self_defense_girls.JPG

This is the header on the flyer promoting free self-defense classes for women and girls in Glendale, Calif.

(screengrab from NCFM letter)

The National Coalition for Men is challenging the free self-defense classes offered by the city of Glendale, California to women and girls in April.

The city provides the classes in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but the NCFM says Glendale and its Commission on the Status of Women are violating federal and state laws that protect against sexual discrimination, the Glendale News-Press reported.

In a letter sent to the city (PDF), Harry Crouch, president of the NCFM, requested that the classes be opened to men and boys as well:

"It is especially troubling that the City, its Commission on the Status of Women, and Shield Self Defense would deny men and boys access to their self defense classes in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Why the City, its Commission on the Status of Women, and Shield Self Defense do not want men and boys to be just as prepared as women and girls to defend themselves against sexual assault is outrageous.



"Anyone can be a victim of sexual assault, not just women and girls"

National Coalition for Men's logo

The city has hosted these classes for years, but this is the first time the coalition has gotten word of them.

"Just because you have a penis doesn't mean you come out of the womb with a black belt in karate," Crouch said in an interview on Thursday.

In the United States, about 10 percent of all sexual assault victims are male, according to the News-Press.

Glendale has begun researching state and federal laws in response to the NCFM's letter. They have found that the classes may be legal under federal law, but they are continuing to look into state law, which prohibits "treating people unequally based on sex," according to Crouch's letter.

The courses are led by Shield Self-Defense, an organization that was specifically created "to empower women and girls against sexual assault," The Raw Story reported.

"It always astounds me that some of our governmental agencies who are charged with protecting us from violations of law simply acquiesce to things like this," Crouch said.

In closing, he wrote:

Do you think free self-defense classes for women and girls only are discriminatory? Leave a comment below.