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Do you want to know more about HOW you can and may protect yourself when the need is greatest?
Self-defense is an action aimed at preventing a hurtful act. The purpose of self-defense is to ward off an unlawful attack on yourself or others. There are several forms of self-defense, including physical, verbal, and educational self-defense.
In this article I will discuss everything you need to think about when defending against an attack, especially in a physical way.
What we discuss in this comprehensive post:
- 1 What is Self Defense?
- 2 Defend yourself with words and knowledge
- 3 Self-defense: a fundamental right
- 4 How to defend yourself against sexual assault
- 5 How do you know when to fight?
- 6 What is Severe Weather and Severe Weather Excess?
- 7 What are the conditions of emergency?
- 8 What to do if you are attacked?
- 9 Conclusion
What is Self Defense?
The Right of Self-Defense
The right to self-defense is a fundamental right that we all have. It means that you may defend yourself against unlawful attacks on your personal property, such as your life, body, indecency, liberty and property. If someone attacks you, you have the right to defend yourself.
How To Apply Self Defense?
It is important to know how to apply self-defense in a situation. You need to know what to do and what not to do. For example, you may not use more force than is necessary to defend yourself. You should also know what your rights are when you defend yourself.
Why Self Defense is Important?
Self-defense is important because it helps protect you from unlawful attacks. It gives you the power to defend against attacks you don't deserve. It is also important to know how to defend yourself so that you can protect your rights.
Defend yourself with words and knowledge
Verbal and educational self-defense
Instead of delving into combat techniques, you can also follow training courses that help you verbally resolve threatening situations and increase your mental toughness. You can think of verbal Judo and transactional analysis.
Physical self-defense
Physical self-defense is the use of force to ward off external threats. This force can be used armed or unarmed. Armed self-defense uses, for example, batons, blackjacks or firearms, but these are prohibited in the Netherlands. If you want to defend unarmed, you can use combat or liberation techniques from martial arts, martial arts or apply self-defense courses.
Other forms of self-defense
Self-defense is not just an active act. There are also passive forms of self-defense. The emphasis here is on preventing threatening situations by taking preventive measures. Think of an alarm system or burglary-resistant hinges and locks. You can also wear personal alarms that you can use in an emergency to attract attention.
Self-defense: a fundamental right
It is a fundamental right to defend against unlawful violence. The European Declaration of Human Rights states that using force to defend oneself is not deprivation of life. Dutch law also allows the use of force if you have to defend your body, dignity or property against unlawful assault.
How do you defend yourself?
There are several ways you can defend yourself. For example, you can take a course in self-defense, where you learn how to defend yourself against an attacker. You can also buy a weapon, such as a defense spray or a stick. If you use a weapon, it is important that you know the law and are aware that you may only use force if you need to defend your body, dignity or property against wrongful assault.
Defend yourself with your head
It's important to use your head when you need to defend yourself. When facing an attacker, it is important that you keep your cool and don't let yourself do things that you will later regret. Try to de-escalate the situation by talking calmly and listening to what the other person has to say. If you can't de-escalate the situation, it's important that you defend with your head and not your fists.
Be prepared
It's important to be prepared if you have to defend yourself. Make sure you know what to do if you are attacked. For example, take a course in self-defense or buy a defense spray. Always try to travel in groups and be aware of your surroundings. When defending yourself, it is important that you keep your cool and don't let yourself do things that you will later regret.
How to defend yourself against sexual assault
Why is it important to defend yourself?
If you resist sexual assault, you significantly reduce the risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental illness where you relive the traumatic experience over and over. So if you resist, you have nothing to lose.
How does the judiciary deal with self-defense?
The Praktijkwijzer shows that in recent years no statements have been published about self-defense in cases of indecent assault. This may be because rapists are not quick to report if their attack fails, or because victims of sexual violence almost never report anyway.
The courts in the Praktijkwijzer mainly deal with extreme cases, such as violence with firearms. But there is also a case in which a boy who pointed out their behavior to some other boys on the bus, struck the first blow after they used threatening language. The Supreme Court ruled that the boy acted in self-defense, because the others had created a situation in which defense was allowed.
How can you defend yourself?
According to security expert Rory Miller, as a good person you have to make good decisions about violence. But beware: there is no general advice to give about legal cases. Every case is unique. Do you want to know more? Then read the Practice Guide or contact a lawyer specialized in criminal law.
How do you know when to fight?
It is important to know when to fight and when to defend non-violently. According to Dutch law, you can defend yourself when you are attacked by an attacker. But what exactly does that mean? And how do you know when you cross the line between self-defense and unjustified violence? Legalbaas.nl explains it to you.
Severe weather and severe weather excess
Under the law, you may use force to defend yourself, another, your dignity, or your property against instant, unlawful assault. But there is an important side note: it must be plausible that you would suffer damage without your actions. There must also have been no other logical, non-violent solution to the situation.
So if you are attacked by someone outside, you can return a blow to knock the person off of you. But if you then persist, then we speak of storm excess: excessive storm. Excessive self-defense is only permitted if it can be made plausible that the assailant caused you a violent mood swing.
When there is no question of self-defense
Often, according to the judge, the defendant hits back too hard. In this way, the person actually plays his own judge, because there were also other options to handle the situation. It must be made very clear to the court that someone had no choice but to fight back to be safe. If you don't do this, both the attacker and the one who hits back can be charged with assault.
Change in criminal law
A new development is that judges are increasingly opting in favor of the person being attacked when defences. Partly due to pressure from public opinion, the legislation is being interpreted more and more flexibly, which means that self-defense is more often accepted in court.
It is therefore important to know when to fight and when to defend yourself non-violently. Be aware that in the Netherlands you often get into trouble yourself if you or someone else is attacked, while the attacker gets away with his actions. So be careful when defending yourself and be aware that in some cases it is better to respond non-violently.
What is Severe Weather and Severe Weather Excess?
What is Distress?
The law allows you to use force to defend yourself, another person, your dignity (sexual integrity) and your property against instant, unlawful assault. But there is an important side note: it must be plausible that you yourself would be harmed if you do not use violence and that there is no logical other, non-violent solution.
What is Severe Excess?
Excessive self-defense is crossing the boundaries of necessary force in defense. In short: pass. For example, if your attacker is already down or if you can get away without getting yourself into trouble. Excessive self-defense is only permitted if it can be made plausible that the assailant caused you a violent mood swing.
Examples of Severe Excess
- Rapes
- Serious abuse of close relatives
- Or similar things
In short, if you are attacked, you are allowed to return a blow to knock the person off of you, but you are obliged to seek safety and not to stand on anyone. If you do, it could be called emergency weather excess.
What are the conditions of emergency?
What is Severe Weather?
Self-defense is a form of self-defense that you may use if you are attacked. However, it is important to know that not every form of defense is justified. There are a number of conditions that you must meet to use severe weather.
Severe weather requirements
If you want to defend yourself with self-defense, you must meet the following requirements:
- The attack on you must be unlawful. If you beat up a cop who ends up arresting you, it's not self-defense.
- The attack must be “direct”. You have to defend yourself against a situation that is going on at that moment. If you get attacked in the street and you bike home, get your hockey stick, bike to your attacker's house and beat him up, that's not a storm.
- You must have a realistic alternative. Running away should be an option if you find yourself in a situation. If you get attacked in the kitchen, you don't have to run out onto the balcony if you can't get out of there.
- The violence must be proportionate. If someone slaps you in the face, you are not allowed to pull out a gun and shoot your attacker. Your defense should be about the same level as the offense.
- You can strike first. If you think that's your best shot at escaping the onslaught, don't wait to take the first blow (or worse).
What to do if you are attacked?
We've all heard that you shouldn't hit back when you're attacked. But what should you do? The judge has a clear answer to this: if you end up in a situation where your life or your physical integrity is in danger, you can use self-defense.
However, the judge does not simply agree to an emergency. You must demonstrate that you had no option but to fight back to safety. If you hit back too hard, the defendant could get into trouble.
How far can you go?
It is important to know that you should not use more force than necessary. For example, if the attacker gives you a push, you may not hit back. In that case you have used more force than the attacker, and there is a good chance that you will be blamed.
Will the judge help you?
Fortunately, there is a new development where judges are increasingly choosing in favor of the person being attacked. Public opinion weighs heavily on the legislation, as a result of which self-defense is more often accepted in court.
Unfortunately, it still happens that the attacker gets away with his actions, while the defender gets into trouble. That is why there is an increasing call for more space within storms, so that everyone can defend themselves against violence.
Conclusion
The goal of self-defense is to get out of that situation safely and as you have read, an extremely hard action is not always the best. It is important to know that you should NEVER attack another person, even if you are defending yourself.
But if you resist an attack, you significantly reduce the risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. So if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to defend yourself, don't be afraid to resist. Because when it comes to your life, it's better to fight than to run.
