Free self-defence class for women launched |30 January 2023
Minister Hoareau addressing the gathering
A new free self-defence class for women has been launched by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs in collaboration with the Combat Athletics Academy.
The programme is being run by Denis Cesar, head coach of the academy.
The first initial phase (white belt) out of four phases of the programme will go on for three months whereby classes will be held every Thursday from 4:30pm to around 6pm.
It was the Minister for Local Government and Community Affairs, Rose-Marie Hoareau, who officially launched the class at the Les Mamelles community centre on Thursday last week in the presence of principal secretary for local government, Kevin Perine and his management, district administrators, representatives from the police department and participants.
In an interview to local media, Mr Cesar said the programme is geared towards addressing the issue of gender-based violence using self-defence.
“It is all about setting boundaries and this is where women as well as young girls are finding the difficulty – to set proper boundaries. Due to the fact that they do not have the means to enforce these boundaries, our aim is to promote personal fitness and self defence as the mean or method to stop and control the issues of gender-based violence,” he said.
The programme will provide self-defence classes to women and girls in Seychelles of all ages. However girls below the age of 12 will have to be accompanied by an adult.
The programme is taking into account the rise in domestic violence and attacks against the female gender. Self-defence is extremely important and almost necessary for women and girls, as they are often subjected to sexual assaults and harassment. The classes are free of charge.
In his address, PS Perine explained why his ministry has partnered with Mr Cesar to undertake such a programme.
“In Seychelles, gender-based violence falls under the portfolio of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family within the Family department. However, it is not the job of only a ministry, a department or an organisation to educate the population on this issue, and promote a society without violence. It takes all of us,” he said.
For her part, when officially launching the class, Minister Hoareau thanked Mr Cesar for taking this initiative which would greatly help the communities in Seychelles and urged others to follow suit.
“I take this opportunity to address any other individual who has an idea and experience to help share with the community, to approach us at the ministry. We would greatly appreciate you coming forward.”
The launch ceremony included a short demonstration by members of the academy, namely Rodney Rosalie, Ian Gabriel and Kylie Pothin, to show some of the techniques that they will be teaching. Their message behind it is that self-defence does not always require aggression or physical violence such as punching or kicking.
The programme aims to give women and girls confidence in their personal safety, encourage discipline and other positive core principles, decrease the rate of domestic violence in Seychelles, and increase the level of productivity in women and girls.
An evaluation will be done at the end of the three months to assess the level of development and participants will be awarded a 1st stripe, which will be added to their white belt as a token of proof.
Clara Belmont, a young woman who is interested in the programme, shared that she had practiced Brazilian JuJitsu in the past while living abroad, but had to stop due to Covid-19. However, her love for this martial art remained.
She expressed her appreciation that such a programme is being introduced in the country, especially with a special focus on women and young girls.
Her advice for those women who are reluctant to join is “if you are not yet confident to come on your own, bring someone with you, so you can have that extra support”.
The topics that will be covered include identifying violent assault, attack mitigation methods using four control and restraints level, health, fitness and functional conflict resolution measures. Its objective is to familiarise participants with violence anatomy, triggers and phases, plus mitigation measures, conflict management and resolution, control and restraints techniques, fitness and introduction to self-protection and preservation principles.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the launch ceremony as well as a demonstration by members of the academy to show some of the techniques that they will be teaching.
Diane Larame
