This semester (fall 2004) RAD Classes at UWO are being offered for credit for the first time ever!

Robin West of the University Police and Liz Cannon are offering a basic RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) class for women for one credit in the fall of 2004. Thanks to Helen Bannan and the Women's Studies Steering and Curriculum Committee, it will be offered as an independent study through Women's Studies.

The class will meet once a week on Wednesdays from 4 - 6pm for 8 weeks in Reeve Union, beginning Wednesday, September 8 (second week of school) and running through Wednesday, November 3.

Remember, you pay the same tuition if you take 12 - 18 credits, so if your credit load is between 12 and 17 credits, you'll pay nothing extra for this class except book costs!

The requirements for the course will be to actively participate in all sessions. You will have a reader for the class, and you will be expected to learn the material in it.

To sign up for the course, you will need to make an appointment to see Dr. Cannon. Because this class is an independent study, you will have to fill out paper work to get registered for the class.

RAD is:

a self-defense program that specifically teaches women how to respond to a rape or sexual assault attack. It's not just geared at stranger attacks, but it is not intended to be used in domestic situations where the woman is not ready to leave the relationship. What we teach uses the element of surprise--it doesn't work in a situation where the same attacker then knows what to expect from his intended "victim." Our goal is "to develop and enhance the options of self defense, so they may become viable considerations to the woman who is attacked." What that means is that we teach a variety of mental and physical techniques and only the person who is in what she perceives to be a threatening situation can decide which techniques she wants to use.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2002-WA-BX-0017 awarded by the Violence Against Women Office, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. It's is co-sponsored by the Campus Violence Prevention Project, the University Police, the Women's Center, and Women's Studies.