“Going off to college exposes young women to greater risks of sexual assault; it’s important to have a space for students to talk about those risks and how to defend against them,” said Katelyn Russell, health and wellness teacher at the Bromfield School, in speaking about the semester-long Personal Safety for Women class she teaches. Russell, who is in her second year of teaching in Harvard, said the personal safety class is really fun to teach, even though the topics are heavy. Perhaps it is because of the seriousness of the issues that there is a strong sense of community in the class of 24, most of whom are seniors, Russell reflected.
From left: Phoebe Aney, Charlotte Durham, and Bridget Gibbons put up a bulletin board on women’s personal safety. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz
Her enthusiasm for the course is echoed by students’ commentaries on what the class means to them, posted on a bulletin board outside the school library. Some of their quotes read, “Fosters a community of like-minded individuals who are interested in the empowerment of women”; “A place where women can motivate and be themselves to embrace who they are”; and “I want to feel safe in all situations.”
Further proof of the importance of the class lies in the Op-Ed pieces the young women wrote from the prompt: “Write about something you care about related to the personal safety class.” Russell said she got the idea from an article in the New York Times and had the class follow the guidelines posted by the newspaper. The students said they got a great deal out of writing the pieces and urged Russell to include the assignment in next year’s class. (See student essay below.)
The course begins with awareness, said Russell. The students are taught to check in with themselves, to be aware of how they are feeling. Russell explains that acknowledging feelings such as being tired or a bit fearful are very important to decisions people make that affect personal safety. Students discuss examples of how society portrays women and the objectification of women in the media.
Inspiring women
During March, Women’s History Month, Russell created a classroom “Wall of Inspirational Women” where each student created a profile of a woman, past or present, who inspired her, using a picture, writing a short biography, and finding a memorable quotation. Students gave an oral presentation before hanging their inspiring women on the wall. Russell and psychology teacher Kathleen Doherty expanded on this idea to create the Bromfield Locker Challenge for the month of March. They invited their colleagues to join them in giving their students an extra credit assignment in which they would create a profile of an inspirational woman in the relevant discipline and post it on their locker. Doherty said she was very impressed by the turnout for the locker challenge, admitting that when she was going around to credit her own students’ work, she was sidetracked by all of the other interesting profiles on lockers done for a variety of other courses.
A part of the personal safety curriculum is talking about ways to become more engaged citizens and how to actively participate in causes in which one believes. A policewoman from Ayer spoke to the class about domestic violence. In conjunction with the topic of assaults on college campuses, students watched a documentary called “The Hunting Ground.” Russell said she encouraged those seniors who already know where they are going to college to check if that college has any Title IX violations, a record that is public information. Title IX states that all genders must be treated equally.
RAD
The last segment of the course is the national Rape Aggression Defense program (RAD), now in its fourth year at the high school. Harvard Detective Daniele Fortunato has been part of RAD since its beginning at Bromfield. Russell said she has relied heavily on Fortunato for this part of the course and has enjoyed the collaboration. The RAD program teaches the young women physical strategies and techniques to protect themselves in the face of a potential assault. Outside of class during RAD, students are reading “The Gift of Fear,” which talks about relying on intuition and increasing awareness to protect against rape. It describes specific strategies, such as always checking out the exits of any room you are in and not being afraid to yell out if you feel at all threatened.
Fortunato’s police experience and connections well equip her to discuss assault from a legal perspective. She tells the students how to report an assault and encourages the young women not to be silent if they are attacked because of worrying about what to say. She lays out the whole process of how to file a report, what else happens, where the report goes, who acts on it, and much more about the legal procedures.
In talking further about the importance of the personal safety class, senior Liz Polimou said it’s important to know what to do in case of an attempted assault; even being aware, “some things are inevitable” and you may actually be attacked. Phoebe Aney, also a senior, agreed that of course it’s nice to know that you are able to physically defend yourself, but beyond that, she talked about the importance of having a place to go during school that felt safe and comfortable: “It’s nice to go somewhere where you don’t have to worry about what you say, where there’s no judgment.” Aney and junior Bridget Gibbons talked more about this idea, saying that in some other classes, if a “woman’s issue” comes up, some people roll their eyes or make a snide comment. Mostly it’s guys, they said, but not always. “Personal safety class is great because everyone wants to talk about the seriousness of so-called women’s issues,” said Gibbons.
Asked if a similar course exists for young men, Russell said there isn’t one at the present time but that the administration and some teachers agree there is a need and are moving toward starting one. Some of the young women expressed the idea that young men may make jokes because the subject is uncomfortable, and they may not realize the harmful impact their behavior can have. They agreed that a course for young men would be a helpful thing.
More Than Words
by Kaeli Armstrong
According to Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) statistics, Americans find themselves in a situation of sexual assault every 98 seconds. This totals to an average of 321,000 Americans every year. The biggest concern? Fifty-four percent of these sexual assault victims fall within the age range of 18 to 34 years. What could this mean for the future of my generation? An installment of fear, a buildup of concern, and a lifelong anxiety for what is to come. Although there are thousands of websites containing links to suggestions for sexual assault victims, words can go only so far when one (literally) comes face to face with the real thing. There is only one person responsible for any act of interpersonal violence, and that is the perpetrator. This being said, there is only one person who can best prevent such an attack. It is time to look up from the news articles, step away from the tablet screen, and go out and physically take action to increase one’s personal security.
In today’s society, it is most often young women who are the victims in sexual assault scenarios. One of the many reasons a perpetrator may think a female is an easy victim is because, well, she is a female: a fragile human being who has no capability to fight back and defend herself, hopeless, weak, and fearful. It is time for young women to break this stereotype and prepare themselves to their full potential. According to the New York Times article “To Prevent Sexual Assault, Start Early,” the key step that schools and communities across the country must take in order to prevent sexual assault is earlier education. A recent study done by Canadian universities found that teaching freshmen females “risk assessment and self-defense techniques reduced their risk of being assaulted.” It would be a good step for Americans that this be done in all American high schools as well.
According to the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Assault, self-defense is defined as a set of awareness, assertiveness, and verbal confrontation skills; safety strategies; and physical techniques that enable someone to successfully prevent, escape, resist, and survive violent assaults. The best part? It is proven to work if executed effectively. In fact, more than 50 percent of females who took a self-defense class found that when placed in a situation of potential sexual assault, they felt more confident and prepared to take on their attacker.
Young women must gain back the self-confidence they tend to lose as they grow older. It is this self-confidence that will ultimately decide whether or not they are to become a victim of sexual assault and abuse. It is up to these women to realize that, sometimes, it is not enough to say no. They must take the next step in prevention and protection. It starts with proper self-defense education and ends with potential victims successfully walking away from a situation of sexual assault, with the same confidence as they had before.
Kaeli Armstrong is a
Bromfield senior.
