Photo by Deborah Hart
You Are Worth Fighting For!
Girls Fight Back is the world renowned personal safety and empowerment self-defense program for women and girls worldwide since 2001!
In 2020 I took over as the new owner of
Girls Fight Back and all associated programs.
I will continue our mission to teach simple, practical and empowering violence prevention techniques to help women live their lives fearlessly without apology!
I also offer gender inclusive programming!
Photo by Jeff Lagrone
Girls Fight Back Trailer
Girls Fight Back was born in direct response to the June 2001 murder of a dynamic, athletic, and loved college student named Shannon McNamara. After Shannon’s death, her friend and sorority sister, Erin Weed, realized the need for practical and empowering options for young women to learn violence prevention and self-defense. By combining core values, a fun and empowering attitude, and the best safety and self-defense methods available, Girls Fight Back was born. We use evidence-based strategies that are trauma-informed and research supported to create a compassionate environment to learn life-saving skills.
I took over the company in 2020, making it a Black woman owned business! My mission is to make preventing violence and fighting back an approachable topic for every woman and girl including cis, trans, non-binary and non-conforming individuals. I've expanded my training catalog to offer a range of gender inclusive programs as well. People of all gender identities can benefit from learning the skills to recognize uncomfortable or dangerous situations, respond to manipulative behavior, set healthy boundaries, use their voice, and protect themselves physically in order to get to safety. You are worth fighting for! We can live freely, confidently and safely without apologies. Be your own badass!
We don't want to avoid preparing for the possibility of violence
by pretending it doesn't exist!
The Girls Fight Back interactive seminar is 75 minutes + Q&A and includes these key components:
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Using your intuition
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Situational awareness
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How to be an active bystander and a good ally
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The definition of consent
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How to support a survivor
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How to set boundaries that work for you
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Verbal de-escalation skills
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The basics of physical self-defense in my #BadassBasics
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Plus how to sign up for a full-contact adrenaline & scenario based self-defense course near you!
We've empowered over 1 million people worldwide!
The Facts About Violence
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1 in 5 young women will experience sexual assault in college.
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Every 68 seconds someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.
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56% of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced sexual violence.
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44% of lesbian and 61% of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
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1 in 2 transgender people will be the victim of sexual assault in their lifetime.
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More than 1 in 3 women have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner.
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Approximately 86% of survivors know their assailants.
Statistics were sourced from:
National Intimate Partner Violence Survey 2016
National Violence Against Women Survey 2000
Uniform Crime Report 2018
National Crime Victimization Survey 2003
Centers for Disease Control National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2010
Victim blaming is wrong! If you are here with us today, you did the right thing.
The only person responsible for a crime is the criminal.
"GFB is truly sensational and inspirational. I love that she didn’t make me fearful of attackers or of being attacked. Instead, it made me aware of my surroundings, and her techniques made me feel safer."
Our Core Values
Teaching Girls Fight Back to women and girls in Fiji.
STRONG – We believe that every individual is their best protector. Our strength is not necessarily made up of mere physical muscle, but is built upon making a conscious choice to reclaim our sense of security in the world. We strive to empower individuals to be in control of their lives, to set boundaries that allow them to feel safe, to be wary of anyone who discounts their NO, and to learn how to live a safer life through their actions and help other people around them to do the same.
RESILIENT – Though the statistics are shocking, we are here to say that we will not conform to the violence. Our world and most of our individual lives have been wrongfully altered by violence. We believe in recovery on individual, societal, and world levels. Our message is presented without judgment to how anyone handled or felt about a past violent situation. These are very personal issues and there is no one right way to react or feel, but we can share the tools that empower people to fight back.
SPIRITED – Belief in oneself is essential. We believe that scare tactics do exactly as their name suggests—scare people. Instead, we strive to eliminate the taboo status of topics like violence prevention, self-defense, and personal security. Making these topics approachable and encouraging everyone to tell their stories, will begin to change the pattern of violence.
UNIFIED – Though each individual is their own best protector; we also believe that we are here on earth to look out for one another. Protecting yourself is a great first step, the next step is to educate and empower others. By working together we can spread the word about personal safety and self defense, while simultaneously working to eliminate violence. We want to re-enforce the truth that while most sexual assaults are committed by men, most men are not rapists. Though Girls Fight Back is not the answer to solving the problems of all violence that exists . . . we ARE one key part of the solution and we stand together with everyone who strives to combat violence in our world.
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