BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office will host free women's self-defense classes on Aug. 3 and Aug. 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The "Equalizer" will be held at the EBRSO Training Academy on Lt. General Benjamin Davis Jr. Avenue.

"It provides women with critical information on violence towards women and also provides tools on how to prepare for and escape a potentially dangerous encounter," Kristi Nugent, an instructor for the course, said.

Here women will learn self-defense tactics to provide them with the tools necessary to protect themselves.

Nugent said a common misconception is that fighting back makes things worse.

"Actually fighting back improves your chance. For most of the attackers, it's about power and if you show them that you are powerless then that just feeds into the attack but if you have the skills, knowledge, and the confidence, then you can fight back and that may negate future attacks," Nugent said.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 700 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence worldwide by both people that they know and strangers.

To register, email or call Sgt. Jennifer Gonzalez at (225) 389-2364 or jgonzalez@ebrso.org.