DAPHNE, Ala. — Predators can lurk in small towns just as they can in a metropolis. No one is assured safety, but the women of Baldwin County now have the chance to get prepared.

Rape Aggression Defense training will be held Feb. 23 and 25 at the University of South Alabama Baldwin County campus; reservations are required.

In 2007, there were 12 reported rapes in Fairhope and five in Daphne, according to Fairhope and Daphne police departments.

“It has been estimated that 50 to 85 percent of rape victims do not report their victimization to criminal justice authorities,” RAD instructor Phillip Norrell said in an e-mail.

The threat is real, but so are the alternatives. RAD classes are taught at over 400 colleges and police departments in the United States and Canada, Norrell said.

“It is the only self-defense program ever to be endorsed by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators,” Norrell said.

Classes will be Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Feb. 25 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Certification is available for those who attend both classes. The cost is $25 for the public; $15 for those with a USA student ID.

Call 928-8133 for reservations.

Participants pay for the program once and can engage in other classes for free.

“RAD is a nation-wide network and offers a lifetime return policy:  once you complete the course, you can return to any of the R.A.D. programs across the country to practice again, free of charge,” Norrell said.

Women will learn awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, Norrell said. Then they’ll progress to basic hands-on defense.

“Because the class emphasizes awareness as well as self-defense, it addresses the threat from both a stranger and an acquaintance perspective,” Norrell said.

Research shows that defense is a natural reaction to a surprise attack, Norrell said. Women are taught about Fight or Flight Syndrome in a classroom, then practice physical defense drills that are realistic for women’s ability, he said.

They include “bear hugs, ground defense, and close chokes,” Norrell said.

The program also considers the students’ comfort in working with other students in fight-simulation scenarios; for this reason, it is a women’s-only class, he said.

“It is considered more realistic  to expect women who enroll in the program to work with other women, than it is to expect a women to work with male participants they don’t know (since some physical contact occurs),” Norrell said. 

Recent research shows that rape and injury can be effectively offset by physical resistance, Norrell said. This opposes older research that said compliance was the best way to prevent injury.

RAD training gives women an active role in protecting themselves, Norrell said. The program gives students an opportunity to put knowledge into action. They wear special padding and the instructor simulates an attack, he said.