Eugene,Ore. – According to the U.S. Student Association, 1 in 5 college women will be sexually assaulted. Due to a recent attack near the University of Oregon campus, Duck TV looks into what you can do to protect yourself from an assault.On February 2nd, a female UO student reported being attacked on 19th Avenue and Harris Street. The victim notified police but the attacker has not been caught.According to the UO police department’s statistics report, during the months of November and December there were 10 assault and harassment incidents reported. UOPD Officer Gretchen Pacheco says most attacks go unreported or are shared with a friend or others who aren’t mandatory reporters.

The Women’s Center, UOPD, and the Student Rec Center offer courses and information regarding self-defense.

Ryan Kelly is a martial arts instructor and women’s self defense instructor. He says the three most important things you can do if you feel you are going to be attacked is to:
-drop one leg to get in an athletic stance.
-put your hands high in case you need to strike
-loudly tell the person to go away or leave you alone

On February 7th, Eugene and Springfield police were able to identify and arrest Christopher Warren Mack in connection with a sexual assault case near UO last August.

If you would like to check out what self defense courses are available before you register for spring term, check it out here.

Watch the video from this weeks episode, here.

– Christina Kempster

@cmkempster