As the sexual attacks on women are growing and making national headlines, the Bay Area women are taking action to protect themselves. They are enrolling in self-defense classes to learn self-defense across the country.

Almost every college in Bay Area are now offered Self-defense classes for women. While tactics may differ, the goal is most often the same.

A first year students at a self-defense class at Mills College in Oakland, Saly Entislia, said that, "I wanted to learn to be able to defend myself against both physical and mental attacks, but I also wanted to also have a way to like communicate with my body and learn how it feels to listen to the signs that something's wrong."

An instructor Christine Schoefer, said that, "The philosophy is that the best thing to do is to get out of the situation whatever it is, if it's a party, if it's a club, if it's you know your room."  

Schoefer teaches an empowering skill set that's both physical and mental. Students recite along with targeted phrases from, "I didn't agree to that," to "Stop calling me that," to "I don't want to have this conversation right now."

"What I do encourage them to do is to get an ally bring someone with you. Tell that person to keep an eye on me, tonight is going to be my turn to drink, next time it's your turn to drink, right, so they're not alone," says Schoefer.

Also Read: Muslim women in US turn to self-defence to combat 'hijab grab'

Nandini