Esmat And Cevid Raise Awareness Of The Importance Of Personal Protection And Female Empowerment

On September 13th and 20th, the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (Esmat) held a workshop aimed at training female civil servers and magistrates of the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins in self-defense. The activity was requested by the State Coordination of Women in Situations of Domestic and Family Violence (Cevid) and coordinated by Judge Cirlene Maria de Assis Santos Oliveira and Major José Ribamar Maciel Martins from Asmil. The aim was to provide theoretical and practical knowledge on effective and easy-to-learn techniques, promoting self-confidence, personal safety and resilience. In all, forty women took part in the activities.

For Judge Cirlene, the workshop is an opportunity to awaken self-esteem and self-worth of women. “Our aim is to sow a seed to awaken self-esteem of women, promote their self-worth and make them realize that they can defend themselves, that they are capable of protecting themselves. As the Professor said, it's important that she doesn't wait or outsource her protection, but that she is alert to the signs and pays attention to situations of imminent violence. These trainings are aimed at awakening a sense of self-care in women. We had great demand for both the first and second classes. In the first stage, several female civil servers were unable to take the course and, in view of this great demand, we are analyzing, together with Esmat, the possibility of opening new classes,” she shared.

Turma I / Foto: Hodirley Canguçu

The activities took place at the 1st BPM, under the guidance of urban combat instructor Leonardo Rodrigues de Souza. During the workshop, topics such as perception of the environment, the profile of the agressor, psychological aspects of domestic violence, sexual harassment, attempted rape, functional traumatic blows, strangulation exits, captures and surprise attacks were covered.

Leonardo expressed his thoughts on the importance of the training, pointing out that “it's important to know that this [aggression] can happen in your organization, both among employees and in victim assistance. Recognizing people who go through these situations and encouraging them to report it is essential. I see that there has been a great deal of empowerment and learning for everyone, including myself. I was very surprised by the positive energy of everyone, their desire to learn and to understand how to apply this knowledge,” he said.

In a comment, magistrate Renata do Nascimento pointed out that the self-defense techniques taught value knowledge and strategy more than physical strength. “We learned basic self-defense techniques, such as body positioning, movement and simple maneuvers to get rid of an attacker. The most interesting part was realizing that these techniques don't require enormous physical strength, but rather knowledge and strategy. Practicing in pairs was also very enriching, as it provided a safe environment for us to apply what we were learning,” she said.

Turma I / Foto: Hodirley Canguçu

This activity is in line with the Resolution No. 18, of July 20th, 2023, which established the Program for the Protection, Humanized Reception and Solidarity of Women in the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins (PAHS). The program aims to establish policies, guidelines and actions to prevent and combat domestic and family violence against female Judges and civil servers, through the implementation of an integrated prevention protocol and security measures. 

The WORKSHOP on self-defense of women not only taught self-defense techniques, but also raised awareness about the importance of personal protection and female empowerment. Judge Cibele Maria Bellezia cited the “practicality of the blows taught as a highlight, because you don't need any athletic training”.

In a statement, Valdirene Cássia da Silva reflected on her experience and said it had been very positive. “Spending the day immersed in this learning environment was enriching, not only because of the techniques I learned, but also because of the confidence I developed. The course was conducted very competently, the instructors were trained and always concerned about our safety. The most striking thing was realizing that self-defense goes beyond physical techniques; it also involves developing a mentality of safety and self-protection. I left the course with a new perspective on my safety.”

To enrich the programming, the University League of Trauma and Emergency of the State of Tocantins (Lutte) also took part, offering first aid guidance to the students.

Turma II / Foto: Hodirley Canguçu

Academics Heitor Trigilio da Silva, Maria Fernanda Nakano Rodrigues, Guilherme Magalhães Rezende, Renan Marques Dias de Sousa and Arthur Ramalho Nascimento contributed to the success of the initiative, expanding the knowledge of the participants of immediate care in emergency situations.


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