Police program to help combat rape

By Jennifer Grybowski
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE - A woman is raped every two minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
That’s why the Sturbridge Police Department is offering Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes each Wednesday and Thursday night from Feb. 10 to Feb. 25. The class is designed to teach options for women to be aware of and utilize should they be physically attacked. Officer Joseph Lombardi, Detective Mark Saloio and Officer Pamela Desplaines will be instructing the class.
Anyone of any physical ability, who is in good health, can attend the class. All the instructors ask is that students do the best they can.
“A lot of what we do focuses on the element of surprise,” Lombardi said. “It’s not all about how strong you are, but how smart you are.”
“Our goal is to give you the opportunity to utilize these tools to the best of your ability,” Saloio said.
Class members will learn stances, blocks, strikes and how to verbalize correctly.
“The technique is to cause the perpetrator to know you know some type of self-defense,” Lombardi said.
Those interested must attend all six classes. Attendance is important because each class builds on the previous class, and that much of the class focuses on the repetition of movements.
Saloio said you need to make a movement 1,500 times to create muscle memory.
“In an attack, you don’t have time to think, you just have to do,” Saloio said. “We use repetition so it’s a reflex.”
“We are teaching survival techniques,” Lombardi said. “It will be how to do a technique and run and save yourself.”
The Sturbridge Police Department has been offering the RAD class at least once a year for at least 10 years. They also instruct a children’s RAD program in the schools. There is a curriculum for 5 to 7 year olds and another curriculum for 8 to 12 year olds. The curriculum focuses on education of stranger danger and safety in and out of the home. There are also physical activities.
“The drills we do are fun,” Saloio said. “We will practice five to six different scenarios in a drill.”
The adult RAD class, however, is focused more on sexual assaults.
“This is for people who want to learn potential options, things to protect themselves, situational awareness, options that give them a second or two to get free and get away,” Saloio said.
In 2006 (the most recent national statistics available), more than 232,960 women were the victim of a rape or sexual assault. An astonishing 586,780 were the victim of aggravated assault. Out of those women, 224,910 sustained injuries and 361,880 were threatened with a weapon, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2006.
“We’re going to offer students a set of tools that could potentially save their life,” Lombardi said. “These are things you can’t learn out of a book. You have to actively participate. We are trying to instill confidence in yourself, so God forbid, if you are ever in a situation, you can help yourself.”
Class members are given a chance to try everything being taught, in a whole assortment of scenarios.
“We want to give you an example of how strong you really are,” Saloio said.
Saloio said in addition to positive aspects teaching local women these techniques, it also allows the police department to form a rapport with the community.
“We are very fortunate because the chief is so supportive of the program,” Lombardi said.
Not to mention, the women enjoy themselves as well as learn to protect themselves.
“We’re tough, but we’re also a lot of fun,” Saloio said.
The class is free and any woman age 16 or older is invited to attend (those under 18 will need parent/guardian permission).
Classes will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Tantasqua Regional High School gym and on Thursdays at the Burgess Elementary School gym. Applications can be obtained at the Sturbridge Police Department. For more information, call (508) 347-2525.