertive methods." (Seith & Kelly, 2003)
LCPS Impact Training
Women's Self-defence is a holistic kind of provision designed to optimise women's ability to resist violence. Many women and girls lack confidence in their abilities, and do not have accurate information on what strategies they might use in a range of situations. Our self- defence courses can offer precisely this ranging from teaching how to use one’s voice, how to set strong and clear boundaries at the earliest opportunity, through to physical techniques that make escape possible. LCPS self-defence training combine gender - aware Women's Self-defence and cutting- edge IMPACT - a unique form of self-defence, which allows students to practice verbal and full-force physical skills in realistic “adrenalised” scenarios, on specially trained male instructors wearing protective suites. Women instructors lead all training, demonstrating and teaching the techniques.
LCPS Impact Training
For more information about Women's Self-defense training email to lcps [at] lcps [dot] demon [dot] co [dot] uk us or phone at the numbers below.
Women and girls are not helpless victims, and they are not destined to be victims of male violence.
We define as RESISTANCE any action that is taken to prevent, minimise or escape violence, abuse or harassment. There is no right or wrong way of resisting and resistance stories don’t have to be sensational or extreme.
We want to know about anything that you have done to protect yourself and keep safe in a risky situation.
We invite you to share with other women and girls, your story of resistance.
Send in your story by email to lcps [at] lcps [dot] demon [dot] co [dot] uk or blog on the Take Back the tech website by
1. clicking on the blog menu item
2. click on 'register'
3. add your name and email
4. click on 'add new comment' to blog your story of resistance!
because - stories of resistance can inspire, encourage and support the belief that we can protect ourselves.
LCPS
PO Box 38883
London W12 9XP
Telephone:
020 8743 7827
020 8740 1114
http://www.londoncentreforpersonalsafety.org/
E-mail: lcps [at] lcps.demon.co.uk
