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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2017)
Page 16 November 22, 2017 Boss Hogg Christmas Tree Lot Photo by k ayla n ewMan Martial arts skills, de-escalation techniques and boundary settings are techniques learned by women in self defense classes taught locally by a group called WomenStrength. Woman Strong C ontinued froM P age 9 Any Doug Fir 5-7 ft. $30.00 Any Nobel Fir 5-7 ft. $45.00 New location at MLK and Bryant Spring Special Sweet Street Food Cart Located at 15th and Alberta call 503-995-6150 to place order Mon. - Fri., 11:00am - 7:00pm • Sat. - Sun., 11:00am - 5:00pm Wednesday Special: 3 Wings $2.00 Friday Special: Rib Sandwich, Beef or Pork, $4.00 of victims being under 30. And in Oregon, an estimated 27 percent of females have been raped, com- pared to 18 percent of women and girls nationally, according to The Women’s Foundation of Oregon. “This has been women’s expe- rience probably, I can’t say forev- er, but I can say in my lifetime,” Johnson said. “The first time I had sexual harassment/sexual as- sault [happen to me] I was in sixth grade. That’s the first time. And I literally couldn’t count the num- ber of times it has happened to me in my adult life. It’s too many to name.” Though Johnson said the Me Too campaign has been a powerful tool to bring light to the issue, she also respects women who chose to keep the experiences confidential because she understands it can be painful for women to relive. Ninty-four percent of women who are raped experience post traumatic stress disorder, which can involve flashbacks of the in- citing event during the first two weeks following the rape and 30 percent of women report symp- toms of PTSD, nine months after the rape, according to the Journal of Traumatic Stress and American Psychiatric Press. In addition to the self defense skills taught at WomenStrength, 40 percent of the course also teaches non-physical safety work- shops and verbal de-escalation training. “I think simply by teaching women boundary setting, more comfortable boundary setting, is a prevention tool,” Johnson said. A 2014 article at University of Oregon showed that female college age students who took self-defense classes experienced fewer and less severe instances of sexual assault the following year than those who didn’t. WomenStrength also teach- es a program to males called BoyStrength, which they are also accepting volunteers for and can be taught by men. Instead of teaching self-defense, though, the course teaches things like yoga, breathing and meditation techniques, and lessons healthy relationship to teach boys how to become leaders of non-violence in their communities. “Men have more power in this country than women, so men have more power to help end violence against women,” Johnson said. According to a 1997 U.S. De- partment of Justice report, 99 percent of sexual assaulters in single-victim incidents were men and 6 out of 10 were white. Johnson said some of the ways men can be allies to the cause of preventing sexual violence against women is by donating to a shelter or violence prevention organiza- tion like WomenStrength, getting involved with the Portland-based advocacy group Men Engaging Now (find them on Faceboook), and empathizing with women who may have experienced past trauma. “The other thing I think that men can do is gently ask the wom- en in their lives about their expe- riences, not that they have to tell them to you. But be open about, ‘I don’t know how to respond to this, how can I help you?’ And I think we need more of that from men, we really, really do.” For more information about volunteering for WomenStrength or attending the year round class- es, which occur twice monthly on evenings and weekends at a rotat- ing venue, visit portlandoregon. gov/police/womenstrength.