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Susan Brison, chair of the Department of Philosphy, writes in an opinion piece published by Al Jazeera that the recent lifting of the U.S. ban against women serving in combat will change women’s status. It should bring some much-needed training that could help women defend themselves against violence, she writes.

Brison, describing an attack in 1990 in which a man “jumped me from behind, beat and raped me, and left me for dead,” said that at the time, she, like many women, had no training in self-defense.

“The only strategies we’ve been taught to use when attacked are retreat and surrender,” Brison writes, “but employing them never leads to victory.”

Brison continues, “It is hard for me to say this because I am anti-war and aware of the crucial role played by women in the struggle for peace. But not only does the military need women; women need access to the combat training and skills provided by the military—and to the first-class citizenship that being eligible for combat confers in our country.”

Read the full story, published 2/14/13 in Al Jazeera.