A woman is raped every six seconds, and everyday four women will be killed by an abusive partner.
Those scary statistics have the Weslaco Police Department taking a stand to prove that women don’t have to be the weaker sex.
Officer J.P. Rodriguez, along with members of the Weslaco PD, are making sure women can fight back.
“We want to try to help the women in the community,” said Rodriguez. “We want to try and empower them for them to realize they don’t have to just simply be victim and be another statistic."
Rodriguez told Action 4 News that nationally, one out every four women will be attacked in their lifetime.
This is why the department is launching a self-defense program to help ladies survive a perpetrators attack.
“The reason we actually proposed this idea from a case that occurred in our city,” said Rodriguez. “It was back in either 2007 or 2008, when a female was walking, she was severely beaten by a male. We believe that he was going to attempt to sexually assault her but was unsuccessful and really assaulted her. She suffered some severe injuries."
In the two and half-hour class, women will gain a lot from the experienced trainers.
“I am training to do Krav Maga,” said Marco Siller with Weslaco PD. “This is a type of defensive tactics."
They'll learn to use maneuvers and defense gadgets, plus heighten their alertness.
The program's goal they say is survival.
If a woman knows what to do, her chances of walking away are much greater.
Anyone interested in taking the free class, contact 968-8591 for more information.
The class will take place September 26 at Weslaco City Hall from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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