Gathered together in a tight circle in the small gym on Wednesdays during lunch, members of the Girls Safety and Self-Defense club learn about the tools and techniques they can use to defend themselves. 

According to the Rape, Abuse, Abuse and Incest National Network, women ages 16 to19 are four times more likely than the general population to experience rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. With this statistic in mind, the club’s co-presidents, juniors Bijou Burdick and Lucy Hamil, lead the members through safe discussions, informative presentations and physical demonstrations to teach the importance of self-defense and safety to their female audience. 

“ Just having that confidence [of] knowing that you have these self-defense techniques in case, gives you that confidence, that reassurance,” Burdick said. 

One of the ways Hamil and Bijou try to instill confidence is by teaching self-defense techniques that can be easy to master and perform in a stressful situation.

“There are certain pressure points you can [use on] someone who is way bigger than you,” Hamil said. She added that these pressure points, such as the wrist or chin, can be extremely useful in defending oneself against a potential threat, since these moves don’t require a lot of strength to bring an assailant down. 

Junior Saki Beattie, a club member, said that the club explains statistics and facts about the importance of self-defense. Beattie said she initially came to the club because she was interested in self-defense, and no other clubs offered self-defense lessons. 

“ I wanted to come because I’ve actually never seen a club like this on campus before,” Beattie said. “There are obviously women’s clubs, but I feel like there aren’t actual clubs that talk to me about how I can protect myself in casual situations that might turn wrong.”

While Burdick and Hamil give many tips on how to defend oneself, an important lesson Burdick teaches is building a secure community.  

“Our club is really specifically focused on having a safe support system,” Burdick said,“We’re really focused on creating a safe community. That’s been one of our main goals throughout this whole club.” 

Powered by stories of their own experiences, members of the club have grown closer together by sharing times that they have felt unsafe or experienced discomfort. Hamil said that their club allows them to talk about self-defense techniques and lessons that should be discussed, which she said will create a greater bond between the members. 

“We all feel very safe and comfortable here,” Hamil said. “It’s really relevant issues, and I think it’s important to have a place for that.”

Sexual harassment and abuse are experiences—especially for women—are important to discuss. Knowing that there is a safe space to talk about with other women can be beneficial and help build their confidence, which is the most important goal for the club.

Burdick said that it is important for women to stay safe, especially at night, where unsafe situations can arise.

“ I walk to work and a lot of times I do a closing shift,” Burdick said. “It’s like a two-minute walk, but I usually call someone on my way to work and on my way home from work just so people know that I’m okay.”

Burdick and Hamil said they wanted to start this club to bring awareness to the fact that women can find themselves in uncomfortable and dangerous situations. At San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day parade this year, they saw a girl wandering around by herself and took it upon themselves to ask her if she was alright. 

“She was just walking around by herself and we went up to her and made sure she was okay,” said Burdick. “I just hope that the girls that are in our club can gain that confidence to go up to other girls and just give everyone help.” 

By simply asking the girls if she is alright is an example of how the club emphasizes the importance of safety awareness. Burdick and Hamil said that they hope club members will gain the confidence to help not only other club members but also others in the community. 

“Girls are just so marginalized and are vulnerable to being taken advantage of, especially at night,” Burdick said. “I think just giving girls the confidence to go out and help others [by just] being confident in themselves is so important.”