It's About US!

When I started teaching women's self-defense over 30 years ago as a young police officer and martial artist I learned a lot about life, crime, suffering, victimization, survival, and recovery. There was a lot I was unsure about, but one thing and that was the statistics on sexual abuse and sexual assault were very much under-reported. Except for the victims and those close to them, it has been surprising for many to learn Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Kevin Spacey, Al Franken and Harvey Weinstein have been serial abusers violating women for ten, 20 and 30 years. 
I started Jane Jitsu because I want it to be a movement that brings men and women together to have the conversation and combat the problem of crimes against women jointly. The Jane Jitsu network includes hundreds of men and women that are certified to teach our program, and most of them work as male and female teams. It provides excellent balance and better ensures that our concepts and mission will be passed along to women and men. The work of combating sexual assault and sexual abuse has to be a team effort. I also firmly believe change starts from the top down, and the only way to change our current situation is by instituting massive change from the top down as a team.
As a martial arts school owner for 25 years, it was my job to demonstrate to my instructors and students that we have zero tolerance for anything less than 100% respect for one another. Sure, there were times when I had to have a conversation with some of the male students to correct what I anticipated to be a potential problem. A select few were expelled. I never had a significant issue arise because of the standard I set for myself and my instructors. 
The changes that are necessary to eradicate sexual assault and abuse have to be a team effort, and we at Jane Jitsu believe the keys are education and working together. When we work together, we can change each other, and change the world.