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JULY 7. Too» juStlOUt 13
northwest
Curious about Personal Safety?
Self-defense with a queer bend
by Jaymee R. Cuti
t’s a typical rowdy evening on Stark Street’s
vivid strip of gay night life. Bars are closing,
and revelers are scattering to their respective
abodes. While walking to the bike you
chained a few blocks away, your muscles
clench as you feel the presence of someone behind
you. This scenario and many more “greatest fears”
of sexual minority people will be addressed in an
upcoming workshop focusing on personal safety in
the queer community.
Personal safety is an issue affecting all
Portlanders, but some queer people feel particularly
vulnerable to being victimized because of their
sexual orientation. According to experts, misinfor
mation about the realities of domestic violence in
same-sex relationships or an untrusting relationship
with police keep sexual minorities from reporting
attacks or seeking the knowledge to prevent them.
“The education for personal safety is similar for
everyone. However, people in the queer communi
ty have an interest in bias crimes and preventing an
attack and what to do if we are targeted,” said Sara
Johnson, director of Womer.Strength, a free self
defense program for women and girls offered
through the Portland Police Bureau.
Johnson, who is a lesbian, has teamed up with
William Warren, crime prevention coordinator for
the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, to hold
a queer-specific personal safety workshop later this
month. The free workshop will cover prevention
strategies, ways to identify whether participants are
being targeted for an attack and the pros and cons
of various options for ending an attack.
“Assertiveness and intuition are two of the key
components in preventing any kind of potential
attack," said Johnson. “If we truly trust our intuition
and act on it assertively, it’s easier for us to leave
before we are a victim.”
The workshop will include a discussion
designed to help participants identify their risks,
evaluate their strength and explore options for
dealing with the threat of violence. Johnson and
Warren will teach the workshop.
“We’ll delve a little deeper into the specifics of
bias crime. We’ll also talk about domestic violence
and sexual health awareness within the gay commu
nity,” said Johnson.
Detective Molly Daul, who investigates bias
crimes for the bureau, and Kim Phillips-Clark, an
advocate from the district attorney’s office, will also
speak about situations where sexual minorities are
particularly vulnerable and what to do if an attack
occurs.
The workshop will begin with the group mak
ing a list of “what if’ scenarios, their worst fears or
situations where they feel particularly vulnerable.
Throughout the class, each scenario will be
responded to so participants will feel prepared the
next time they find themselves in such situations.
Typical WomenStrength classes include some
survival-level fighting skills such as strikes to
vulnerable targets on the body and escapes from
holds. However, this co-ed workshop is
nonphysical.
Since its inception in 1979, WomenStrength has
engaged approximately 20,000 women and girls in
discussions and activities that center not only around
physical skills to combat street violence, but tough
issues such as domestic violence and sexual assault.
Johnson says domestic violence is still a topic shroud
ed by misinformation in same-sex relationships.
“In classes I’ve taught before, people seem to
think we’re sheltered from domestic violence. I think
there are still a lot of people that don’t think it exists
as much as in the straight community,” she said.
Although an attack is never the victim’s fault,
Johnson says there are strategies everyone can imple
ment to keep them safe in a variety of situations.
“Somebody chooses to attack somebody else,
and it’s never the fault of the person that’s attacked.
1 can go to this workshop, use every tool that’s
given to me and still be attacked. However, if 1
have the tools, 1 can maybe identify more easily if
I’m being targeted. Then maybe 1 can prevent it,"
Johnson said. ©
A free personal safety workshop for adults will be
held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 18 at Gateway
Children's Center, 10225 E. Bumside St. Tore&uer
call 503-988-6430.
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