Sev Necati worked in partnership with Advance, The Wembley Youth Club
and Youth Services to deliver a workshop for women and girls in personal safety,
self-defence and confidence building.
All the women and girls that accessed the programme were from a range of
different backgrounds, cultures, ages and abilities. Each week they took part in practical
exercises in self-defence, as well as discussions and group training.
Those that took part expressed how their self-esteem and confidence
levels had improved, as well as it being a life changing experience for some.
"I am very pleased to share my experiences of working with Sev
Necati, and also experiencing her 10 week self defence course in Wembley Youth
Centre. I work as the Violence against women and girls prevention worker at
Advance advocacy services. The self defence course was commissioned by Advance
as a part of the Wembley Stadium Trust small grant project. Sev was
professional, open to partnership working and organised with course material,
resources and sessions planning. The participants were very engaged and the
overall feedback was very positive.
Sev
Necati’s course design and delivery is unique with its balanced approach to
self defence techniques and tools to build mental strength and self esteem. The
course is well rounded in building the participant’s awareness to risks,
understanding the context of power and control that gives rise to violence
against women and girls and encouraging girls to unleash their physical
strength to defend and protect themselves against harm. I was very impressed to
see the girls gaining confidence as the weeks went by and how Sev took care to
realise the potential of each individual participant and pushed them to
challenge themselves a little more each time. They emerged feeling confident
and stronger.
I highly recommend Sev Necati’s self defence courses and feel it
is very relevant for a wide range of people and the course is adaptable to the
needs to different groups."
Violence against women and girls prevention worker at Advance
Some
Comments from the females when asked what they enjoyed about the session &
what inspired them:
“I feel more confident in myself.”
“Really
enjoyed the course and the practical is a really important part.”
“I really enjoyed the sessions. I feel more confident and aware.”
“The
various self-defence techniques were really helpful.”
“The theory lesson was very interesting
and beneficial.”
“The
trainer was very funny and is good at delivering information and good at training
as well as being a good motivator.”
“Very helpful, do this more in other
boroughs.”
“Over
the weeks I have improved in confidence and strength.”
“The training sessions were really
useful I feel I have gained a lot more knowledge.”
“Sev
is a really great instructor, encouraging as well as pushing us to do our best.”
“I feel a lot more confident and the practical
exercises have made me realise I can do it.”
“Amazing
sessions.”
“Brilliant trainer!”
“Inspired
me to gain confidence in what to do in case of a situation.”
“It is an excellent course and very well
delivered.”
“The
motivation and feed-back was really useful.”
“The floor work was very inspiring as the
more we did it the stronger my body became.”
“Knowing
I can help myself if crime did happen.”
Our projects work to inspire
and empower females from all backgrounds and abilities. We work towards building the confidence of
these women and girls and hope they continue to make positive changes in their
lives for their benefit.
Mary is a 22 year old female. Married and has no children.
Please tell us why you became involved in the project?
I needed to learn some skills to protect myself, know how to self-defence. Earlier, at the beginning of the course, I didn’t have any confidence I joined hoping I would gain confidence, because of so many stories I had heard about women getting attacked, I felt it was a good opportunity for me to learn.
Please tell us how participating helped you?
I can now physically attack very hard if I need too as a last option. I have gained confidence and I believe in myself and I don’t have any fears the thoughts I had before, they are no longer there. I can now protect myself through the knowledge and skills training. It has helped me physically and mentally a lot. I feel more powerful and I am a lot stronger than I was.
Please tell us what has changed for you as a result of engaging with the project?
I think I am a new person previously I was shy and powerless so weak, now I am strong I feel that it has changed my life I think for the short sessions I have had I have never experienced this before this has been life changing I know.
Advance
provide services for women aged 13+, living in Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington,
Chelsea, Westminster. A&E and maternity-related domestic violence
services are available to women in Brent also.
Advance is here to support all women experiencing
domestic violence no matter what you decide to do. They can listen, help women understand their
options, explain their legal rights, and talk to the police, and also help
women get to safer housing.
If you are looking for sessions, workshops, projects and programmes that
are both engaging, interactive and fun, but also informative and educational
then please contact us at:
info@sevnecatitraining.com
