Rogers Police Teach Women Self-Defense

STAFF PHOTO FLIP PUTTHOFF
Donna Culpepper, left foreground, and Beverly Luper, right, practice self-defense techniques on Saturday Nov. 2 2013 that involve bending a foe's fingers. Cpl. Anthony Christiano watches their technique during the self-defense class for women held at the Rogers Police Department.
STAFF PHOTO FLIP PUTTHOFF Donna Culpepper, left foreground, and Beverly Luper, right, practice self-defense techniques on Saturday Nov. 2 2013 that involve bending a foe's fingers. Cpl. Anthony Christiano watches their technique during the self-defense class for women held at the Rogers Police Department.

— Women from all walks of life turned out Saturday morning to learn how to defend themselves from unwanted sexual advances and sexual assaults during the Rogers Police Department’s first Sexual Harassment, Rape and Prevention course, or SHARP.

By The Numbers

Sexual Assaults

During the Rogers Police Department self-defense class, women learned most sexual assaults are not committed by strangers — they are committed by people the victims know, Rogers Police Department spokesman Keith Foster said.

Two out of three rapes were committed by someone the victim knew.

73 percent of sexual assaults were by someone the victim knew.

38 percent of rapists are a friend or acquaintance.

Source: Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network; www.rainn.org/stati…

Beverly Luper, 38, of Rogers signed up for the course because she wanted her 17-year-old daughter to go with her and learn how to defend herself. Luper is a telecommunicator with the police department.

“I think (a defense course is) something all women should take,” Luper said in an email. “It’s important we are able to protect ourselves.”

The free class was Luper’s first self-defense course.

The course in Rogers is different from other cities’ defense courses, spokesman Keith Foster said. It is statistics-based and teaches everything from how to get away when someone grabs your wrists to prevention psychology, he said.

“It’s not a martial arts class — it’s not a ‘boom-boom-bow’ and smack the guy down,” Foster said Sunday. “It’s basically a self-defense class. It’s meant to give you time to get away.”

The eight-hour course is research based to develop simple, effective and easily remembered moves, teach avoidance of danger and give women an idea of what situations and people are most dangerous, Foster said. Topics covered included passive and active assault and controlling physical harassment in the workplace, according to a flier about the class.

Foster and Cpl. Anthony Christiano taught the Saturday course, which the police department hopes to make a regular session for the community.

Rogers has had defense courses since at least 2006, but not under SHARP and not on a steady basis, Foster said. He wants police to expand self-defense classes to have on-demand courses for groups of 10 or more and is seeking to teach schoolgirls, about 15 years old and older.

“I hate we have to have classes like this, but the world being like what it is, we have to offer what we can,” said Foster, who has daughters of his own he plans to teach.

Foster said the department may put together a shorter, refresher course so women can maintain what they learned in self-defense classes.

The community seems interested in the classes so far, Foster said.

All the 20 available spots for Saturday’s class filled in fewer than two days, Foster said. About half of those who reserved a spot actually attended Saturday, he said.

“It was a really good group,” Foster said.

The next class is planned for mid-December.

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