Armed and ready

Deirdre Newman

A group of teenage girls and some of their moms learned how to

yell, kick and stomp their way out of an assault at a seminar at UC

Irvine on Tuesday.

The class, sponsored by Pro-T.E.E.N. Associates, aimed to arm

women of all ages with tactics that could save them in an emergency.

“The whole idea was not to place fear or trepidation into anyone

but put tools into the toolbox, if you will,” said Michelle Tuchman,

one of the partners of the organization.

Thirty-five teens and 10 of their moms attended the seminar, which

also included tips on how to stay safe at parties. Tuchman’s

co-partner, Jan Kerchner, says the class is important because one in

three women is physically assaulted.

Some of the moves the women learned included yelling, “Back off,”

using the hips and legs -- which Tuchman said are the strongest part

of the body -- and stomping on top of an attacker’s foot -- a

vulnerable part of the body.

The class also reinforced the message that women are never

responsible for being attacked.

“Lots of times, women feel that they have been the one to provoke

an attack and feel guilty,” Tuchman said. “One of [the] key messages

was that it is not the fault of the person being attacked and you

need to do whatever you can to protect yourself.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.