In 1982, my sister was the victim of domestic violence. The incident nearly took her life. The perpetrator was never punished. This is how I learned about domestic violence. In an effort to heal and to prevent other families from living through such a tragedy, I began educating myself, then others, on domestic violence education and prevention.  

I began studying criminology in an effort to prevent crime, but I have always been a victim’s advocate. The legal system, in my opinion, has long been focused on punishment and politics, with the victims receiving little attention. The perpetrators make the headlines – often to superstardom, of sorts – but society tends to forget the victims and their loved ones. 

 I teach prevention, rather than fighting, because once you are fighting you are a victim, and my goal is to prevent victimization. I do not believe we should live in fear, but to live with awareness. I refuse to teach adults and children to be afraid of others. We have to watch out for one another – it takes a village to raise a child – and each other.

 We are a reactionary society rather than proactive. When tragedy strikes, we want to know “why?” and “how could this have been prevented?” Preventing crime can be easy – learning the red flags, the signs of the molester, the violent partner, the rapist. Learning about crime can be frightening. We are all soldiers in the war on crime. You do not send a soldier into battle unarmed.

One of my favorite classes was a group of retired teachers. At the end of the session, one of my students said to me, "I learned I have an internal strength I did not know I had." That is self defense.