Lessons in self-defense and how to stay safe in the face of harassment will soon be offered to D.C. residents who are transgender and nonbinary.
The group Defend Yourself puts on the program, with funding from D.C.
Tessa Jelani applied to be an instructor.
“For me, being able to teach my sisters and my brothers in this community will mean a lot to me,” she said.
Jelani, a transgender woman who said she has been assaulted, said she hopes the program will be meaningful.
“We have to walk out our doors every single day and constantly have to be on a lookout,” she said.
Nationally, 47% of transgender people say they’ve been sexually assaulted, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. About 35% of students in kindergarten through 12th grade say they’ve been physically assaulted.
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“I believe everybody should be able to live a life without being targeted,” said Lauren Taylor, founder of Defend Yourself.
The group has enough funding to train about 10 instructors, who will then become staff members and teach their own classes, Taylor said.
“It transforms people’s lives. They feel more confident. They feel less fear,” she said. “They’re able to reclaim their lives and take up space and be who they want to be.”
Next, Defend Yourself plans to teach ways to de-escalate a situation, as well as how to step in and help if you see someone getting harassed or attacked.
“I think understanding who you are and being able to protect that is a really big thing in our community,” Jelani said.
