I very much support studying self defense for everyone, but women especially. 1 in 6 women (as compared to 1 in 33 men) will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes according to RAINN
http://www.rainn.org/statistics. While it's important for women to pay attention to their surroundings when walking alone or in public, 2/3 of the women know their rapist.
Personally, this topic is one that is quite important to me because I was raped by a friend when I was 16. I was not in any way inebriated (though he was, something I did not know immediately) and was automatically put in a weakened position because I in no way expected to be assaulted- we were just hanging out. Do I think knowing martial arts would have physically stopped him? Probably not- I'm 5'3, he was 6'7 and on top of me. However, one thing martial arts gives women is a voice. I had trained in tae kwon do as a kid for several years so I could still kick at him, but what didn't connect was screaming. When put into a helpless situation, I lost my voice.
This idea is best laid out here:
http://fugitivus.wordpress.com/2009/06/ ... ut-rape-3/. I don't necessarily agree with everything said in this blog, but it brings up a good point about the human psyche- even in horrible situations, we act as is expected in normal situations. With martial arts, you at least have the sense that you have SOME control. Rape is more about power than about sex- it takes all the power away from the victim. When the victim feels powerless and helpless, they are already less likely to effectively fight back. Martial arts helps even the playing field a bit. Again, it does not mean that suddenly the victim will be able to prevent the rape but might have a better chance at it.
While studying abroad in Mexico, I saw the same thing play out with someone else. I was on a program for 5 months with 17 girls and one guy. We spent the night at a hostel that was very open on a secluded beach- my room had no door but 5 of us were in it and we could see down to the floor beneath us with 5 more girls. In the middle of the night, one of the girls woke up to a strange man trying to get into her bed, but struggling with the mosquito netting. She was a very quiet person and just kept whispering "No, no, go away, leave me alone, go" (in Spanish of course). Another girl woke up and was too afraid to leave bed- I really think she will forever be guilty for that despite that it was probably safer for both of them since they didn't know if the man had a knife or gun. However, she couldn't scream either. It wasn't until the man finally gave up and left and she got out of bed to go make sure the other girl was OK that the other girl screamed, thinking the man was coming back.
After that, there was a period of 3 days directly following the event where myself and other friends were sexually harassed repeatedly in different scenarios. It was a freak series of events, but it made me return home from the study abroad program a month early.
Now I look at everyone as a threat. The semester after being in Mexico, I studied in England and immediately enrolled in krav maga classes. I am now the "crazy girl" who gets very loud when men get too close to me and I have learned to completely trust my instinct. In reality, martial arts are probably safer for everyone involved around me than a gun. :P
Martial arts are different than guns in that very few people get to the level at which they could actually kill a person. The problem with guns is that guns are deadly regardless of who is holding one. I have no problem with responsible people carrying guns. Unfortunately, most people aren't particularly responsible. Having a gun that you never practice shooting will not help you in a stress situation- in fact it's probably more dangerous to you, your family, innocent bystanders, etc. Not to mention that you might not always have a gun on you or be in a situation where using a gun is advisable. I know that even if I carried a weapon, I wouldn't have had it sitting on my lap while hanging out with someone who I thought was a friend. With martial arts, you just need your body.