It seems that lately, whenever you look at news online, there’s only dreary and scary events happening around the world. Sexual and physical assault have been a serious issue for a long time, but as of late, victims are speaking out and raising awareness. Although some changes have been made in the way that we view assault victims, the issue is still very relevant. Even though it shouldn’t be the victim’s responsibility to defend themselves, nothing will change if no action is taken.

Self-defense is pretty cut and dry; being able to physically defend yourself if being attacked. Although it’s sad to think about it, but many students could use skills that self defense teaches, such as getting out of bad situations and making sure you can protect yourself.

Teaching students how to defend themselves can seem scary, because why would you teach a teenager how to fight? At first glance, it seems that teens that know how to fight would lead to more problems, but in reality, it’s scarier to let high schoolers out into the world without any means to protect themselves. Bad situations are almost inevitable, as one in five women have been sexually assaulted at least once in their lives. That means that in an average classroom at Kennedy with about 12 females, at least two of them have or will be assulted.

These statistics are terrifying, but they’re true, and one way to lower them is to teach self-defense. Self-defense has already been worked into the gym curriculum once in the 2018 to 2019 school year, and Kennedy could easily offer more opportunity for students to learn, via incorporating defense into more gym classes, holding lessons during smart time or after school, or even giving students more information on defense.

Even though right now something as simple as walking alone outside seems scary, things will get better. Self-defense can help students get out of dangerous situations, and teaching students will help safety and security in this scary world we live in.