Chapter 10 - Empowerment Self-Defense

Abstract

Empowerment self-defense (ESD), also known as feminist self-defense, is a distinctive approach to women’s sexual assault resistance education, rooted in the second-wave radical feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s. In this chapter, I review the defining qualities, theoretical grounding, and evidence base of ESD classes. ESD classes are comprehensive, evidence-based, hold perpetrators responsible, transform understandings of women’s bodies, place violence in a social context, advocate social change goals, and empower rather than restrict women’s lives. Recent empirical evaluations have found that ESD classes reduce women’s risk of sexual assault and harassment and increase their self-confidence. Despite these promising findings, much remains to be learned about the optimal structure and timing of ESD education and the mechanisms that produce these positive effects.