By a word of the law and the language of power: what women need to know about self-defense

Rubryka decided to ask about women's self-defense from two experts, a lawyer, and a self-defense instructor. Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind.

• On January 2, 2022, in the Mykolaiv region, a drunken man starts harassing his acquaintance and takes out a knife so that she can "reciprocate." The woman manages to take away a knife and mortally injure the attacker. She is suspected of premeditated murder.
• On March 28, 2021, Maryna Polyah was once again attacked by her roommate in Dnipro. She protects herself with a knife by putting it in front of her, the man attacks. He impales himself upon the knife and dies on the spot. For two years before that, Maryna regularly reported to the police about physical and sexual violence from a roommate and threats to her and her daughter. All 22 statements are in fact ignored by the police. The trial is ongoing and the woman faces between 7 and 15 years in prison.
• About a year ago, an acquaintance tried to rape Anastasia Shykova. Defending herself, the woman stabbed him. The attacker survived and was released within five days. Instead, Anastasia has been in jail since then. She faces 5 to 8 years in prison for self-defense.

According to a study by LB.ua, in 2018-2019 in Ukraine, women who defended themselves from attackers were sentenced to 65 years on charges of premeditated murder. And this is a problem. After all, the choice between being killed/raped or imprisoned is not one that a woman in a democracy should face.