Creating the Defender Ring™ (1) - Sparking the Idea

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The Defender Ring™ is a self-defense ring that can be used to defend oneself against an assailant. 

The idea behind the Defender Ring™ was sparked from a couple of news stories that were heard around the United States when two female joggers were brutally killed just days apart in the summer of 2016.

Vanessa Marcotte and Karina Vetrano

Vanessa Marcotte and Karina Vetrano were two young women who were murdered on August 7th, 2016 and August 2nd, 2016 respectively, while they were out jogging.  Both women were running during the afternoon/early evening hours and in areas familiar to them.

These two brutal murders hit home for many people very hard.  Both were young, honest, hard-working women. The scariest part of the stories was the fact that they were killed in broad daylight while exercising in public places.  No, they weren't in dangerous neighborhoods with a lot of violence.  No, they were not in a bar at 3 am picking a fight.  They were simply out exercising in the middle of the day.  Across the United States, almost 15 million people exercise regularly and these murders demonstrated that anyone can be a target at any time and in any neighborhood.  People around America realized that this could have easily been them or a loved one close to them.

Fear Ensues Following Murders

People everywhere, and especially women, starting wondering what they would do in a similar situation.  How would they react if they were out running after work, and they were suddenly jumped or attacked by a stranger?

The main question on everyone's mind was "Could this have been prevented?"  Many felt the answer to this question was sadly, no. 

Running Out Of Answers & Solutions

"Men are stronger than women, there's no way she could have physically fought off her attacker."

"Men are faster than women, there's no way she could have ran away from her attacker."

"Why was she running on a side path?  Women need to be smarter and only run on main roads.  Why should women have to choose their running paths based on bystander presence?"

"She could have prevented the attack if she carried a gun with her.  Are you serious?  I would never carry around a gun while running or jogging, there's no where to hold it and it would be so burdensome!"

"Please carry around a stun gun when you go out to bars with your friends.  Why would I carry around a stun gun to a bar?  My purse fits my phone and my wallet, there's literally no where to store a big lumpy stun gun!"

"Men in society need to be raised with more respect for women.  Yes, but that will never happen!  It gets passed down from generation to generation and young boys learn the behavior from their fathers."

"You should consider carrying pepper spray with you when you go running because of all these recent murders.  I go running after work every day and nothing has ever happened to me.  What are the chances?"

We've heard these conversations before.  Does that mean Vanessa Marcotte and Karina Vetrano could not have prevented their own murders?

Violence Against Women

The founding members of Defender Ring™ were stunned by the murders of Vanessa Marcotte and Karina Vetrano as were many normal, everyday Americans across our country.  We see violence perpetrated every day against women and it highlights the inherent physical differences in genders.

On average, men are taller, heavier, bigger, stronger, and faster than women.  Therefore in a physical altercation, men will generally have a physical advantage over women.  Unfortunately there are many bad men out there who take advantage of this inequality and cause harm to women simply because they know they can.

Violence against women is not a new emerging problem in society.  Throughout the history of humankind and even in the animal kingdom, we see males are more physically capable and dominant versus females.  However, there must be a change and there are many organizations, companies, and individuals who are leading the charge.

Progressive Action to the Future

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

Violence against women is a terrible, disgusting epidemic that occurs way too often for a modern society to tolerate.  There are too many good men out there to allow bad men to do these atrocious acts and get away with it.

It starts at the macro levels and continues at the micro levels.  At the macro level, there needs to be more government legislation, laws, programs, funds, and support for this cause.  At a micro level, parents, brothers, sisters, neighbors, mentors, and friends need to provide support, education and awareness to people they think are unstable.  On a societal level, we need to ensure that males are socialized better to express and process their emotions better, instead of resorting to violence.

There's so much we can all do to make these changes from the inside, but all of this takes time and it will never be 100% perfect...

Defender Ring™ is Born

We have to be practical when talking about our idealistic hopes for society and our future generations.

However at the end of the day, we have to watch our own backs because no one else is going to.

That's how the Defender Ring™ was born.

A small, light, piece of everyday jewelry that can be turned into an effective self-defense weapon whether you're out jogging or at dinner.

Blending function with fashion, wear the ring regularly as an accessory with peace of mind knowing that you have a small blade attached to your fist if someone tries to attack you.

Read our next article regarding How to Combat Violence Against Women.