With sexual and domestic violence assault cases rising in many parts of the western area, the organisers of a free self-defence program for young women are hoping to make a difference.
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The KYUP! Project initiated by martial arts teacher Mel Thomas caters to women aged 11 to 22 and the first sessions will be held at Gilgandra and Dubbo on Monday, April 19.
Clinics at Wellington, Orange and Bathurst will follow that.
This year the project will reach out to 10,000 people and teach them personal safety and self-defence techniques, Ms Thomas said.
All communities "impacted by an epidemic of violence on girls and women must be standing up for them", Ms Thomas said as she prepared for a three-day blitz of her KYUP! Project in the region.
"As a society, we need to do more to help our women, violence against girls and women happens in all socio-economic backgrounds," she said.
Ms Thomas, a Hopkaido blackbelt, initiated the project as she met a young woman who a group of men savagely assaulted at a Sydney park.
"She was in a local park and a group of guys came down and circled her. She wanted to get away from them but didn't have the skill to speak up and take action," Ms Thomas said.
"When it was happening, she hoped somebody would come and help her do something. They ended up assaulting her.
"It was a horrible ending to her story, she asked what she did wrong. I told her she didn't do anything wrong. She did the best she could with what she had."
The latest statistics from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show from January to December 2022, the Far West and Orana region recorded 1,886 combined domestic violence and sexual assault incidences while Central West had 1,775 incidences.
BOCSAR statewide analysis from 2018 to 2022 said domestic violence assaults with women majority as victims have increased to three per cent while sexual assault went up seven per cent.
While competing and teaching Hopkaido, a Korean martial arts technique, Ms Thomas said she created the KYUP! Project "to help girls and women learn how to defend themselves in real time for their personal safety".
Having grown in Sydney's northern beaches, Ms Thomas said she was "inspired" by how surf life savings clubs helped beachgoers how to protect their skin from the sun.
"What about real life [sexual assault] situations, how can girls be safe? They don't need to be black belts in their relationships at school, at home and work situations," she said.
Ms Thomas' project has 50 black belt women who will conduct the workshops in targeted hotspots for sexual and domestic violence across the country.
They will share tips and techniques teenagers can use if they are public places, parties, public transport or anywhere they fear about their personal safety, Ms Thomas said.
"If girls know how to protect themselves and identify unsafe people and situations, they can get away from any situation that doesn't feel right, and fight back when needed," Ms Thomas said.
"Learning how to defend yourself must be a life skill, as important as water safety or driving safety."
To take part in the workshops in Gilgandra click here. For Dubbo, click here, Wellington click here, Orange click here, and Bathurst, here.
Elizabeth Frias
I began my news reporting days in western and inner west Sydney before joining the Daily Liberal's Dubbo NSW newsroom. Telling all sorts of stories about people, places and events is my daily preoccupation so email me at elizabeth.frias@austcommunitymedia.com.au and I'll be in touch!
I began my news reporting days in western and inner west Sydney before joining the Daily Liberal's Dubbo NSW newsroom. Telling all sorts of stories about people, places and events is my daily preoccupation so email me at elizabeth.frias@austcommunitymedia.com.au and I'll be in touch!
