By Sylvia Benavidez
The City of Marshall Police Department has taught the all-day PPCT Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention course as well as shorter versions of the format for the last three years, and still the free course remains in high demand. They teach the eight-hour course on average once per quarter and see a steady attendance of around 25 per class. They cap off the numbers so that each student can get personal attention as requested or needed. A total of 18 people attended, and some traveled from as far away as Flint and Kalamazoo to gain knowledge and practical experience.
Although property crime has gone down in Marshall, according to City Data.com “In the last 5 years Marshall has seen increasing violent crime…”
In an interview, two of the officers who helped make the course happen in the area shared that they have seen a rise in assaults over the last few years and how the course makes a difference in the lives of the students. The participants learn everything from principles of avoidance, such as knowing limitations, controlling the environment, and personal fear, to practicing self-defense tactics.
When the three instructors, Detective Erin Hug, Officer Phil Goodrich, and School Resource Officer Andrew (Drew) Groeneveld, organized the first hosting of the course, they weren’t sure how it would be received in Marshall, but they felt they had to do something because of the rise in violent crime they saw during COVID-19.
“We weren’t sure if anyone would be interested even looking at the statistics that were there and seeing the uptick in the crime in those areas. (We learned) that people wanted to come and continually wanted to come,” said Hug.
Goodrich explained how individuals have moved from just learning a skill to actually wanting to improve at the moves. He said, “We’ve had repeat individuals come to the class multiple times. And so, the first time we had that experience I was really excited because this individual not only wanted to learn it, but they wanted to become more proficient at it. Like it wasn’t just a one-time thing for this individual. It was something that they were legitimately serious about learning and taking that control for themselves and being able to defend themselves.”
When talking about the course teaching both awareness and self-defense skills and which is more important, Hug said, “I think they weigh out but I really think awareness and I am going to throw empowerment in with awareness.”
At Saturday’s class, Groeneveld explained more on that idea. He said, “We live in a more unpredictable world. We see things in the news that make us anxious. We see more violence in the news that makes us think our surroundings are less predictable. This course, I think is important to help people and especially women instill confidence in themselves to be able to confront dangerous situations if need be and protect themselves and give them the confidence to do so.”
Talking with Saturday’s students and hearing their reasons for taking the course supports Groeneveld’s observations. Ashley Damon, Marshall shared what for her was the most powerful part of the class. “Just realizing you are not as weak as you think you are. You don’t know what to do in that situation unless you have been told, directed, or had guidance of some form. So, if you are going in blank, you have no knowledge. You got to have at least a little research, is the way I look at it,” she said. “I am in the class because I’ve been a victim and I didn’t want to be in that predicament again and I have a young daughter, so I want to pass it on to her.”
Sarah Knitter, Flint, needed to participate in the class so she could start healing from a tragic experience that happened on her wedding night at a local inn. She shared, “I was attacked in Marshall.” Having practice time Saturday was so important to her because the coordination of yelling and doing the physical moves to defend herself was a challenge. “I can’t think to scream because I wanted to focus on where I had my hands to make sure I am getting the right spot.”
Other individuals took the course for work reasons. Albion resident Isabel Barroso said, “I am actually a campus security officer. Taking this class helps the campus that I work for and just helps other students get this knowledge of prevention and sexual harassment.”
The class is just as valuable to men as women. “Men can be victimized just the same as women, so giving them those tools from the toolbox is also important,” said Groeneveld.
Goodrich wants the participants, and particularly men, to understand that not every confrontational situation can be handled alone. He said, “Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. Sometimes it is a sign of strength because you can’t take everything by yourself.”
Dylan Chipman, Kalamazoo, is an intern at S.A.F.E Place Shelter in Battle Creek and also took the class to benefit his work situation. “I just think everyone should know about it. I mean, I guess, it’s not common for men to face prejudice, assault and stuff like that. At the same time, it’s good to break down boundaries and barriers that we may face as people and just understand that men face that too,” he said.
For Chipman, the most difficult move to learn was the disarming of another person but practicing gave him more confidence. “The hardest move to learn would be all the disarming and stuff like that especially with the high stress that can come with that type of environment,” he said.
Hug taught much of Saturday’s course and shared the biggest takeaway she hopes for students. “No assault is ever the victim’s fault. Everybody needs to know that whether they come to our class or not. If you are a victim that is not your fault whatever the situation is. If you choose to come to the class, we are more than happy to take everybody and anybody that chooses to come and we will help you to the best of our abilities even if it is not something originally outlined in our program.”
The course is provided free of charge by the department and various donations.
Photos by Sylvia Benavidez
