Tonya Malinowski / News Editor
Sexual assault has been a persistent problem on college campuses for several decades, but together the CCSU Police Department and the Ruthe Boyea Women’s Center are hoping to prepare women to face potential attackers.
The Rape Aggression Defense program is being held this month to help teach participants risk reduction, avoidance measures and basic self-defense tactics. A 14-hour program broken into four parts, RAD aims to help prevent women from being the one-in-four who statistically will be raped in their college career.
“It really teaches you how to handle all different kinds of scenarios,” Coordinator of Women’s Programs Jacqueline Cobbina-Boivin said. “It’s important for young women to recognize they may be in a situation like this and know how to handle it.”
According to the American Association of University Women, 32 percent of rape victims are between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. RAD offers basic awareness tactics, such as not talking on the phone while walking and always looking under your car as you approach it, to help women avoid being the victim of a violent crime.
“I still remember everything I learned and all the techniques,” said Cobbina-Boivin, who has taken the class three times. “It has definitely stayed with me.”
The sessions will be held Saturday, April 18 and 25 in the Marcus White Living Room and are free of charge for all female students, faculty and administration. The program is offered at eight different locations around Connecticut and over 500 nationwide.
CCSU senior Heather Reney thinks the program is a great idea and can really help women learn valuable lessons.
“This is stuff every woman should know,” she said. “Unfortunately, it’s a scary world we live in and you never know when you’ll be faced with a situation like that.”
The course includes lecture and discussion followed by simulated attack situations. Students suit up in protective gear and learn how to defend themselves from various angles and eventually to break through and be able to run for help.
Some forms of the program also offer instruction on properly using pepper spray and what to do if the defense should fail.
“I hope [the program] will be a success,” Cobbina-Boivin said. “The women who take it always come away with knowledge they will have the rest of their lives.”
Peter Collin contributed to this article.
