Showing posts with label Rape Prevention Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rape Prevention Education. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Rape Prevention Education

We have had amazing feedback from the attendees of the 'Women's Personal Safety' seminar in Auckland! As well as sharing valuable information, we also raised much needed funds for RPE! Excellent result all round, and we would like to thank everyone who helped make it happen, especially Chris Mitch and the teams at PropertyTutors and OBD design. You guys all rock!
Phil

Thursday, September 15, 2011

What were the signs?

Excellent short article by Darcy:


What were the signs?

Recently I had a young business woman in her mid-twenties ask me for advice so she would not again find herself in the situation she recently found herself in.

Rachel shared her story with me: I was at a party, and he must saw me there, but I didn’t meet him. When I arrived home that evening, he’d left three messages on my phone asking me out. I wasn’t so sure but decided to go out with him – he sounded nice, but I didn’t know what he looked like. Our first date was ok, but he did joke about getting married and having kids. On our second date, he mentioned getting married and having kids again and sounded almost serious. On the third date he gave me an iPhone!! I loved it. He did flip out one day when he found out that I had an ex-boyfriends number in it and he made me delete it out in front of him. He then “suggested” who I should have in the phone. He would call me all the time too, asking me what I was doing – and if he wasn’t phoning me, he’d just turn up announced at my apartment. He talked about us being together forever, soul mates. I wanted to dump him and I tried, but he’d cry and talk about killing himself. That I’d find no one better. He’s met someone else now, but while we were together, for months I just couldn’t breathe. I lost friends and I cried so often. I doubted myself. Darcy, I need to know what the signs are so I don’t meet someone like him again.

Rachel, those are the signs.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Auckland Charity Event: 'Women's Personal Safety' Seminar

Hi all Auckland-ites!
We have just confirmed something very cool...We are running a charity event raising money for RPE (Rape Crises) on October 26th! It is a two hour Women's Personal Safety seminar and get THIS...It is only $25 (will be donated to RPE)!
This will be very cool information, supporting a great organisation who do a brilliant job and need our help. SOOOOO...Please help us to support... this event. How? Firstly, if you are a female, book for the event now and get all of your friends and family there too, and secondly please forward this to every female you know and help us spread the word. We really appreciate it and guarantee the event will be worth your time, it will be cool. (BTW, there is no physical involvement at this one, it is a presentation of very cool stuff which will empower you, so just sit back and relax). See you there! Athena and Phil
For full details click HERE

Monday, May 30, 2011

Times Article: Athena and Phil


'Every Woman's Guide to Being Safe...For Life' is available now at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Angus & Robertson and most bookstores.

Also available at our online store by clicking HERE

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Excellent work!

Karate woman floors thugs
NZPA May 30, 2011, 7:11 am
Two thugs got more than they bargained for when they attacked a young Wellington woman as she walked home from her nightshift at the weekend.
They found they were no match for the waitress who floored the pair by using her martial arts skills.
Police say they were impressed with the young woman's bravery.
"Often we don't encourage people to fight back, because it can make things worse, but she acted with a great degree of bravery and she's done a great job," Detective Sergeant Shane Dye told The Dominion Post.
The 18-year-old was walking along Taranaki about 6.15am on Saturday when she noticed a man watching her. When she passed him, he attempted to grab her.
Mr Dye said she had been studying karate for about seven years and knew to elbow the man in the chest and stomp on his foot.
"She was then attacked by a second male who she hadn't seen, and he began to pull at her handbag -- then she punched him in the stomach."
During the scuffle the woman fell to the ground and was attacked again by the first man, but the woman was able to kick him and escape.
Police are hunting the two attackers.


I will choose to assume that the "Often we don't encourage people to fight back, because it can make things worse..." comment has been taken out of context by the media given that is it wrong, dangerous, and irresponsible advice which I am sure no senior police officer would give.

Great job by this young lady and I hope her emotional recovery from the event is strong.

Footnote: Another article from NEWSTALK ZB gives further context to this situation in case anyone was thinking "It was a robbery, she should have just given over her bag" with:
Detective Sergeant Shane Dye says one man grabbed her from behind as she was walking down the road, trying to drag her towards his car. He says she used her karate to fight him off, but then a second man tried to grab her handbag over her shoulder.
The young woman continued to fight and managed to escape, but has been left shaken with a knee injury.

Saturday, February 26, 2011



Protect Wellington Regional Instructor Darcy Mellsop with some of the team at a specialist Women's Personal Protection course in Wellington, Feb 2011.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010


We (Protect Self Defence) and Darcy Mellsop (Protect Wellington Region Instructor) have been presented the rare 'Certificate Of Friendship' from Wellington Rape Crisis for the work we are doing with them. This is very cool! :-)


Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Wellington Charity Seminar another success...

The following is a blog from Wellington Regional Instructor Darcy Mellsop. It has to go under my profile for now until we get this blog issue sorted...:-) Phil

Last Thursday (2nd September) Phil and I ran our Women’s personal safety seminar (as designed by Athena) in Wellington, which complemented the same seminar that we ran in Auckland in July. Christchurch – we are too weary to venture down there just yet! In all seriousness, you have our thoughts and support as you rebuild your city and feeling of peace – take care down there our beloved Cantabrians.

The seminar was packed full of strategies that can be used to keep ourselves safer – and Phil and I talked non-stop for 2 hours. The core focus were 7 manipulation strategies that men with sinister intent use. 2 hours of talking, surely that’s information overload? No, the time seemed to fly by and going by the responses the attendees at the event were really positive, and were prepared to really investigate violence to a detailed extent.

We know that coming to an event like this for many means stepping well out of their comfort zone, and of course, when you do this – in the right environment – you are duly rewarded. Perhaps Phil and I can take a little credit for the environment we set, but not the decision made by the participants to come along. Ignorance of violence is not an effective protection strategy, but it isn’t a pretty subject to talk about. But really, that’s a subject for another blog some other time.

As with any course or seminar that Protect runs, we found it hugely rewarding. And more than anything, we are rewarded when we hear what others experience at our seminars. Here are some of the responses from those who attended:

• "Thanks to you and Phil (and Athena) for putting this seminar together. The content was very powerful, and like a great movie (and I’m not talking ‘chick flick’!), it stayed with me for a loooooong while after. I appreciated yours and Phil’s honesty. It’s not always easy to talk about the truth…"

• "I just wanted to thank you very much for the seminar the other evening. There were a few a-ha moments for me during the evening and I thought you and Phil provided very in-depth reasonings behind your findings."

• "Really enjoyed meeting you and Phil the other night and was impressed with the seminar - so not what I expected."

And from Wellington Rape Crisis:

“... want to sincerely thank you and Phil for being so supportive and generous to Wellington Rape Crisis. What you raised from the seminar really is a big deal for us, and we are just so grateful!...I want to acknowledge the careful, thoughtful, sensitive and analytical approach you took to sexual violence and gendered violence...”

How much did we raise for Wellington Rape Crisis? $748.10

Oh, and I final comment from a participant:
"I think you did a fantastic job, not only the standing up and the kangaroo story"

Want to know what the Kangaroo story is about? See you at the next Wellington seminar on Saturday 6th November – bookings can be made now on our events page. Proceeds again to Wellington Rape Crisis.

And if I am to have the final word – it is this, thank you for coming – it was an absolute pleasure. As always, take care.

Darcy