A number of Dallas-area parents and their daughters have attended an innovative predator prevention program where girls learn to recognize and escape dangerous situations and fight back where necessary. The girls are trained by age group starting at age 7 and above. The program seeks to take a subject no one wants to talk about and present it in an interesting and entertaining way so that people will talk about it. According to the parents and girls who have already attended, it works: parents and their daughters say the program is fun, valuable, and empowering. Follow up surveys show that the program actually changes both parent and child behavior in ways that make girls safer.

The course lasts a maximum of one hour for younger children and two hours for older children. The course at the YMCA will be taught by several instructors: an emergency room doctor and toxicologist, an attorney and former rehabilitation counselor in a maximum security prison, a researcher in developmental biology, a seven time national fighting champion (TKD - men), the current reigning national fighting champion (TKD - women), and a former university title IX coordinator (she is teaching the age 14+ class — high school students and parents should find her particularly interesting as they consider college choices).

The course is free and scheduled for April 17 starting at 3 pm for younger girls, and 4 pm for ages 14+, at the White Rock YMCA. Girls attending must be accompanied by a parent.

More information about the training is available at the links below, or contactginger@securehighered.com.

To sign up for the YMCA training:
https://securehighered.com/wrymca/

Information about the training at the YMCA:
https://securehighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/P3-YMCA-flier-NEW.pdf

General FAQs about the training program:
https://securehighered.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SHE-P3-FAQs.pdf