Women’s safety event motivated by WSU slaying 40 years ago

When a friend and classmate was murdered in a Wichita State University dormitory 40 years ago, Cindy Coughenour, then a WSU freshman, went into a period of fear.

She’s not afraid anymore. And she’s been working the past 16 years so other women don’t have to be either.

Now the organization she founded, Fearless and Female, is partnering with SheHopes.org to host a “Peace, Love & Safety” event Thursday evening, teaching women to be their own best protectors.

Coughenour’s lifelong crusade for women’s safety began after the 1977 slaying of WSU student Julie Ladd. Ladd was stabbed to death and sexually assaulted in the laundry room of her dorm by a man who had broken in to steal coins from the washers and dryers.

In the seven years it took for police to find the killer, who died in a Colorado prison in May, Coughenour learned to defend herself.

In 2001, she started teaching others.

“I wanted to do something to remind women we need to be aware of our personal safety at all times,” Coughenour said.

She teaches that the best defense is to avoid dangerous situations entirely, but if necessary, to put up enough of a fight to be able to escape.

Ginger Lobdell, the founder of She Hopes, learned self-defense from Coughenour.

Now she goes to Kenya and India to help young women gain access to jobs and education and to teach them self-defense.

“We just want women to feel the community of support around them,” Lobdell said.

The Wichita event will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Abode Venue, 1330 E. Douglas. There will be booths for vendors and organizations seeking volunteers. All ages are welcome.

Admission is $5, and women will receive a Stabby Kitty, a personal defense tool that wraps around the knuckles and can be used to stab an assailant.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/327632831003314.

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Women’s safety event motivated by WSU slaying 40 years ago."