Orange Day: District offers self-defence courses for women
Studies show that almost 60 percent of women surveyed avoid certain places or parks at night. Around 40 percent of women try not to leave the house at all at night. Therefore, the Waldeck-Frankenberg district is offering self-defence courses for women this year on the occasion of the International Day against Violence against Women.
Raising awareness of gender-based violence
Orange Day is an annual day of action to raise awareness of gender-based violence. This year, the district's Women's and Equal Opportunities Department is organising a campaign again: With the support of the Soroptimist Clubs in Korbach and Bad Wildungen, three self-defence courses will take place this year - on 25 November at the Frankenberg Youth Centre, on 26 November at the "Pump and jump" gym and on 9 December at the Cine K Korbach, each from 10 am to 4 pm.
Registration now open
Interested women and girls aged 16 and over are invited to register online for the courses. Participation costs five euros per person and a maximum of 18 women can take part in each course. "For Orange Day 2023, we are offering the self-defence courses this year because we want to support as many women and girls as possible to remember their own strength in dangerous situations, to find solutions and to overcome the feeling of powerlessness," says the district's women's representative Beate Friedrich. "We are therefore looking forward to as many participants as possible."
In Germany, every third woman is a victim of physical or sexual violence at least once in her life. For this reason, too, the district regularly engages in numerous campaigns against it. "Experienced violence or harassment - also called catcalling - is not an individual problem, but a structural one," adds Miriam Drüppel, the deputy women's representative of the district. Comments like "Hey sweetie!", "Stop right there!" or whistling after them, intrusive looks and unasked-for remarks: Many people - especially women - experience situations like this every day. What could be meant as a supposed compliment is not one. Never. But sexualised verbal harassment - so-called "catcalling". "We want to make situations like those that happen to thousands of people every day visible - and have therefore been calling on everyone to share their stories and experiences with us since June this year."
Share your experiences anonymously
Those affected can share their experiences with the staff at the Women's and Equal Opportunities Service by e-mail - without any obligation and anonymously. A description of the situation with place and date is sufficient. No personal details need to be given. "We will collect the stories for a year and of course treat them confidentially - and then next year write them on the ground in chalk at the places where they happened without naming names." This is another way the district wants to draw attention to taboo subjects like these.