Sev Necati worked in
partnership with Sanctuary, Hackney Wick & Hackney Marsh Partnership (HMP)
to deliver our award winning project “Women & Young People’s Safety
Solution.” to local women and girls in the community.
The
project worked with a diverse group of women and girls from all backgrounds and
abilities. The project aimed to assist
them in feeling safer on the street and build up confidence levels. The project empowered and inspired the women
and girls and all of them expressed how much more confident they felt after the
course.
All our programmes
are inclusive and provide a safe female environment to gain valuable life-skills
and knowledge, as well improve overall health and well-being.
The
Participant - Case Study - One
Jay, 21 years old, British Indian, single.
Please
tell us why you became involved in the project/activities?
I became involved in the course as I use to
feel really unsafe on the roads whilst going to University and going home and I
get into a lot of trouble even if I kept my head down and stayed out of
trouble, young men would constantly be approaching me. A friend of mine introduced me to your course
and so I thought I would do it. She had
it recommended and she knew it was really good course for young women.
One incident occurred when I was getting on
the bus and someone was harassing me on the bus going to University. I got off that bus and got on another bus and
he got on the same bus and I didn’t even notice, he again sat near me. Then my friend got on the bus and we were
talking about personal stuff and he was listening to our conversations and
taking mental notes about what we were saying to one another. Then two-minutes before I was getting off I
realised he was going to get off at the same stop as me (I was near home) and I
realised he was following me.
I texted
my family to let them know, however they hadn’t realised and read the
texts. He then started talking to me
saying he was studying the same subject as me at the same University which I
knew was a complete lie. As we were
walking he was asking me about social media, if I was on it and if he could
have my details, I just ignored him the whole time, as I got onto my estate and
I am second’s away from my door he went away.
I realised as I got further into my estate, he felt more uncomfortable,
it was about 8pm at night, it was Christmas really dark and he eventually went
away.
Please
tell us how participating helped you?
It has helped me in so many different
ways. Incidents that I didn’t know what
to do now I know what to do, putting myself into the situations in the class
and practising them has really helped me understand what to do. During the sessions, I was got a bit nervous,
as it reminded me of being in the situations, however your course has given me
the knowledge what I would do if I ever felt I was in danger again.
I have enough knowledge to keep myself safe
even if the course was only for four-weeks.
The physical activity was really helpful for
my overall health and well-being and also knowing that I now have the skills to
protect myself, if I had too, it has given me confidence I needed.
Please
tell us what has changed for you as a result of engaging with the project?
What has changed, I feel much more confident
walking out and about at any time of the day now, being more aware of people
around, I’m not playing my music on my headphones, avoiding staying out late if
it is not necessary or of I am out late at night knowing where to go to get
help. I am using all the skills and
knowledge you have said so far. Thank
you!
Some of the Females
Comments
“Great
course! Thank you.”
“I think it would be great
if more women could get this training.”
“I
really value the tips and information that I’ll take away, and already see myself
doing things differently when I am out.
Thank you.”
“Positive
that it was all women.”
“It
was a safe space to learn and practice.”
“There
were lots of opportunities to ask questions and talk through practical
scenarios, which I found really helpful.”
“This
course has been incredibly useful for me.”
“If
there are other opportunities to join this course I would like to let my family
and friends know about it.”
“This
course inspired me.”
“I
went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised how practical and
realistic the tactics that were taught.”
“Sev
has been a great teacher.”
“I
was very comfortable. Sev was very
attentive and humorous.”
“Each
week I felt excited to attending Sev’s sessions.”
“I
felt myself getting stronger every week.”
“Sev’s
teaching, it was very informative, chatty and made us feel comfortable.”
“Sev
answered any question we had, honestly.”
“The
teaching was really great – clear and really well explained.”
“Everything
was repeated plenty of times, so the information has really stunk in my mind.”
“Thanks
for a great course!”
“Great
short course leant new physical techniques, knowledge and got a better
understanding of how to defend myself in a variety of situations.”
“Good
mix of physical work and practical knowledge.”
“A
lot of information provided in a short space of time.”
“The
course was a good fitness class as well as it was educational.”
“I
increased my self-confidence and self-esteem.”
“It
is a life skill and as a woman it gave me the confidence that I will be able to
keep myself safe.”
“This
course was both fun and informative. We
laughed a lot, but learned a lot about serious matters, it was a great
balance.”
The
Participant - Case Study - Two
Cami, 31 years old, Mixed white Asian, in a
relationship no children
Please
tell us why you became involved in the project/activities?
I became involved in the course because there
have been a lot criminal activity where we live in Hackney Wick and of it has
been targeted to women. I wanted to
identify what I needed to do to reduce my risk of crime and being more
confident when I travel on my own and going home which is most often.
I have been in situations in the pass and
they didn’t escalate into violence, they could have and I wasn’t sure if I had
handled them the best way I could. I
wanted to take up this opportunity to see what I could learn.
In the Hackney Wick area there has been
general street thief from people on scooters, and on the train / near the train
station in Hackney Wick. There has also
been some incidents targeted at joggers, jogging in the park and where they
have been approached in the park in the day / night and by say three people on
scooters with weapons and asking for their valuables.
Also the population has increased in the
local area and therefore crime would have increased and not so many police
around to assist us, like they use to be, so I am using what is available in
the community.
Please
tell us how participating helped you?
It has helped me by giving me confidence,
like really accessible tools to reduce being a target of crime. It has given me knowledge on how to make
positive decisions on public transport and how to report things. It was very practical course and very easy to
digest.
The physical element has given me the
practise with particular moves was all completely new and was really good to be
able to do that, as you don’t have the opportunities to do that kind of
training and learning how to use your voice was invaluable.
Acknowledging you can do it and the
likelihood that you won’t freeze was empowering for me.
Please
tell us what has changed for you as a result of engaging with the project?
What has changed for me is I definitely make
positive decisions when I am travelling and whilst out and about. I am planning ahead when I am on TFL and
heading home, and thinking about what I am doing with my belonging and being
more aware and making positive decisions to keep myself safe before going out
on the road.
Thank you it was really good to meet local
women that are in the same boat. It felt
a safe space to share and the group was very diverse and this added value to
the learning which was enriching experience.
Thank you Sev!
All names
of participants have been changed to protect their identity.
If you are looking for sessions, courses, workshops, projects and
programmes that are both engaging, interactive and fun, but also informative
and educational then please contact us at:
info@sevnecatitraining.com
If you think that you would like to get involved in our projects then
please get in contact. Our aim is to
reduce violence and the fear of violence especially towards females and young
people and we do this by delivering empowering and inspiring projects to the
local community. Please contact us: info@sevnecatitraining.com
