Women rush to learn self-defence
THE number of women seeking self- defence classes has soared amid growing concerns that they are unsafe on the streets.
Companies specialising in defensive training say inquiries have risen by 50 per cent since the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.
It comes after Office for National Statistics research indicated that 29 per cent of females aged 16 to 34 believe they have been followed at some point. Other findings showed that two-thirds in the same age group had experienced some form of sexual harassment.
Adrian Duarte, founder of Chi Combat System which runs self-defence classes in South London told The Mail on Sunday he had been getting calls from ‘women suffering from anxiety caused by what happened to Sarah Everard’. ‘I am constantly receiving calls for trials,’ he said. ‘Inquiries have risen by 50 per cent plus.’
Patrice Bonnafoux, an instructor at Krav Maga Self Defence in the capital, said: ‘Since Sarah’s murder I have seen an uplift in inquiries come through from parents of young women.’
Nikol Fandi, 23, who lives in South London and signed up to a selfdefence class last week, said: ‘I managed to get into a class which starts next week and I hope that makes me start to feel more confident.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel last week announced £25million in funding to make public spaces safer for women and girls.
Felicia Willow, chief executive of women’s rights group The Fawcett Society, said: ‘It shouldn’t be up to women to take self-defence classes to feel safe on our streets.’