Target Hardening turns two Published April 10, 2009 By Paul Buckingham Sexual Assault Response Coordinator GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Target Hardening Self Defense program completes its second full year of classes. It has been identified as a "Best Practice" and is being utilized by four other Air Force installations to date. The Target Hardening Self Defense curriculum is a comprehensive education program on the dynamics of sexual assault. It addresses the topic of sexual assault from the perspective of: the predator - prey paradigm, how people respond to a traumatic situation (fight, flight or freeze), bystander intervention issues unique to the sexual assault venue, what a soft vs. hard target looks like from a sex offender perspective and self defense responses from setting firm boundaries with intoxicated or "pushy" guys to severe attacks. The program wraps up with a review and understanding that a "worst case scenario" is a reality no matter what your skill level is. We reinforce the need to contact the SARC or other support services in the event that they or someone they know are assaulted. The Target Hardening curriculum is delivered by the utilization of an educational / learning format that is comprehensive in its implementation. We address the learning theory/style issue by teaching from three perspectives: Telling (verbal brief of information), showing (demonstrating concepts) and doing (hands on interaction in techniques and concept situations). The utilization of this comprehensive style of interaction with our target population provides the necessary forum to successfully engage them. The self defense aspect of the program is important but the utilization of the self defense techniques as a catalyst to deliver the other educational information is critical to the success of the program. To successfully engage the 18-24 year old population a program must utilize all three learning styles in unison as is utilized in the Target Hardening program. There will be an open session of the Target Hardening Course for women on April 18. Contact Paul Buckingham at 654-1572 for more information or to register.
