Local Woman Who Escaped Attacker On A Mission To Empower Others
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Broward woman who escaped a near-abduction is now on a mission to help empower other women. She, her friends and the community have come together to offer free self-defense classes available to women in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, was attacked about a year ago while she was out for a run at 5 AM. The woman said it happened when she spontaneously changed her route and turned on Sterling Road by 56 St. near Hollywood Hills High School.
"I took a route that I don't normally take in the dark like that," she said.
She says she knew something was wrong when she saw a car pull off the street and the driver stepped out.
"He looked at me said 'Good Morning.' I looked at him and said hello and every alarm in my system went off. I knew that there was something bad about to happen, so I started running faster," she said.
She recalled the moments following that exchange, saying the man ran after her. He tried to grab her ponytail. She wiped her hair out of the way that's when he grabbed her shirt and began screaming at her to stop.
"I began screaming and used some move…I'm assuming that my husband had thought me or maybe I have seen it on TV," she said.
She was able to break the grip on her shirt and stumbled out and fell into the middle of the road and began screaming. She got up and ran—escaping the attacker.
She later filed a police report and described the man to a sketch artist.
Her friends, after telling them the story, encouraged her to take action.
"I knew instantly that I needed to create awareness and let women know that you can be a victim anytime, anywhere," she said.
One of her friends, Crystal, called the Lauderdale Police Chief asking him to help them organize a free self-defense class.
The Valente Brothers Jiu Jitsu in Fort Lauderdale, owned by former police officer Bruce Belfield, stepped up and has been offering a free six week self-defense class focusing on teaching women how to fight off an attacker.
"In any attack, the first few minutes you are on your own. The police are coming, the citizens are going to call for help, but you need to have the tools to protect yourself until the police arrive," Belfield said.
Women, who have been taking the class in the past few weeks, reported feeling more confident and capable in their ability to fight, if necessary.
Having the skills to protect yourself can make the difference between life and death. It's what most likely saved the life of the Broward woman.
If you are interested in learning more about this free program, Valente Brothers have locations in North Miami, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale. They offer free self-defense classes every six weeks. The next class will be held on August 4.
For more information, visit www.graciemiami.com or call one of the locations.
