Our Philosophy

No one asks for, causes, invites, or deserves to be assaulted. Women and men sometimes take risks or exercise poor judgment about safety behavior, but that does not make them responsible for the attack. It is never the victim’s fault no matter the action or inaction they decide to take.

Offenders are solely responsible for their attacks and their use of manipulation, coersion, intimidation, and/or violence to overpower, control, to mentally and/or physically abuse or injure another person.

We will never judge a victim/survivor or  tell them what they should do or “should have” done.  We believe the person has a right to do whatever it takes to survive, whether that means seriously injuring another person or complying with the offender’s demands.  We understand that compliance is not the same as consent.

Learning to set boundaries and enforce them is a key component in learning to be safe.  We therefore will never force someone to participate in any activity or perform any technique in which they do not want to participate.  Given the often sometimes uncomfortable nature of learning a new skill, especially physical tasks, we will encourage you to do more than you initially think that you can.  We will work slowly, at your pace, within your relative comfort, while providing emotional support if needed.  However, if you choose to decline, your choice will be respected.

We offer options, techniques, and a way of analyzing situations. A program may point out what USUALLY works best in MOST situations, but each situation is unique and the final decision rests with the person actually confronted by the situation.

Core components of self-defense are self-worth and confidence.  We seek to empower women by providing information, emotional support, understanding, and physical techniques that are easy to learn, easy to remember, and have a wide margin for error.