Team Scott women learn self defense techniques Published June 9, 2010 By Senior Airman Samantha S. Crane 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- On Saturday, women from across Scott came together to learn self defense techniques, should a situation ever arise when an attacker attempts to make them a victim of an assault. With these new tools, Pamela Dorsey, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, hopes the women receiving the training will be better prepared to deter an attack. "The tools we teach aren't meant to 'take out' an attacker, rather to incapacitate or subdue him long enough to get away," said Ms. Dorsey. The first half of the class was spent learning about the Rape Aggression Defense system taught by Ms. Dorsey and members of the Southwestern Illinois College Police Department of Public Safety. They also reviewed definitions of sexual crimes, and learned about self defense and the law, risk reduction, and the decision to resist. After lunch, class participants learned basic self defense moves which they practiced on two SWIC members dressed up in protective suits. Sgt. Jennifer Shore, SWIC police officer, said, "Women should consider taking RAD because it's as real-life as you can get. It's more than sitting in a classroom learning how to prevent attacks. You get put in uncomfortable situations and are attacked. It builds women's confidence and makes them survivors." The women went through multiple scenarios where they were attacked in a controlled environment and had to employ their newly learned defense techniques to subdue the attacker and get away. "Often times, women freeze, so we want to give them options to get out of those situations," said Ms. Dorsey. "If you can incapacitate your attacker long enough to get away, then we were successful." For the participants, it's something they said they won't soon forget. "When the flyer for this training crossed my desk, I knew that if I passed it up and something happened, I would think back and regret not taking one day to learn how to protect myself," said Vanessa Frangos, 375th Civil Engineer Squadron water programs manager. "Part of avoiding victimization is being proactive in protecting yourself. It was absolutely worth my Saturday." For more information, or to sign up for a class, call the Ms. Dorsey at 256-4196.