IN August Dojo Drifter (dojodrifter.com), a multimedia company and mixed-martial arts (MMA) news web site in the Philippines, released a summary of the abuses and assault experienced by women in the Philippines over the past four years.
According to the web site, the Philippine Commission on Women recorded that one in every five women is a victim of violence, and 1 percent out of 10 is a victim of sexual assault. In 2013 the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) documented over 5,000 rape incidents involving women and child victims. The following year, the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (PNP-DIDM) tallied a total of 7,409 reports of rape. Statistics also show that such incidences have increased to nearly 500 percent since 2000.
“Rape, sexual assault and violence are running rampant in the country, and we believe that every legal route to prevent these crimes and remove the rape culture in the Philippines should be taken,” Dojo Drifter founder Gab Pangalangan said on the same web site.
According to Pangalangan, these alarming figures spurred Dojo Drifter’s “Fight Like A Girl” campaign, which aims to not only teach basic self-defense to women but also show how martial arts can be an empowering practice for them. The campaign also aims to take away the negative connotation that comes with “fighting like a girl”, and to debunk the notion that women, hypothetically, is the weaker gender.
At the launch of the Fight Like A Girl campaign at Functional Fitness Gym in Ortigas, Pangalanan added: “We believe a lot of women think they need self-defense, but the thing is, they don’t know where to go. So, we bring self-defense to them, and we hope it will break the intimidating image of martial arts for them, too.”
The Fight Like A Girl advocacy is fronted by national athlete Cassie Umali and was kicked off with a self-defense lesson for women, led by Filipina martial artists Annie Ramirez, Paui Peña and Geli Bulaong. The ongoing campaign started in Manila and will end next year in March, which is International Women’s Month.
“Of course, the campaign doesn’t really end in March. I mean, we will not stop caring about this after March, and, hopefully, there will be enough people who will support the campaign. We’re very open to collaboration in making this as big as it can be. The campaign started here in Manila, but if we can take the campaign to several parts of the country, and even involve the PNP in spreading awareness and provide women with self-defense lessons, that’s our goal,” Pangalangan said.
He explained that in a basic self-defense class, participants will be taught roughly seven techniques in one week, with physical conditioning instructions and trainings included. Pangalangan said Dojo Drifter has a wide network of gyms, and their team can meet those interested to recommend places where participants can train through martial-arts classes. He stressed the course is for all, because “crime doesn’t discriminate, it can happen to anyone.”
In closing, Pangalanan said: “If we could change the world for the next generation, why not do it now? We have so many strong women who could lead the pact.”
He added that more than self-defense, Dojo Drifter also wants to change norms when it comes to sports, especially in martial arts, which is still a male-dominated arena. “When young girls watch the TV, or surf the Internet, they will see girl athletes becoming world champions, winning medals, and these young girls may aspire to be like them, where they will be recognized by their abilities.”
Meggie Ochoa, Filipina jiujitsu fighter who is also an advocate for Fight Like A Girl, said, “What this campaign really aims to do is to equip other women with the right skills and the right mind-set and, hopefully, somewhere along the way, the phrase ‘to fight like a girl’ will mean to fight with strength amid adversity, heart amid discouragement and passion amid diversion.”