Alachua County Sheriff's Office

Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Program

RAD Class Schedule – CLICK HERE

The Rape Aggression Defense program, known as RAD, is a self-defense course specifically and only for women. The program was founded in 1989 by a former campus police officer. Today the course is taught at more than four hundred colleges and universities and has trained more than four thousand instructors and more than one hundred fifty thousand women. The program’s instructional objective is "to develop and enhance the options of self-defense, so they become viable considerations to the woman who is attacked." The growing wide spread acceptance of this system is primarily due to the ease, simplicity and effectiveness of our tactics, solid research, legal defensibility and unique teaching methodology.

This system of realistic defense will provide women with the knowledge to make an educated decision about resistance. We operate on the premise that a spontaneous violent attack will stimulate a natural desire to resist, on the part of the victim (supported by research). We educate women about the "Fight or Flight Syndrome," while showing them that enhancing their option of physical defense is not only prudent, but a necessity if natural resistance is to be effective.

The course differs from other self-defense programs in that it provides a foundation of risk reduction through avoidance strategies in addition to active defensive tactics. The R.A.D. System is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance while progressing to the basics of hands-on self defense training. R.A.D. is not a Martial Arts program. Because the class emphasizes awareness as well as self-defense, it addresses the threat from both a stranger and an acquaintance perspective.

The course is taught in three sections by law enforcement officers certified to provide RAD training. At the beginning of each class, instructors will provide you with a workbook/reference manual that you will use throughout the course. This manual outlines the entire Physical Defense Program for reference and provides outlines for each of the three sections taught. The first section is classroom discussion with a lecture component.

The second section discusses confrontation, options in various types of situations, and how and why to make a decision to resist or not. The third section continues with confrontational dynamics, and principles of self-defense. Students will systematically learn stances, yelling, movement, blocking, and escape methods along with many other defense techniques.

The class is FREE, but enrollment is limited to ensure the highest level of quality instruction. Don't delay, call today!!

HOW TO ATTEND

1. Register by calling Deputy Shawn Pagel. (352-367-4044 or 538-1277) or email at spagel@alachuasheriff.org.
2. Please provide your name, email address, phone number and which class dates you would like to attend.
3. Remember, the class consists of three (3) four (4)-hour sections. You need to attend all 3 sessions.