Key overviews
Cermele, J., & McCaughey, M. (2022). Self-Defense as an Effective and Neglected Form of Sexual Assault Prevention: A Commentary and Overdue Correction to the Literature. Sex Roles, 86(9), 493-503. doi:10.1007/s11199-022-01284-3
Gidycz, C. A., & Dardis, C. M. (2014). Feminist self-defense and resistance training for college students: A critical review and recommendations for the future. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(4), 322-333.
Hollander, J. A. (2018). Women’s self‐defense and sexual assault resistance: The state of the field. Sociology Compass, 12(8), e12597.
Hollander, J. A. (2018). Empowerment self-defense. In Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Resistance (pp. 221-244). Academic Press.
Kelly, L., & Sharp-Jeffs, N. (2016). Knowledge and Know-how: the Role of Self-defence in the Prevention of Violence against Women. Project Report. EU Parliament, Brussels, Brussels.
Kerr-Wilson, A.; Gibbs, A.; McAslan Fraser E.; Ramsoomar, L.; Parke, A.; Khuwaja, HMA.; and Rachel Jewkes. (2020). A rigorous global evidence review of interventions to prevent violence against women and girls. Pretoria, South Africa: What Works to prevent violence among women and girls global Programme. (See pp. 39-41)
Further works
Anderson, RaeAnn E., and Shawn P. Cahill. (2015). Behavioral response to threat (BRTT) as a key behavior for sexual assault risk reduction intervention: A critical review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 25: 304-313.
Ball, K., & Martin, J. (2012). Self-defense training and traditional martial arts: Influences on self-efficacy and fear related to sexual victimization. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 1(2), 135.
Basile, K. C. (2022). Effective Empowerment-Based Training Is One Approach Identified in CDC’s STOP-SV Technical Package as Part of Comprehensive, Multi-Sector Prevention of Sexual Violence: A Response to Ullman(2020). Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 31(4), 562-567. doi:10.1080/10926771.2022.2046224
Beres, M. A., Treharne, G. J., Stewart, K., Flett, J., Rahman, M., & Lillis, D. (2019). A mixed-methods pilot study of the EAAA rape resistance programme for female undergraduate students in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Women's Studies Journal, 33(1/2), 8-24.
Berke, D. S., & DeFour, D. (2021). Teaching About Empowerment Self-Defense Training for Sexual Assault Prevention: Recommendations for Feminist Instruction in Psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 45(3), 387-394. doi:10.1177/0361684321998396
Brecklin, L. R. (2008). Evaluation outcomes of self-defense training for women: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 13(1): 60-76.
Brecklin, L. R., & Bryant-Davis, T. C. (2011). The benefits of self-defense training for sexual assault survivors. Surviving sexual violence: A guide to recovery and empowerment, 276-295.
Brecklin, L.R. & Middendorf, R.K. (2014). The group dynamics of women’s self-defense training. Violence Against Women, 20(3), pp. 326–342. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24626767.
Breitenbecher, K.H., and M. Scarce. (2001). An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Sexual Assault Education Program Focusing on Psychological Barriers to Resistance. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(5): 387-407.
Cahill, A.J. (2009). In Defense of Self-Defense. Philosophical Papers, 38(3), pp. 363–380.
Caignon, Denise, and Gail Grovers. (1987). Her Wits About her: Self-Defense Success Stories by Women. New York: Harper and Row.
Cermele, J. (2010). Telling our stories: The importance of women’s narratives of resistance. Violence Against Women, 16(10), 1162-1172.
Cermele, J. A. (2004). Teaching resistance to teach resistance: The use of self-defense in teaching undergraduates about gender violence. Feminist Teacher, 15(1), 1-15. .
Cermele, J., & McCaughey, M. (2015). What’s Wrong with the CDC’s Public Health Model for Rape Prevention. J Community Med Health, 5(387), 2161-0711.
Crann, S. E., Senn, C. Y., Radtke, H. L., & Hobden, K. L. (2022). “I Felt Powerful and Confident”: Women’s Use of What They Learned in Feminist Sexual Assault Resistance Education. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 46(2), 147-161. doi:10.1177/03616843211043948
Decker, M. R., Wood, S. N., Ndinda, E., Yenokyan, G., Sinclair, J., Maksud, N., ... & Ndirangu, M. (2018). Sexual violence among adolescent girls and young women in Malawi: a cluster-randomized controlled implementation trial of empowerment self-defense training. BMC public health, 18(1), 1341.
Downs, W., Rindels, B., & Atkinson, C. (2007). Women’s use of physical and nonphysical self-defense strategies during incidents of partner violence. Violence Against Women, 13, 28-45.
Edwards, K. M., Siller, L., Wheeler, L. A., Charge, L. L., Charge, D. P. L., Bordeaux, S., ... & Simon, B. (2021). Effectiveness of a sexual assault self-defense program for American Indian girls. Journal of interpersonal violence, 0886260521997942.
Fleetwood, J. (2019). Everyday self‐defence: Hollaback narratives, habitus and resisting street harassment. The British Journal of Sociology, 70(5), 1709-1729.
Gidycz, C. A., Lynn, S. J., Rich, C. L., Marioni, N. L., Loh, C., Blackwell, L. M., ... & Pashdag, J. (2001). The evaluation of a sexual assault risk reduction program: A multisite investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(6), 1073.
Gidycz, C. A., McNamara, J. R., & Edwards, K. M. (2006). Women’s risk perception and sexual victimization: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11(5), 441-456.
Gidycz, C. A., Van Wynsberghe, A., & Edwards, K. M. (2008). Prediction of women’s utilization of resistance strategies in a sexual assault situation: A prospective study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(5), 571-588.
Gidycz, C.A., M.J. Layman, C.L. Rich, M. Crothers, J. Gylys, A. Matorin, and C.D. Jacobs. (2001). An Evaluation of an Acquaintance Rape Prevention Program: Impact on Attitudes, Sexual Aggression, and Sexual Victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(11): 1120-1138.
Gidycz, C.A., Rich, C.L., Orchowski, L., King, C., & Miller, A.K. (2006). The evaluation of a sexual assault self-defense and risk-reduction program for college women: A prospective study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 173-186.
Gilmore, A. K., Lewis, M. A., & George, W. H. (2015). A Randomized Controlled Trial Targeting Alcohol Use and Sexual Assault Risk among College Women at High Risk for Victimization. Behaviour research and therapy, 74, 38-49.
Hall, R. (2004). It Can Happen to You: Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management. Hypatia, 19(3), pp. 1–19.
Heyden, S.M. et al., (1999). Fighting Back Works: The Case for Advocating and Teaching Self-Defense against Rape. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 70(5), pp.31–34. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07303084.1999.10605931.
Hines, D. A., & Palm Reed, K. M. (2015). An Experimental Evaluation of Peer versus Professional Educators of a Bystander Program for the Prevention of Sexual and Dating Violence among College Students. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 24(3), 279-298. doi:10.1080/10926771.2015.1009601
Hollander, J. A. (2009). The Roots of Resistance to Women’s Self-Defense. Violence Against Women, 15(5): 574-594.
Hollander, J. A. (2010). Why do women take self-defense classes?. Violence Against Women, 16(4), 459-478.
Hollander, J. A. (2014). Does self-defense training prevent sexual violence against women?. Violence against women, 20(3), 252-269.
Hollander, J. A. (2016). The importance of self-defense training for sexual violence prevention. Feminism & Psychology, 26(2), 207-226.
Hollander, J. A., & Cunningham, J. (2020). Empowerment Self-Defense Training in a Community Population. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 44(2), 187-202.
Hollander, J. A., & Rodgers, K. (2014, June). Constructing Victims: The Erasure of Women’s Resistance to Sexual Assault. Sociological Forum, 29(2): 342-364.
Hollander, J.A. (2005). Challenging Despair: Teaching About Women’s Resistance to Violence. Violence Against Women, 11(6), pp.776–791.
Holtzman, M., & Menning, C. L. (2019). Developments in sexual assault resistance education: Combining risk reduction and primary prevention. Journal of Applied Social Science, 13(1), 7-25.
Jeffrey, N. K., Senn, C. Y., Hobden, K. L., Barata, P. C., McVey, G. L., Radtke, H. L., & Eliasziw, M. (2022). Evaluation of the Transfer of Training for a Sexual Assault Resistance Program Enhanced with Sexuality Education. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. doi:10.1007/s13178-022-00749-0
Jordan, J. & Mossman, E. (2016). Skills for Safety: An evaluation of the value, impact and outcomes of girls’ and women’s self defence in the community, Wellington.
Jordan, J., & Mossman, E. (2017). “Don’t ever give up!” Resisting victimhood through self-defense. Journal of interpersonal violence, 0886260517744760.
Jordan, J., & Mossman, E. (2018). “Back off buddy, this is my body, not yours”: empowering girls through self-defense. Violence against women, 24(13), 1591-1613.
Jordan, J., & Mossman, E. (2019). “Get Out of My Home and Don’t Come Back!” Empowering Women Through Self-Defense. Violence Against Women, 25(3), 313-336.
Karim, R., & Swahnberg, K. (2021). Does female authority prevent male marital violence? Evidence from rural Bangladesh. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(11-12), 5055-5074.
McCaughey, M., & Cermele, J. (2017). Changing the hidden curriculum of campus rape prevention and education: Women’s self-defense as a key protective factor for a public health model of prevention. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(3), 287-302.
McCaughey, Martha. (1997). Real Knockouts: The Physical Feminism of Women’s Self-Defense. New York: New York University Press.
Menning, C., & Holtzman, M. (2020). Predicting Successful Evasion of Attempted Sexual Assault: Factors, Tactics, and Outcomes. Sociological Focus, 53(1), 89-109.
Newby-Clark, I. R. (2013). What I am doing to stop rape: The personal/intellectual journey of a heterosexual male investigator on a sexual assault resistance education intervention. Feminism & Psychology, 23(4), 556-560.
Noll, J. G., & Grych, J. H. (2011). Read-React-Respond: An Integrative Model for Understanding Sexual Revictimization. Psychology of Violence, 1(3), 202.
Orchowski, L. M., Gidycz, C. A., & Raffle, H. (2008). Evaluation of a sexual assault risk reduction and self-defense program: A prospective analysis of a revised protocol. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 204-218.
Orchowski, L. M., Yusufov, M., Oesterle, D., & García, G. M. (2018). A Framework for Evaluating Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Empowerment Self-Defense Programs. In Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Resistance (pp. 407-435). Academic Press.
Pinciotti, C. M., & Orcutt, H. K. (2018). Rape aggression defense: Unique self-efficacy benefits for survivors of sexual trauma. Violence against women, 24(5), 528-544.
Rentschler, C.A., 1999. Women’s Self-Defense: Physical Education for Everyday Life. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 27(1/2), pp.152–161. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40003408.
Rosenberg, Karen. (2015). Sexual assault resistance program lowers rape rate in university women. AJN The American Journal of Nursing 115, no. 10: 52-53.
Rosenblum, G. D., & Taska, L. S. (2014). Self-defense training as clinical intervention for survivors of trauma. Violence Against Women, 20(3), 293-308.
Rosenman, E., Sarnquist, C., Friedberg, R., Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, M., Oguda, G., Otieno, D., & Baiocchi, M. (2020). Empirical Insights for Improving Sexual Assault Prevention: Evidence From Baseline Data for a Cluster-Randomized Trial of IMPower and Sources of Strength. Violence Against Women, 26(15-16), 1855-1875. doi:10.1177/1077801219886380
Rozee, Patricia D., and Mary P. Koss. (2001). Rape: A Century of Resistance. Psychology of Women Quarterly, December, Volume 25 Issue 4.
Sarnquist C, Omondi B, Sinclair J et al. (2014). Rape prevention through empowerment of adolescent girls. Pediatrics, ePub, 2014.
Sarnquist, C., Kang, J. L., Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, M., Oguda, G., Otieno, D., Mboya, B., Omondi, N., Kipkirui, D., & Baiocchi, M. (2019). A protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial testing an empowerment intervention to prevent sexual assault in upper primary school adolescents in the informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 834.
Senn, C. (2010). An imperfect feminist journey: Reflections on the process to develop an effective sexual assault resistance programme for university women. Feminism & Psychology, 0959353510386094.
Senn, C. Y., Barata, P., Eliasziw, M., Hobden, K., Radtke, H. L., Thurston, W. E., & Newby-Clark, I. R. (2022). Sexual Assault Resistance Education’s Benefits for Survivors of Attempted and Completed Rape. Women & Therapy, 45(1), 41-67. doi:10.1080/02703149.2021.1971425
Senn, C. Y., Eliasziw, M., Barata, P. C., Thurston, W. E., Newby-Clark, I. R., Radtke, H. L., & Hobden, K. L. (2013). Sexual assault resistance education for university women: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (SARE trial). BMC women’s health, 13(1), 25.
Senn, C. Y., Eliasziw, M., Hobden, K. L., Barata, P. C., Radtke, H. L., Thurston, W. E., & Newby-Clark, I. R. (2021). Testing a Model of How a Sexual Assault Resistance Education Program for Women Reduces Sexual Assaults. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 45(1), 20-36. doi:10.1177/0361684320962561
Senn, C. Y., Gee, S. S., & Thake, J. (2011). Emancipatory Sexuality Education and Sexual Assault Resistance: Does the Former Enhance the Latter?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(1), 72-91.
Senn, C. Y., Saunders, K., & Gee, S. (2008). Walking the tightrope: Providing sexual assault resistance education for University women without victim blame. In S. Arcand, D. Damant, S. Gravel, & E. Harper (Eds.), Violences faites aux femmes [Violence against women] in the collection: Problemes sociaux et interventions sociales [Social problems and social interventions] (pp. 353-372). Quebec City: Les Presses de Université du Québec.
Senn, C.Y., Eliasziw, M., Barata, P.C., Thurston, W.E., Newby-Clark, I.R., Radtke, H.L., & Hobden, K.L. (2013). Sexual assault resistance education for university women: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (SARE trial). BMC Women’s Health, 13, 25. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6874-13-25.
Simpson Rowe, L, Jouriles E.N, McDonald R, Platt C.G, Gomez G.S. (2012). Enhancing Women’s Resistance to Sexual Coercion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the DATE Program. J. Am. Coll. Health; 60(3): 211-218.
Sinclair, J., Sinclair, L., Otieno, E., Mulinge, M., Kapphahn, C., & Golden, N. H. (2013). A self-defense program reduces the incidence of sexual assault in Kenyan adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(3), 374-380.
Speidel, L. (2014). Exploring the intersection of race and gender in self-defense training. Violence against women, 20(3), 309-325.
Standing, K., Parker, S., & Bista, S. (2017). ‘It’s breaking quite big social taboos’: violence against women and girls and self-defense training in Nepal. Women’s studies international forum, 64: 51-58.
Tark, J., & Kleck, G. (2014). Resisting rape: The effects of victim self-protection on rape completion and injury. Violence Against Women, 20(3), 270-292.
Thompson, M. E. (2014). Empowering self-defense training. Violence Against Women, 20(3), 351-359.
Ullman, S. E. (1997). Review and critique of empirical studies of rape avoidance. Criminal Justice & Behavior, 24(2), 177-204.
Ullman, S. E. (2022). Rape Resistance: A Critical Piece of all Women’s Empowerment and Holistic Rape Prevention. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 31(4), 519-539. doi:10.1080/10926771.2020.1821851
Ullman, S.E. (2007). A 10-Year Update of “Review and Critique of Empirical Studies of Rape Avoidance”. Crim Justice Behav., 34(3): 411-429.
Ullman, S.E. (2014). Reflections on researching rape resistance. Violence Against Women: 1077801214526308.
Ullman, S.E., and R.A. Knight. (1992). Fighting Back: Women’s resistance to rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7, 31-43.
Ullman, S.E., and R.A. Knight. (1993). The efficacy of women’s resistance strategies in rape situations. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, 23-38.
Weisz, A. N., & Black, B. M. (2010). Peer Education and Leadership in Dating Violence Prevention: Strengths and Challenges. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19(6), 641-660. doi:10.1080/10926771.2010.502089
Weitlauf, J.C. et al., 2001. Assessing Generalization in Perceived Self-Efficacy: Multidomain and Global Assessments of the Effects of Self-Defense Training for Women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(12), pp.1683–1691.
White, D., & Rees, G. (2014). Self-defense or undermining the self? Exploring the possibilities and limitations of a novel anti-rape technology. Violence Against Women, 20(3), 360-368.