From firearms-alert-owner Sat May 14 06:25:45 1994 Received: from localhost (chan@localhost) by jobe.shell.portal.com (8.6.4/8.6.5) id GAA05302 for firearms-alert-outgoing; Sat, 14 May 1994 06:24:43 -0700 Received: from nova.unix.portal.com (nova.unix.portal.com [156.151.1.101]) by jobe.shell.portal.com (8.6.4/8.6.5) with ESMTP id GAA05296 for ; Sat, 14 May 1994 06:24:42 -0700 Received: from gatekeeper.nra.org (gatekeeper.nra.org [192.231.143.12]) by nova.unix.portal.com (8.6.7/8.6.5) with SMTP id GAA26144 for ; Sat, 14 May 1994 06:23:57 -0700 Received: by gatekeeper.nra.org (5.65/DEC-Ultrix/4.3) id AA16576; Sat, 14 May 1994 09:22:33 -0400 Date: Sat, 14 May 1994 09:22:33 -0400 Message-Id: <9405141322.AA16576@gatekeeper.nra.org> Reply-To: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org Originator: press-release@nra.org From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: RELEASE: REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Comment: NRA Press Releases Sender: firearms-alert-owner@shell.portal.com Precedence: bulk Status: RO FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 6, 1994 NRA'S "REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM" EXPANDS ITS REACH NRA Safety Program for Women Receives Enthusiastic Response As Seminars Are Introduced To Cities Around The Country WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) continues expansion of its Refuse To Be A Victim public service program, with new seminars set for Minneapolis in May. Late in 1993, NRA conducted a test market in three high crime area s of the country -- Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; and metropolitan Washington, D.C. The response was overwhelmingly positive -- nearly 20,000 women called the Refuse To Be A Victim 800-number asking for a 42-tip safety brochure and information on se minar schedules and registration. Refuse To Be A Victim is a three-hour seminar for women, by women, which teaches easy-to-understand tactics that are useful in preventing criminal attack. The course doesn't encourage women to join the NRA or buy a gun. It simply provides women with the tools they need to prepare a personal safety strategy, including information about home, automobile, and physical security; self-defense training; and much more. "Criminals look for easy targets," said Sonny Jones, who designed and developed the program and currently manages NRA's Women's Personal Safety Department. "In Minnesota, five women are raped every day. An aggravated assault occurs every hour and four minutes. A woman stands a much better chance of preventing criminal attack if she makes herself a difficult target. That means she must have a personal safety strategy in place before she needs it." Women who have already taken the seminar agree. A participant in Tampa said, "You never know, crime is so random. I could be the next victim. The seminar seems to have some really common sense tips to help me so that I'm not a target." And an attendee in Dallas said, "You can't rely on the police and you can't rely on the legal system, so you have to take responsibility for yourself. That's why I'm here taking this course." Women in and around Minneapolis who are fed up with criminal activity can learn how to develop that strategy by attending the Refuse To Be A Victim personal safety seminar. The preregistration cost per person for this event at the Radisson Hotel South is $20.00 ($25.00 at the door) and includes the 22-page Women's Guide to Personal Safety Strategies and a brochure entitled "Refuse To Be A Victim: 42 Strategies for Personal Safety." For more information and to preregister, women should call 1-800- 861-1166. The women of the NRA launched Refuse To Be A Victim in response to the rise in violent crime against women. The numbers tell the story. According to the Department of Justice, three out of four women over age 12 will be victims of crime at least once in their lives, and more than a third of them will be violently assaulted, raped or robbed. Over the years, women attending other NRA safety courses had expressed a need for the kind of information provided in Refuse To Be A Victim. Following extensive research, including focus groups in which women stated their concerns and how best they felt their needs could be met, the women of the NRA Board of Directors introduced the program in September 1993. In addition to Minneapolis, NRA will take the seminar to Seattle in October. Seminars in Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area are held on an on-going basis. When the NRA took Refuse To Be A Victim on the road in March, nearly 300 women attended the first two public seminars held in Dallas. To date, over 30,000 women have called the 800-number. Through the National Rifle Association, over half a million American women have learned how to avoid dangerous situations, and if one should arise, how to avoid becoming a victim. -nra- FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Contact: Easter Thompson at (703) 267-3820 EDITOR'S NOTE: Sonny Jones, Manager of NRA's Women's Personal Safety Department, will be available for interviews by special arrangement. Contact the NRA Public Affairs Division, 703-267-3820, for scheduling. -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org and via WWW at http://www.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to rkba-alert by sending: subscribe rkba-alert Your Full Name as the body of a message to rkba-alert-request@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 719-6406.