Damsels in Defense

The first thing that struck me when I went into my Court Reporting program was that I was now a minority.  The profession is predominately women and that is no exception at school.  Ninety-five percent of my classmates are female, and yes, I do feel like a bit of a lone wolf in there.

I bring this up not because it matters to me, but mostly to explain why last Friday we had the speaker that we did.  Usually our speakers are other court reporters, closed captioners, and anybody at all related to the profession.  Friday, we had a representative from the organization Damsels in Defense, a group devoted to protecting women from any kind of abusers who might cross their path.

You know, if my program wasn’t so overwhelmingly female, we probably wouldn’t have had this guest, or if we did, the presentation would be taken to a much smaller room.  I’m glad that wasn’t the case, because that was one of the best things I’ve sat through all year.

Damsels in Defense sells a lot of products, from pepper spray to stun guns to Kubatons.  But they aren’t just about selling the product; they are about educating women in how to properly use these tools and things to be aware of.  Pepper spray, for example, does expire, but many people who own it are not aware of that.  And even when you have a defensive weapon, do you know how to properly behave if someone does threaten you?

The speaker also reinforced the need to take self-defense classes, to at least know how to fight back if trouble comes.  The fact is that men who attack women are looking for an easy target; women who retaliate or have their weapons on hand tend to send the creeps running with their tails tucked between their legs.  And that’s an attitude we like to foster.