Women who have been sexually assaulted are at higher risk of depression, suicide attempts, and substance abuse.
"Populations Reports: Ending Violence Against Women" Populations Information Program, Center for Communication Programs. The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, December 1999.

Women who have been sexually assaulted are at higher risk of overeating, anxiety disorders, and smoking.
Koss, MP, Koss, PG, Woodruff, W. "Deleterious Effects of Criminal Victimization on Women's Health and Medical Utilization." Archives of Internal Medicine, 1991

"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."
— Alice Walker

Sexual assault is the crime least often reported to law enforcement. Varying studies put the report rate somewhere between 15 and 30 percent.
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000. Criminal Victimization 1999: Changes 1998-1999 with Trends 1993-99. National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice.

The rate of violence and assault in the United States over the last five decades has gone down. Most of this decline is in assaults on men; assault rates on women, while also decreasing, has been going down more slowly.
Violent Crime Rates by Gender of Victim, Bureau of Justice Statistics, The National Crime Victimization Survey and Uniform Crime Reports, 9/02

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
— Helen Keller

Of surveyed college women, about 91% of rape and sexual assault victims knew their attacker prior to the assault.
Fisher, Bonnie S., Francis T. Cullen, and Michael G. Turner. "The Sexual Victimization of College Women." Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2000.

Women with a childhood history of sexual abuse are 4.7 times more likely to be subsequently raped.
Merrill, L.L., et al. "Childhood Abuse and Sexual Revictimization in a Female Navy Recruit Sample." Naval Health Research Center, 1997

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any."
— Alice Walker

The best predictors of a woman successfully fighting back against an assailant are first recognizing when an assault is in the making, and second trying one thing after another until she finds what works.
Bart, Pauline B. and Patricia H. O'Brien. Stopping Rape: Successful Survival Strategies. NY: Pergamon Press, 1985

"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."
— Alice Walker

80% of all women who only yell and run escape their attackers.
Stella Marrs

"A woman is like a tea bag – you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
— Eleanor Roosevelt

Sexual assaults committed by strangers are far more likely to be reported to law enforcement, even though most assaults are committed by someone known to the victim.
Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Reporting Crime to the Police, 1992-2000, March 2003

"Because society cannot control the cost of ... violence after the crime has been committed, the best control mechanism is through prevention."
Post, et al., The Rape Tax, J Interp Violence 17(7):773, 2002.

"Power is the ability to do good things for others."
— Brooke Astor

"The thing women have got to learn is that nobody gives you power. You just take it."
— Roseanne Barr

Young women in college are at a slightly higher risk for sexual assault than are their peers not in college.
Fisher, B., F. Cullen and M. Turner (2000). The Sexual Victimization of College Women. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics

"I don't want to be a passenger in my own life."
— Diane Ackerman

Those who seek the help of sexual assault advocates are more likely to report their assault to law enforcement.
Campbell, Rebecca. Rape Survivor's Experiences with the Legal and Medical Systems: Do Rape Victim Advocates Make a Difference? (2006) Violence Against Women 12.

"Make the most of what you have, when you have it, where you are."
— Eleanor Roosevelt

"Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use."
— Ruth Gordon

An estimated 92,700 men are forcibly raped each year in the United States.
Tjaden, Patricia and Thoennes, Nancy. November 1998. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice.

In the Press

The Seattle University Spectator (Feb 23) interviewed Joanne Factor for this article on safety around campus (and the rest of Capitol Hill). Main take-away: fighting back works.

KIRO 7's Gary Horcher interviews Joanne Factor of Strategic Living Safety and Self-Defense Training, January 31, 2011. This too was motivated by the recent assaults on women runners. (If you cannot see this video below, you can watch it on YouTube.)

Interview Dec 22, 2010 on KOMO Radio, brought about by the rash of assaults on women running or walking around some of Seattle's popular parks.Includes some tips on keeping yourself safe.

Blogger Mary Davies wrote Women Being Brave about her experience in Self-Defense Basics for Women, March 3, 2010.

Crime Prevention 101: Online radio interview about self-defense. Host Susan Bartelstone of Safety Solutions interviews Joanne Factor of Strategic Living about self-defense for women and girls traumatized by sexual assault. Download and listen here.

Women's Adventure Magazine online (July 2008) and The Calgary Herald (Sept 18, 2008): Joanne Factor is quoted in these two identical articles on women's safety.

Beacon Hill News/South District Journal, Wednesday February 27, 2008: Article on free self-defense classes for women at Van Asselt Community Center and Jefferson Community Center during the first half of March, taught by Strategic Living. Driving these classes are recent assaults on women around bus stops. Read this article here.

Seattle Weekly, Aug 1-7, 2007 is the Best of Seattle 2007 issue. I am now officially the "Best Feminist Butt-Kicker" for this year!

The Olympian July 23, 2007: Click here to read about a self-defense workshop I taught for the Olympia YWCA's Girls Without Limits program.

The Olympian August 31, 2006: A self-defense seminar at the Lacey Timberland Library to commemorate the 19th Amendment (giving woment the right to vote). Organized by NOW. Read here.

The University of Washington Daily February 12, 2004: The Safety Factor, interview with Joanne Factor on self-defense hows and whys. Read here.