Weber State University’s Police Department will teach the free Rape Aggression Defense course (R.A.D.) Nov. 14-17 from 6-9 p.m. to a group of 40 women from the campus community.
“We give women the knowledge, skills and abilities to defend themselves,” said Tessie Zarogoza, WSU police officer. “We teach them self-reliance, decision-making strategies and help them understand they can do something about their safety.”
WSU police have taught the R.A.D. course since the 1990s. R.A.D. is a national program for individuals to learn basic self-defense principles necessary to protect against threat. Though not an intensive study of martial arts or self-defense, R.A.D helps instill confidence in students and empowers them to be active in their own defense.
WSU teaches R.A.D classes twice a year: fall and spring semesters. The upcoming class has had three times the normal number of participants enroll.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, nationally, one in five women and one in 16 men will be a victim of sexual assault. More than 90 percent of victims fail to report their assault.
“We will teach participants some techniques to gain confidence to defend themselves,” Zaragoza said. “Individuals who attend the course will find strength and skill they may not have known they had. All I ask of participants is to come willing to learn and commit to the course.”
Visit the weber.edu/police for more information on police services available to members of the campus community.
