Author Event! Meg Stone's "Don't Fight Back"

Join us on June 4th at 6pm as we host Meg Stone in conversation with Brandie Stringer to discuss her latest book, Don't Fight Back: And 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence. Signed copies of the book are available for purchase.

About the book:

From a nationally recognized violence-prevention expert, an accessible guide that debunks the most pervasive myths about crime and offers evidence-based strategies that make us safer

A specific image of violence and how to avoid it lives in a lot of our imaginations. And what some of us fear most is shaped not by the strongest evidence, but the most viral horror stories.

Meg Stone, an abuse and violence prevention expert, dives deep into dangerous safety myths and helps us understand what the evidence shows and what men in positions of authority just expect us to believe because they said so.

Meg debunks myths about:

• How attackers behave (“Don’t Fight Back. It Will Make the Attacker Angry and You’ll Get Hurt Worse”),
• What (or who) to fear (“Crime Is at an All-Time High and Going Up”),
• What you should never do (“Don’t Wear a Ponytail. An Attacker Could Grab It”); and
• What you should always do (“Trust Your Intuition”)

Each chapter offers practical strategies for protecting ourselves that also contribute to the activism it takes to change the conditions that cause or contribute to violence.

You don’t have to diminish yourself or restrict your life to avoid being attacked. Critical thinking, not following simplistic directives, is the real way to be “smart” about safety.

About the author:

Meg Stone is the executive director of IMPACT Boston, an abuse-prevention and empowerment self-defense organization. Her writing has been published in Huffington Post, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Dame, and Ms.

About the moderator:

Brandie Stringer is the Founder and Executive Director of Haven Box, a Rhode Island nonprofit that supports survivors of sexual and relational harm through community collaboration and care. She is a dedicated social worker, Army veteran, and seasoned advocate who also serves as Assistant Director of the Sexual Violence Advocacy and Support Center at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. In addition, she is the Principal Practitioner of Rooted Systems, a leadership and systems consulting practice that helps organizations strengthen culture, accountability, and organizational health.

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Host or Publisher Symposium Books Staff