Self-Defense & Violence Prevention Blog

news and commentary about security, self-defense, and topics like violent crime prevention and bullying

Author Archive

Recidivism and the Prison Industry (Part 1)

In regards to criminal behavior, recidivism refers to criminals re-offending after release from prison. In the United States, the recidivism rate is approximately 60%, which means that more than half of people released from prison commit another known crime. An incarceration system could find many effective ways to significantly reduce the recidivism rate. And I… Read More

Research about Education as Crime Prevention

I made a blog post back in March about the fact that education prevents violent crime and victimization. Today, I read a research brief about education as crime prevention from the OSI. Here are some excerpts: “[R]esearch shows that quality education is one of the most effective forms of crime prevention. Educational skills can help… Read More

Comments and Stories about False Accusations

In 2006, I made a blog post about The Danger of False Accusations. In it, I explained that I believe that sometimes false accusations of sexual victimization can be more damaging than sexual victimization itself. More importantly, I explained why I believe activists must work together to simultaneously reduce both the prevalence of false accusations… Read More

Lowering the Age of Consent

I have been thinking lately that high ages of consent hinder efforts to stop sexual victimization, such as rape and sexual assault. If one person has sex with someone else who’s age is under the age of consent determined by the statutes in that jurisdiction, then the sex is considered statutorily unconsensual and is thus… Read More

Sexual Censorship Does Not Prevent Sexual Violence

I am currently reading Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex by Dr. Joycelyn M. Elders. I like it so far. Anyway, while reading a chapter about censorship today, I was interested by some information. Elders points out that research has found that viewing erotica or pornography does not correlate with antisocial… Read More

Two Books about Violence in Society

I just finished reading the descriptions of about 20 or so books about violent crime and criminology. Two of the books seemed especially interesting to me. I hope to read them both soon. (Of course, I have a long list of books that I want to read, so it takes me a while to get… Read More

Everyone Can Help End Sexual Violence

I found a nice post on a blog from a University of Wisconsin student. In the blog post, Alex Wagner points out that everyone can help end sexual violence regardless of their race, gender, or religion. I agree! We must refuse to remain complacent or just passively indignant about the prevalence of sexual assault and… Read More