The Central Missouri Police Academy’s Rape Aggression Defense class for women starts Tuesday.

Sponsored by UCM Public Safety, the RAD program is free to UCM students, faculty and the Warrensburg community. The program promotes “realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women,” according to the RAD website.

The basic training courses will be held each Tuesday for three weeks at the Central Missouri Police Academy at 200 Ming St. The courses last four hours and begin at 6 p.m. Students must attend all three courses to be certified in the RAD Program.

“You go each time because the class builds on the information you received from the last class,” said Sgt. Scott Lewis, a RAD instructor. “So, you have to go to all of them to get all of the information. Otherwise you miss out.”

Lewis has been involved with the program since its inception at UCM in 2001.

“The RAD program is an international program designed to empower women, give them choices, options to defend themselves if they need to,” he said. “We teach women to defend against an aggressor or multiple aggressors, it depends on the situation. We also show them how to use their personal weapons they have, like your hands, elbows, knees.”

Instructors will also work with individuals who have personal injuries and disabilities.

Kylie Giacone, a sophomore nursing major, said she did not know about the event until a friend promoted the program on Facebook following rumors floating around campus about sex traffickers abducting female students.

“If you’re like me and you have a broken rib, you can’t go to the defense class or defend yourself in a real situation,” Giacone said. “I think if they did a lot of preventative stuff, like how not to be in that situation in the first place, that would be the most helpful.”

Lewis said the program includes safety information.

“We have safety information and a lot of class participation to learn about their experiences too,” he said.

Darby Simon, a junior psychology major, said she heard about the program through her UCM Daily email newsletter during the summer. Simon said she knows other women who have been through the program and said it was a good experience. Having not been through the program yet, she said she still recommends the course.

“For women, I feel like it’s really important to know how to defend yourself and I feel like a lot of girls don’t know how to do that,” Simon said.

Simon said she wanted to participate in the program her freshman year but did not know how to become involved. When Simon signed up this year, she discovered the program that starts Tuesday was already full.

According to the RAD website, the program has a second session on Mondays beginning Oct. 15, with a maximum of 24 people. Spring 2019 sessions will be announced later this semester. For more information, visit the RAD website at https://bit.ly/2Mh5hnL.