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.

"I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't."
— Audre Lorde

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.

"A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together."
— Margarte Atwood

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.

Safety Resources Across the USA

Maybe you'll be moving soon, or your daughter is off to college, or your experience taking a self-defense class was so awesome you urge all your friends to do the same (but they live in Chicago). Here is a list of other really solid classes across the USA.

First, how do you find a good class? The National Coalition Against Sexual Assault's guide for self-defense programs is one excellent standard for assessing quality. The National Women's Martial Arts Federation's Feminist Empowerment Model is another.

The National Women's Martial Arts Federation certifies a select group of self-defense teachers. All of these instructors are highly qualified; in fact, a number of them are founders of modern women's self-defense.

Mona Lisa's Sword, a professional self-defense instructors' training organization, also has certified instructors across the country. Email them for a class near you.

The Association of Women's Self Defense Advancement also maintains a list of self-defense instructors.

Girls Fight Back! based in Denver, Colorado, provides speakers to colleges.

The Safety Chick site has "living smart" tips.

More specifically, these are schools with which Strategic Living's owner Joanne Factor is personally familiar and highly recommends:

Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense in Chicago, IL. (Two recent articles from their newsletter, one on non-violence and self defense and the other on self defense and activism, articulate the spirit of active non-violence.)

Center of Anti-Violence Education/Brooklyn Women's Martial Arts in Brooklyn, NY

Feminist Eclectic Martial Arts (FEMA) in Minneapolis, MN

EveryWoman's Self Defense/Sun Dragon Martial Arts in Austin, TX

Valley Women's Martial Arts in Easthampton, MA

Hand-to-Hand Kajukenbo in Oakland, CA

Other schools whose programs have good reputations:

Wen-do Self-Defense for Women offers classes primarily in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada