According to the Dart Center for Journalism and Violence, 1 in 3 indigenous women will be raped in their lifetime. That’s why Patricia Stein founded Arming Sisters, an organization that hopes to teach compact self defense courses to Native American women across 20 of the most populated reservations in North America.
The nonprofit is modeled after the Tahrir Body Guard, a group that Stein taught for that’s dedicated to ending sexual harassment in Egypt.
We’re being targeted,” Stein notes in her group’s introductory page. “Targeted to flawed laws, racism, and deep rooted corruption in the institutions set up to protect and serve the public.”
To make this possible, Stein— a member of the Lakota people— is hoping to raise $25,000 via crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
That money will be used to cover the cost of transportation, accommodation, and any running and operational costs that might arise. Stein’s plan is to teach 6-hour classes over the course of 2 days at each of the 20 locations that will teach indigenous women how to protect themselves.
“Of course no one’s going to become Bruce Lee in 2 days,” she says in her YouTube pitch video,”but they can walk away with 10 basic moves that could save their lives.”
As of this writing, the Indiegogo campaign has raised $390.
Photo via Patricia Stein/YouTube