View our list of scholarly articles referenced on this page.
- Fighting like a girl: Towards a critical pedagogy of martial arts (
Alba Iara Cae Rodrigues, Fabiana Cristina Turelli, David Kirk)
Self defense as an effective and Neglected form of sexual assault prevention
Sexual assault prevention has long focused on education, awareness, and community interventions. However, one key element is often overlooked in both research and practice: self-defense. A recent article, “Self-Defense as an Effective and Neglected Form of Sexual Assault Prevention: A Commentary and Overdue Correction to the Literature“ by Jill Cermele and Martha McCaughey, highlights this gap in the literature and emphasizes the effectiveness of self-defense in preventing assaults. Despite overwhelming empirical support, the importance of women’s verbal and physical resistance strategies remains underrepresented in scholarly discourse.
Self-Defense: An Empowering Prevention Strategy
Cermele and McCaughey argue that self-defense training is not only effective but also empowering. It equips women with the tools to resist and prevent sexual assaults in ways that enhance their autonomy and agency. Many studies reviewed in this commentary support the effectiveness of resistance. For example, research by Ullman (1997) and Tark & Kleck (2014) demonstrates that self-defense techniques can successfully thwart sexual assault without increasing injury risk to women. Moreover, self-defense training offers psychological benefits, including increased self-confidence, a reduction in self-blame, and improved boundary setting.
The authors note that self-defense is often conflated with victim-blaming tactics like avoidance strategies. However, self-defense is distinct—it does not restrict women’s behaviors or ask them to limit their freedom but instead provides them with proactive skills to respond to threats.
The Evidence is Clear, But Why the Reluctance?
Despite the clear evidence supporting self-defense as an effective prevention strategy, Cermele and McCaughey highlight a reluctance to incorporate it into mainstream discussions. The authors suggest that some of this resistance may be ideological, reflecting discomfort with women asserting agency through physical resistance. Additionally, organizations like the CDC, in their Sexual Violence on Campus: Strategies for Prevention report, reference strategies to prevent violence but fail to explicitly include self-defense in their recommendations.
This omission limits the effectiveness of policies aimed at preventing sexual assault. As the authors argue, excluding self-defense from public discourse and educational efforts ironically supports benevolent sexism by underestimating women’s capacity to resist and protect themselves.
Time for Change: Incorporating Self-Defense in Sexual Assault Prevention
Cermele and McCaughey’s commentary makes a strong case for including self-defense in all discussions and policies aimed at preventing sexual assault. By offering training in verbal and physical resistance, educational institutions, policymakers, and public health organizations can empower women to protect themselves effectively. The article concludes with a call to action: the literature on self-defense must be integrated into the broader field of sexual violence prevention to reflect the empirical evidence and empower women with the tools they need to resist assault.
Incorporating self-defense into the literature and prevention programs is an essential step toward fostering a safer and more empowering environment for all women.
References:
Cermele, J., & McCaughey, M. (2022). Self-defense as an effective and neglected form of sexual assault prevention: A commentary and overdue correction to the literature. Sex Roles, 86, 493-503.