Learning Self-Defense in the Age of Sexual Abuse – The Guide Provided for Us
By Emily Mullican
97% is the viral number used to describe the number of women that will experience sexual assault in their life. It comes from a statistic on TikTok that stems from a study performed in the United Kingdom that resulted in the finding that 97% of women ages 18-24 had been sexually assaulted in the country. Hashtags about this statistic were trending on TikTok for several weeks, to bring awareness to the reasonable fear that women all around the world carry with them every day. To help, believe them, protect them, and inform them.
It was my freshman year of college when my roommate at the time gave me an extra window smasher because her mom had gotten her two, “just in case.” A few short months later, I unwrapped a pepper spray gifted to me from my parents on Christmas. “Always keep this on you, just in case”, they said. Then, a TikTok went viral warning women of a new sex trafficking tactic. “They put these little round things on your car to track you,” my friend said to me, “you should check your car, just in case. We found one on my hallmate’s.” All too often, those “just in cases” become a horrifying reality. We hope we never have to use the tools and knowledge we acquire to protect ourselves. But among the fear and anxiety and hopelessness that this world can feel like it holds against women, there lies a glimmer of hope, and it comes from the boundaryless parameters of the internet.
A girl filmed herself and her friend returning to her car in a parking lot to find a bottle of honey flipped over on the hood. What seemed to be a harmless and somewhat silly video revealed a terrifying truth. The comment section opens, to find hundreds of responses revealing that this was a sex trafficking tactic used to distract women from getting into their vehicles, making them easier targets. Zip ties on the car, empty baby strollers, broken glass behind a tire, laced tissue on a car door handle, the list could go on and on. A simple search of “sex trafficking tactics” reveals hundreds of women who have, or know women that have had suspicious things happen to them, only to rally the support of other people who have experienced the same thing, how they can help, and what to do if anyone ever finds themself in a similar situation. Intuition or uneasiness are always legitimate reasons to feel unsafe, but what comes next is critical. Make a scene and get yourself out of that area or situation by any means possible.
“To break a pinky, pull it like this,” says a woman posting from the TikTok account @everydayarmor, motioning in an outward direction with her whole hand on the pinky, bending it out of place. “Take a heavy object to the side of the head and make someone pass out.”
Learning self-defense can certainly be a daunting task, but the result could help save a life. In keeping with awareness, there are women every day that are willing to share their stories to keep other women safe and mindful of their surroundings, and the number of women that are making this information accessible is helping to make this substantial and vulnerable subject matter much more palatable and approachable for younger women.
The world and the internet alike can be dreadful and often rotten places for all women, but bringing awareness and spreading knowledge about life-threatening situations is a necessity. When doing so, the internet becomes an all-powerful tool. Not only does it arm young women with the knowledge they need of the world and its many dangers, but it reminds them that they have people on their team, rallying for them from the sidelines, and reminding them that they are not alone. With that kind of support, the weight of the world can seem a little less heavy.
