Numbers do lie
Unfortunately, this situation is not likely to change. Therefore, it is an imperative women must be better equipped to be agents of their own safety. However, the current things suggested, like carrying Mace or learning self-defense skills, ignore that data shows most sexual assaults come from someone with whom the woman is familiar, making those suggestions an unlikely solution. This situation is what The Bow Tie Initiative plans to address.
But before you can create an effective strategy for women, you must address some inherent problems of educating women to be champions of their own safety, one of which is the word empowerment.
Empowerment suggests women have no innate power and need to get it from a source outside of themselves. Like somewhere, some avuncular spirit says, “Yes, I am the one with the power, but because I am so nice, I will give it to you.” This is yet another example of how society subtly subjugates women, in this case, in a kindly way. That’s is not what is needed. Women need a sense of agency. We’ve all seen the results of waiting for someone to empower you. A sense of agency is a feeling of control over their actions and consequences.
The Bow Tie Initiative will enhance women’s agency, promote their safety, and give them the tools to make better decisions to enhance their safety.
To do that, we use some terms taught to commercial airline pilots. Airlines teach pilots Threat and Error Management. Since it deals with how humans respond to hazardous situations, it is as just as appropriate to a co-ed at a fraternity party as it is to land a 757.
