The Ministry of Social Development has funded self defence classes for school-age girls since 2001, primarily through the Women’s Self Defence Network – Wāhine Toa. The Ministry commissioned two reports in 2014-16 looking at the effectiveness of self defence programmes for girls and women as a strategy for protection against violence.

Gray Matter Research Limited conducted an independent literature review of research and evaluations into the effectiveness of self defence programmes as a sexual violence and family violence prevention strategy for school-age girls. The report was commissioned to help ensure that Ministry funding decisions align with Community Investment outcomes and cross-government strategies on sexual violence and family violence.

The review was structured around three research questions:

What does the literature say about self defence classes for school-aged girls in terms of their effectiveness in preventing sexual and family violence?
What does the literature say about self defence classes for school-aged girls in terms of good practice guidance?
What does the literature say about self defence classes for specific age groups for school-aged girls, for those from CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds, and for those with disabilities? (From the website). Record #5167