Let me start this off with a few questions…

When you go to sleep at night, are your doors locked?

When you run into target, do you lock your car?

Do you ever use a bike lock?

Do you have a password for your phone or computer?

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that the answer to these questions was yes. Even for those who answered no, I bet you still think to yourself that you should or you have someone telling you that you should. But, let me ask you one more question…

Why?

Why lock your doors, your car, your phone? You shouldn't have to. People shouldn't steal. Its against the law, its wrong. Instead of spending your money on security systems and locks, instead of taking that extra time to learn how to protect yourself, we should be teaching people not to steal. By locking your doors you are simply saying its okay for people to steal, you're encouraging this theft culture. Stop locking your doors and start education thieves.

I’m going to take one more wild guess: that logic just sounded pretty crazy right? Right. No matter how much you educate people about why they shouldn't steal, you will always need to have that last level of defense. In the case that that education didn't work on someone, in case they're looking to do you wrong, you need to protect yourself.

I’m not talking about people stealing anymore (I know, shocking!), I’m talking about someone deciding to attack you and you knowing how to defend yourself as a women. The logic I applied to stealing is the logic I have heard from plenty of other women in regards to rape and sexual assault. In 2014, Miss USA Nia Sanchez was met with strong backlash for stating her support for women learning to defend themselves, in order to combat sexual assault.

While people aren’t wrong, we need to do more than just learn self defense. Education and awareness are incredibly important and play large roles in curving the sexual assault rates for the better. But part of education is teaching our women, young high school and college aged women in particular, how to defend themselves in the chance of an incident. Unfortunately, matter how much you tell people not to rape, it will still happen. That is why everyone needs a back up plan.

Ever since my junior year in high school I have been involved in a program by the name of RAD (Rape Aggression Defense). This class is offered to women 14 and above and teaches them how to properly protect and defend themselves, should they find themselves in a bad situation. We teach everything from how to properly throw a punch to grab defense, we discuss sensitive topics and raise awareness, and we even run simulations.

RAD isn't just an important tool in learning how to defend yourself, it is an important tool in giving women confidence. They develop a voice throughout the class, they learn they can do more then they thought, and they leave feeling empowered. Every women deserves to feel this way, no one should have to walk around not feeling safe. The best way to combat that feeling is knowing you have the tools and abilities to defend yourself.

1 in 5 college aged females are sexually assaulted while they're off at school. That is terrifying. If I didn't know that I could protect myself if something happened, I would be walking around scared everyday and night. Colleges across the country are starting to react to the culture on their campuses and putting in effect different required educational classes for all their students. That is a wonderful first step. The next step is requiring a self defense class for women. Over 1,200 colleges in America offer RAD on campus, I urge every female student out there to reach out to their school, their campus police, or their local police departments and ask if they have any information regarding self defense classes. RAD is free and an amazing, empowering, valuable experience. Be safe, be educated, and be strong. Plan for the best but always be prepared for the worst.