A young girl has a far greater chance of being raped in South Africa, than learning to read.
This horrific statistic brings home the reality of the country’s violent crime, specifically against females, and it’s time for every woman to act.
This is why Mark Grobbelaar, founder of Women INpowerment (WIP) will be on hand to get you ‘boxing smart’ at this year’s Women’s Lifestyle Expo – brought to you by FMI – taking place at Montecasino Piazza on 29 and 30 September.
After the rape and attempted murder of Alison Botha in 1994, her close friend, Mark Grobbelaar, was driven to make a difference…and so he developed WIP: “South Africa is the rape capital of the world with one woman raped every 20 seconds. Women need to get INpowered so that they don’t become yet another victim,” said Mark Grobbelaar.
“WIP is an extremely simple yet remarkably effective self-INpowerment system that has been designed specifically for women.”
Be prepared
Every woman I’ve ever spoken to, when asked the question, ‘What would you do if you thought you were going to get raped or murdered?’ has either said: ‘I don’t know’, or ‘I think…’.
As a woman, you need to learn to immobilise a man even twice your size before finding yourself in that situation. Be prepared.
Never underestimate anyone
Just because a man – or woman – might seem physically less dominant than yourself, it’s important not to assume you will have the upper hand.
We also often feel a social responsibility to take a more lenient approach with strangers, rather than risk a socially awkward situation. If you don’t feel comfortable, get out of that situation.
Trust your instincts
Everyone has ‘the gift of fear’ and women tend to have quite an acute sixth sense for danger. Although you can’t live your life completely paranoid, you can err on the side of caution.
If a situation or individual gives you an uneasy feeling, take yourself out of that situation or get some distance.
Never go to a second location
Things always get worse at the second place – always. People often use weapons to get what they want – be that your car, phone or any other valuables.
At the first place, chances of survival are 95%, and they drop dramatically to less than 35% at the second place.
Know you have a choice
Society dictates that as a woman, there are certain things you can’t do. But as a father of a soon-to-be-teenage daughter, I believe that’s a load of rubbish.
I want my daughter to grow up with a strong self-esteem, knowing that she can overcome anything. WIP will give you belief that you have a choice in any life-threatening situation.
Just recently, our very own Miss South Africa/Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel Peters punched a potential hijacker in the throat, and managed to get away safely, after learning the simple technique in WIP.