How one woman is fighting rape in South Africa with free self defence courses

JOHANNESBURG: In South Africa, which has some of the world's worst rates of violent crime, fear of rape is widespread and those who can afford it often take self-defence classes.

Instructor Dominique Olfsen brings classes to women in disadvantaged communities who are unable to pay.

She teaches rape defence in a two-day class that is free of charge that she began in 2020.

"If I can just save one woman I'll be happy," she said.

Between January and March 2023, more than 10,500 rape cases were reported in South Africa, according to the South African police, marginally down from over 10,800 in the same months last year.

"The minute you get to the rape defence section of things, they shut down," Olfsen said of her students. "For a lot of people it's (too) close to home".

She uses movements based on Kalah - an Israeli combat system - to train them to defend themselves against attackers.

Olfsen said she is driven by empowering other women.