Whether walking their dog or walking to their car alone, women who take the nationally taught Rape Aggression Defense classes will be prepared to fend off an unsuspected attacker or avoid altogether a potentially dangerous situation.
Niles Police Department Officer Angie Lick and volunteer coordinator for police services program, Julie Sisk co-founded the Niles R.A.D. in 2014. Both are certified instructors and continue to help teach the classes out of the Niles Fire Station Complex throughout the year.
Through four three-hour classes taught over a course of two weeks, women who participate learn skills in four categories: risk awareness, risk reduction, risk recognition and risk avoidance. The overall goal is to keep students from getting into dangerous situations.
A key to that avoidance starts with being observant.
“We talk a lot about just being more aware of their surroundings and what to look for,” Lick said. “What kind of behavior should you be concerned about? Just very practical things.”
The classes end with a simulation of a real-life scenarios, where trained instructors act out an “attack” on the student. The instructors wear padded equipment in these scenarios.
Both Lick and Sisk said utilizing a real-life simulation gives students a tool for empowerment, showing them that even under duress they can utilize the skills they were taught.
“We also talk about what happens in an actual situation with your adrenaline, your level of awareness and motor skills and the progression of what happens to your body,” Sisk said. “And how to help them have some tools to get out of it quickly if they feel kind of frozen.”
Lick said this is a realistic reaction that most self-defense courses do not address. Through the course, students become aware of the physiological reactions that may occur during a dangerous situation like this, so they are further prepared to combat their attacker. Through practice, they develop the muscle memory to react in a way that could help them escape a threatening situation. Such skills can be utilized against any attack, Lick said.
Surprising their attacker can also help the strategy work more efficiently. It is why some of the lessons taught in the class are not intended to be shared, Sisk said.
The program was originally started nationally in 1989, according to Sisk. In Niles, Lick and Sisk said that since implementing the classes in Niles 2014, they have seen a variety of students.
Among their pupils, Sisk and Lick have worked with students who have never been in a confrontational situation to students who are survivors of violent physical attacks or domestic violence.
The classes also see a wide age range, from 13 to women in their 60s.
Seven instructors, most involved or formerly involved in law enforcement, teach the classes. Only 25 students at a time can participate at a time.
In addition to learning a host of useful skills that could help them or someone they know escape a bad situation, Lick said another benefit is the supportive environment that students create for one another.
The next series of classes will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. from June 13 to June 22. Those who are 13 and up may sign up.
The classes cost a one-time fee of $20. The cost includes a student manual, snacks and a free lifetime return policy, where students can refresh their skills anywhere the classes are offered in the U.S.
There are also R.A.D. classes available for men, though not in the immediate area. Lick and Sisk said that if enough men show interest in participating, they might work on opening a class just for men.
As far as those who are encouraged to attend, Sisk said “any woman.”
“We are big about developing a plan, but as women how often do we make a plan for our own safety?” Lick said. “You have to prepare for safety.”