With warnings of suspicious characters and attempted assaults on campus, it’s best to stay prepared for the unknown.

Palomar’s Police Department has you covered with a free Rape and Self Defense Program (R.A.D) for women. The classes are composed of hands-on lessons in order to assist women in self-defense against aggression and rape.

According to campus police, upcoming R.A.D classes are scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. on April 8, 15 and 22 in room D-6. In total, the event runs, anywhere from 9 to 12 hours, and is taught over several days. The program is not only limited to Palomar students and employees but is also open to the community.

“The primary focus of the program is the development of self-defense options for women before and during situations of physical abduction,” said Officer Monika Forest, organizer and instructor of the R.A.D program.

Forest emphasized that the classes teach the students awareness, risk prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance.

“Most women know very little about physical defense due to a widespread socialization of women not to fight or be assertive,” Forest said. “The self-defense techniques taught in this course are practical, easy to learn, simple and effective.”

Forest said that the goal of R.A.D is to empower women through self-defense and educate basic confrontational principles. Those include reaction time, vulnerable target areas, defense against weapons, postures of conflict, the survival mindset and the physiological effects of the body during a confrontation.

According to Forest, benefits of attending the R.A.D courses include:

• – Installing a dependency on self, which includes, the reliance on their own personal weapons, their intuition and their instinct.
• – The importance of making their own decisions. The students will learn to decide when to use force in self-defense.
• – The self-realization of power.

“R.A.D is definitely a worthwhile class to go through for females that worry about their safety along with ways to defend themselves. It’s an excellent class,” Officer Michael Maines said.

If planning to attend one of the R.A.D dates, it is strongly recommended to dress comfortably or wear athletic attire. On the last day of R.A.D students will receive a Basic R.A.D manual containing the information she covers during the class, according to Forest.

The Police Department will also be offering an Advanced R.A.D class during the summer semester — to those students who have attended a Basic R.A.D class — and would like to learn additional techniques of self-defense.

For more information or to register for the classes email Officer Monika Forest at [email protected], or call the Campus Police Department at (760) 744-1150 ext. 2289.