A Roadmap to the Empowerment Self-Defense Movement
Lost in the ESD Ecosystem? Here’s a Map!
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” —Mother Teresa
Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) is a holistic approach to personal safety that addresses the full spectrum of gender-based violence through an evidence-based methodology. Many people teach self-defense, and each has critical impact through their work. Today, we want to highlight just a few key players in the ESD movement who are making waves—not only in their own communities but across the globe.
There is a lot happening in the movement, and it is hard to keep track! Please reach out if you would like for us to include your organization in this roadmap.
First, it is important to mention the origins of empowerment-based self-defense styles, which have been developed and taught since the 1970s (and even earlier). A pioneer in the movement, the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF), “builds personal and collective strength, safety, and well-being through martial arts, self-defense, and healing arts, to empower women and others affected by gender-based discrimination. The National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF) is dedicated to promoting the involvement and empowerment of all women, transgender or non binary, and their allies who are active in martial arts, self-defense, and healing arts.” They also run a yearly conference to bring people together, not only from all over the United States, but all over the world.
Read on for an overview of some of the organizations in the ESD movement currently working towards violence prevention and social change on a big scale around the world.
In 2017, a group of instructors from our global community came together in an incubator to come up with a way to support violence prevention on a broader scale. The result of that incubator, and the ones to follow, was the organization ESD Global. ESD Global is a global network of ESD instructors, educators, and activists providing training worldwide in an effort to scale the accessibility of ESD. Their trainings aim to support the growth of new generations of instructors from diverse communities.
In 1971, the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW) was established by pioneering feminist activists after a woman was raped on Sunset Boulevard. For 35 years, they served millions and evolved in a growing movement, eventually creating an official organization. Rebeca Méndez, Adam Eeuwens, and Michael Powers were tasked with the assignment to create a name that accurately represented their movement and organization. That name was Peace Over Violence. It is an all-inclusive call-to-action to rally people behind this social movement. Peace Over Violence builds healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence.
The Empowerment Self-Defense Alliance (ESDA) is a diverse collaboration of empowerment self-defense practitioners and thought leaders. The group includes domestic and sexual violence service providers, academics, trainers, writers, activists, social workers, and survivors. ESDA works to leverage the collective impact of empowerment self-defense practitioners and influence a national dialogue (in the U.S.) surrounding preventative action for interpersonal violence.
Prevention. Action. Change., based in Maine, works to counter harassment, assault, and abuse through building awareness by teaching verbal and physical prevention and response skills, and promoting healing and growth for their students. Project director Clara Porter is a veteran in the ESD community.
The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE), established in 1974, works to prevent hate crimes and acts of violence in their communities. They do this by offering educational programs centered on people who are marginalized. Their program combines physical empowerment with leadership development, activism, and awareness training.
WAVE Self-Defense is a practical and empowering program offering safety and self-defense trainings throughout the Philadelphia region. For over 50 years they have taught safety strategies that participants can use in situations ranging from verbal harassment to physical assault. Something unique to WAVE are the wraparound services they offer to support their clients.
PAVE Prevention, established in 2021 in the U.S., is a social enterprise dedicated to shifting the culture of violence in the workplace through human safety skills training. They do this by focusing on empowering individuals through human development, and creating more equitable and violence-resistant workspaces. They are passionate about disrupting the domino effect of workplace violence to create safer communities.
No Means No Worldwide (NMNW) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to end sexual and gender-based violence against women and children globally. NMNW trains instructors in high-risk environments to deliver the proven No Means No curricula to girls and boys ages 10-20. Through the program, girls increase their skills in boundary setting, assertiveness, and understanding of their rights. They develop the verbal and physical skills to defend themselves from sexual assault. Boys increase their gender equitable attitudes while also learning skills to defend equality, avoid violence, ask for consent, and intervene when witnessing or anticipating sexual assault. NMNW also works to increase girls' and boys’ disclosure of experiences of sexual violence and provide referrals for comprehensive support. The No Means No Program is endorsed by world health leaders because it is evidence based, cost effective and replicable.
Mujeres Fuertes Autodefensa (Women Empowered Self-Defense) is a Costa Rica-based social enterprise supporting women, children, and all people to live a life free from fear and full of confidence. They offer workshops, trainings, courses, and retreats, teaching “Holistic” Self-Defense that allow participants to connect with their No & Yes through conscious communication, somatic movement, and community. They offer deeply transformative experiences with a unique perspective on self-defense, empowerment, and education. This organization was founded by Toby Israel, who also produced the Mujeres Fuertes documentary available now!
Pink Belt - Write your Destiny of Strength provides tools, techniques and knowledge to strengthen women to deal with sexual assault and abuse and prevent crime against them. In 2016, Aparna Rajawat started Aaleya Welfare Society to sponsor education for poor kids. Later, she became the founder of Pink Belt Mission, starting it with the objective to strengthen every Indian women by providing them health awareness, safety techniques, legal rights, cybercrime, self-defense, computer literacy, and vocational trainings in order to prevent sexual and domestic abuse.
ESD Albania, established in 2021, is an Empowerment Self-Defense organization working towards drastic change in gender-based violence in the country of Albania. Originally connected to ESD Global and founded by Gentiana Susaj, this group has taken on a life of its own, making Empowerment Self-Defense mandatory in schools to support the education system’s violence prevention strategies. They have also partnered with UN Women to reach a broader audience, preventing violence and reducing bullying in schools.
IMPACT Personal Safety is an Empowerment Self-Defense organization dedicated to ending the cycle of gender-based violence by empowering people to take control of their lives through physical and verbal skills–and the fundamental truth that their life is worth fighting for. IMPACT PS was established in 1984 by Lisa Gaeta, and today has a strong team of talented instructors and padded suits who travel throughout Los Angeles, and beyond. With the help of Yudit Sidikman, they more recently founded IMPACT Global, which is a traveling team of specialists working to train individuals, groups, and organizations around the globe to teach the IMPACT method as Lead and Padded Instructors. This effort has also expanded out to IMPACT Global Europe, led by Gentiana Susaj.
RIA LAC Abya Yala stands for Red de Instructores de Autodefensa Latinamerica y el Caribe and translates to Network of ESD Instructors in Latin America and the Caribbean), and it is a powerful feminist network working to prevent gender-based violence through training, awareness, and advocacy. With a focus on the ESD methodology, RIA LAC Abya Yala has trained over 100 instructors in countries throughout Latin America, reaching over 6,700 people through workshops and trainings. It is their mission to establish self-defense as a key strategy for violence prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean, creating a platform for education, activism, and supportive services.
ElleLiveAction, established in 2016, is an Empowerment Self-Defense company based on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. They seek to provide a safe and brave space for women and girls to practice holistic skills in violence prevention, learn how to navigate violence when it is happening, and heal from violence after the unspeakable has occurred. Since 2022, they have reached over 12,500 clients in 123 countries with their online courses in partnership with the Transformation Academy. Founder Tasha Ina Church designed her first online Empowerment Self-Defense Course in 2018, wanting to reach a much broader audience, and she developed a methodology that allows people to absorb the information in an online format.
VPEC (Violence Prevention Education Conference) takes place every year to support ESD practitioners around the world, highlighting their work along with that of colleagues in complementary fields. The first Violence Prevention Education Conference (VPEC) took place in February 2020, and it was the first of its kind. It it has been hosted in countries across the globe, from Prague, to Israel, to the United States. VPEC is an inclusive, supportive, and community-driven entity. Their conference is a collaborative space where experts from around the world in the fields of education, psychology, social work, and Empowerment Self-Defense come together to share diverse perspectives and insights for making a real impact.
Wisdom for Women - ESD Coaching Australia is an empowerment company with a mission to equip women with the tools they need to establish robust boundaries, identify healthy behaviors, and assert themselves confidently to live their lives free from violence and abuse. Founder Antonella Spatola is an international trainer who specializes in trauma-informed violence prevention education. Her multifaceted approach incorporates personality profiling tools, personal development strategies, physical self-defense techniques, and positive psychology. She aims to support her clients to emerge empowered and courageous in the world.
El Halev, founded in 2003, is an Israeli nonprofit dedicated to countering sexual, emotional, and physical violence through innovative educational programs. Their collaborative efforts span diverse groups, empowering women and children across Israel by equipping them with practical tools for personal safety, self-protection, boundaries setting, and conflict management in risky and violent situations. With numerous annual programs and over 130,000 graduates, they continually strive for a healthier, safer society worldwide.
Thrive Empowerment Center offers practical, female-led, trauma-informed self-defense education and therapeutic programming. They support the safety and resilience of all people—especially women, children, and marginalized groups—and believes that significant strength and healing can be achieved when given the knowledge, tools, and space to do so. They work for a safer world free from violence, oppression, and fear.
Defend Yourself supports people to gain mental, emotional, physical, and verbal skills to assert themselves and keep themselves safe. They envision a world where people, especially women, LGTBQ+, and people of color, can be fully themselves. Defend Yourself is rooted in a social justice understanding of gender-based violence. Their founder is, Lauren Taylor, is also co-author of the recently published Get Empowered.
IMPACT Boston works to prevent violence and abuse by giving people tools to protect their safety and advocate for healthy relationships and sexual respect in their communities and society. They have been teaching solutions for safe living since 1971, providing realistic personal safety training and collaborating with schools and organizations to create programs that proactively prevent abuse. Meg Stone is the Executive Director of IMPACT Boston and the Project Director of Ability:IMPACT.
IMPACT Bay Area offers violence prevention programs for people to embody their own power, set effective boundaries, defend their physical and emotional safety, and heal. They build safe spaces for people who experience and resist violence differently because of who they are or how they are perceived, like women, youth, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, etc. They envision a courageous future where people use their individual empowerment skills to live fuller, more confident lives and create safer communities.
IMPACT Community Action’s mission is “to fight poverty by providing hope-inspiring help and real opportunities for self-sufficiency.” Community Action was founded in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson’s Vision for A Great Society that ushered in Civil Rights reform, Economic Opportunities for all citizens, and the beginning of the War on Poverty. IMPACT Community Action is one of 48 Community Action Agencies in Ohio and more than 1,100 nationally working on the front line of the War on Poverty.
IMPACT Chicago, founded in 1987, is a not-for-profit organization (403(b)), governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and an Administrative Team. They are efficient, effective, and selective. IMPACT Chicago teaches self-defense to women, girls, and people with disabilities, so they can prevent, minimize, and stop violence. IMPACT Chicago is built on a belief in the "ripple effect”—the repercussions of an event or situation experienced far beyond its immediate location.
ZA SEBA, based in Slovakia, is dedicated to education in the field of prevention of sexualized, psychological and physical violence for the general public, schools, companies and organizations. They provide comprehensive and inclusive programs focused on strengthening personal boundaries and self-confidence, non-violent communication and assertiveness, conflict de-escalation, and the ability to recognize forms of violence and respond adequately using verbal or physical self-defense techniques. They believe that every person, regardless of age, gender or physical abilities, deserves a life without violence, in which they can fully develop their potential.
Resiliency Training Institute, based in Belgium, is a skills-based training program for empowerment, conflict resolution, and personal safety, designed to support participants’ mental and physical health. The Resilience Training Institute was founded as a result of a collaboration between mother and daughter, both passionate professionals in the fields of Non-Violent Communication and Empowerment Self Defense, with a strong desire to contribute to a more resilient, courageous and above all peaceful society. Co-founders Nina Wennik & Iris Berfelo are a mother-daughter duo who value freedom, security, respect, stability, peace, and contentment for every person.
Naga is a rare find for a martial arts and self defense school in Oregon. The art they train, Poekoelan, comes from Indonesia and is traditional and authentic. (“Naga” means “dragon” in Indonesian.) Founded in 2003, their community is like none other; you will find focus, compassion and grit in equal measure. Naga is committed to creating and fostering an environment that is welcoming, equitable, and inclusive for all past, present, and future students and instructors. They seek to celebrate the breadth of diversity represented within their community while keeping an eye on the ongoing journey to create a space made with everyone in mind. Silvia Smart, who also has multiple empowerment podcasts, and Jeff Smart are co-owners.
Girls Fight Back was born in direct response to the June 2001 murder of a dynamic, athletic, and beloved college student named Shannon McNamara. After Shannon’s death, her friend and sorority sister Erin Weed realized the need for practical and empowering options for young women to learn violence prevention and self-defense. Inspired by the way Shannon fought her attacker, Erin immersed herself in training with the best violence prevention experts and self-defense trainers in the world and, from this, developed the GFB seminar. By combining core values, a fun and empowering attitude, and the best safety and self-defense methods available, Girls Fight Back was born. Girls Fight Back is now under the ownership of Nicole Snell, an award-winning international speaker, survivor advocate and self-defense expert who is dedicated to carrying on the mission of empowering women around the world.
Wounded Healers International is an organization working to end the culture of sexual violence and provide survivor support. Their diverse team is formed by a multicultural and multilingual array of survivors, leaders, and advocates who passionately believe that the people they serve are worthy of dignity and protection. The focus of Wounded Healer's efforts is to support the achievement of transformational change by working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
