KIDA Warriors: How Women Defend Themselves in Mexico
© AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
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Lidia died instantly when she threw herself out of a moving cab to avoid being kidnapped in the southern part of Mexico City. The body of the 23-year-old woman was left on the asphalt and her death shocked Mexican society.
This was not the one and only case. The outrage also occurred after the disappearance and subsequent death of another woman, Ariadna Fernanda, who, at first, was reported to have disappeared after getting into a car hired via a taxi app. However, authorities confirmed that her body had been abandoned on a road, with signs of physical injuries, with the incident triggering an investigation into alleged femicide.
Days later, there was another case. A video started to circulate on social networks showing how a couple of women in a cab managed to attract the attention of a couple of motorists during an attempted kidnapping. The victims managed to escape because the cab driver realized he was being followed and decided to let them off.
Despite these cases and many others that have not been documented in the media or on the Internet, Mexico City authorities claim that there is no increase in cases of kidnapping or femicide. Even the federal government claims that the number of cases of kidnapping has fallen by 72.4%, citing the most recent September figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).
Nevertheless, Mexico sees an average number of 10 women murdered per day and, along with 13 other Latin American countries, is on the list of the 25 countries with the highest number of femicides. In addition, sexual violence affects 49.7% of the female population over 15 years of age, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
In response, women's groups and civil organizations have launched campaigns to promote self-defense and thus help many people get home safely.
"This is not our responsibility, it is our reality, and what we have to do is try to defend ourselves as best as we can. Unfortunately, we wouldn't want it to be like this, but it is our reality," Mariana Ferré, who, together with her brother Matias, heads the KIDA Warriors project, a platform dedicated to teaching self-defense, mainly to women, and which takes up cases of gender-based violence in Mexico to provide safety recommendations, told Sputnik.
"We motivate women to feel empowered and to understand that they can defend themselves in a dangerous situation," Matias Ferré explained.
Although KIDA Warriors officially launched in 2012 with monthly videos on YouTube, during the pandemic, and as a way to offer "a grain of sand" to combat violence against women, the Ferré siblings began their foray into TikTok, taking advantage of the knowledge that their father taught them more than 14 years ago and which they constantly update with instructors from Canada and Israel. They currently have more than 13 million followers on the social media platform.
In her profile, one can find different videos on how to deal with physical assault such as someone pulling your hair or an attack from behind; how to react to an acid attack (assault that is just in the process of being recognized as a federal crime with a gender perspective) or to attempted arson, such as the one suffered by Luz Raquel Padilla in Guadalajara.
Other videos teach how to perform an effective punch without getting seriously hurt; how to react to an attempted rape; how to defend yourself with heels; generic audio to play in a cab ride via app so the driver knows they are being watched during the ride, but above all they show that, in most cases, you don't need to be stronger or bigger than the aggressor, but simply know how to react appropriately.
For Matias Ferré, 90% of the effectiveness of self-defense lies in prevention and in people's intuition. It also requires psychological preparation to recognize danger, and particularly to get rid of the idea that it takes more strength to beat a man or that women are "by nature" incapable of being dangerous and violent.
"A man believes he can win a fight, even if he never practiced any martial art in his life, but he is sure he can win a fight, and a woman believes she can't hurt the other, and we see it in our classes [...]. It is a rejection of violence. I also think it's a cultural thing of how women are raised, which is more focused on taking care and serving," Ferré said.
How to Defend Yourself Against Kidnapping
In the specific case of kidnapping, Matias and Mariana suggest taking precautions before boarding a car, since, in their experience as teachers, some women even feel embarrassed to check the license plate of the car and the ID of the driver.
3 October 2021, 11:32 GMT
Matias suggests always waiting for the cab indoors, not on the street, and having a trusted companion alongside you to watch the trip. In addition to verifying the driver and license plates, he also recommends paying attention to intuition and, at the slightest suspicion, you should avoid the trip, even if it is a false alarm.
"Whenever I sit down, I don't sit on the opposite side of the driver. I sit behind him. I feel safer. I also avoid eye contact, if he is looking at me through the rearview mirror, and in case I have to make a move to defend myself, what we can use while we are inside the car is a choke hold, it would also be more difficult for the person to reach in and touch me," Mariana Ferré suggested.
After the publicity that Lidia's case received, social networks were abuzz with publications suggesting similar advice for women: sit behind the driver's seat and carry a rope to defend oneself. In addition, they suggest that before starting the trip, they should verify that the car doors have no child safety locks, which would prevent them from being opened from the inside.
Mariana adds that, in addition to knowing these tips, you should pay attention to your body and constantly practice escape maneuvers. For example, she looks back randomly when walking down the street and sometimes she even starts running for no reason to practice. "I'd rather look crazy than become a victim of murder," she said.
The leaders of KIDA Warriors reiterated that in no context and under no circumstances is assault or kidnapping the fault of the victim. Mindful of the fear that arises during an assault, the siblings recommend "to use that fear not to freeze, but to take action".
For this reason, the trainers suggest, in addition to staying alert, practicing some martial arts that allow you to perfect defense techniques and always listen to your intuition.
"When something smells bad, something is probably wrong, because we feel it physically. I have realized that many times when I feel it, I don't pay attention to it, and then something comes up," Mariana Ferré concluded.
