{"id":703427,"date":"2026-05-30T02:39:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T02:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/703427\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T02:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T02:39:24","slug":"guardian-girls-karate-takes-up-the-fight-against-gender-based-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/703427\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardian Girls Karate takes up the fight against gender-based violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Savannah Last has been a “karate kid” since she was two, but when she was attacked by a group of teenagers outside her local supermarket on the NSW Central Coast last year she felt “hopeless”.<\/p>\n

“I [was] upset that I didn’t defend myself,” she said.<\/p>\n

The 12-year-old was kicked in the shoulders, ribs, back and head, resulting in severe bruising and concussion.<\/p>\n

“For the first couple of days I was scared to go to the shops or even go anywhere,” she said.<\/p>\n

It was this traumatic experience that prompted her to sign up for a new self-defence program known as Guardian Girls Karate (GGK).<\/p>\n

It aims to move beyond traditional sport to everyday safety, where women and girls are equipped with skills to feel more confident and empowered.<\/p>\n

Hair grabs and chokeholds<\/p>\n

Savannah jumped at the chance to get involved and, in a show of support, so did the other women in her family \u2014 her mother and grandmother.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Guardian Girls Karate is a family affair for Samantha Neave, Savannah Last and Donna Borg. \u00a0\u00a0 (ABC Central Coast: Mary-Louise Vince)<\/p>\n

While she already had her karate black belt, Guardian Girls Karate gave her a new set of skills.<\/p>\n

“We did hair grabs, we did chokeholds, we did shields, how to protect your head and strikes,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Unlike standard karate, Guardian Girls Karate is more than just a self-defence discipline.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 (ABC Central Coast: Mary-Louise Vince)<\/p>\n

Savannah’s mother, Samantha Neave, said the experience changed her perspective on personal safety.<\/p>\n

“Walk strong, speak strong; everything we do is with purpose,” she said.\"A<\/p>\n

Savannah Last says she felt more confident after completing the GGK program.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 (ABC Central Coast: Mary-Louise Vince)<\/p>\n

‘More gritty’<\/p>\n

Guardian Girls Karate is an international initiative involving the World Karate Federation and the United Nations, which specifically aims to help combat gender-based violence.<\/p>\n

Liz Mahler, a highly decorated Central Coast-based karate instructor who has been involved with martial arts for 45 years, has expanded the course for Australian participants.<\/p>\n

It runs over eight weeks, “is trauma-informed” and comes accompanied by an in-depth manual for instructors.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Liz Mahler designed Australia’s Guardian Girls Karate program, after 45 years of experience in the sport. \u00a0 (ABC Central Coast: Shauna Foley)<\/p>\n

Ms Mahler described the program as a culmination of what was “really essential” for a female body and mind, “in a moment of pressure, stress or even violence”.<\/p>\n

The federal government’s latest Status of Women Report Card<\/a> showed that two in five Australian women have experienced violence since the age of 15.<\/p>\n

“It’s true that women and girls so often underestimate their capacity,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to show them that they can be physically, mentally and psychologically strong to look after themselves.”<\/p>\n

Ms Mahler described the program as “more gritty” than regular karate.<\/p>\n

“I teach strikes that are going to be massively effective for the size that you are, that hopefully aren’t going to injure you as well,” she said.<\/p>\n

But it is not just about physical self-defence, it also incorporates physical awareness and prevention, mind and breath control, as well as psychological wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\"Side<\/p>\n

Guardian Girls Karate is based on the three pillars of prevention, resistance and recovery. (ABC Central Coast: Shauna Foley)<\/p>\n

Community safety focus<\/p>\n

Guardian Girls Karate has been supported by a Central Coast-based advocacy group pushing for greater community safety.<\/p>\n

Stand With Audrey was established after the random murder of 19-year-old Audrey Griffin<\/a> last year while she was walking home after a night out with friends near Gosford.<\/p>\n

It promoted the Guardian Girls Karate course at a large community vigil held in the wake of the tragedy.<\/p>\n

The group has also secured a NSW government grant to run the course in two Central Coast high schools.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Audrey Griffin, 19, was murdered near Erina Creek in March 2025.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Her death attracted national attention and sparked renewed calls for safer communities.<\/p>\n

Audrey’s mother, Kathleen Kirby, said she did not think “too much education was enough”.<\/p>\n

“Just to have the knowledge that we’re not living in a perfect world,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Audrey Griffin’s roadside memorial near the scene of her death. (ABC Central Coast: Shauna Foley)<\/p>\n

The vision<\/p>\n

Griffith University on Queensland’s Gold Coast has been the first university in the country to adopt it, with courses for staff and students underway.<\/p>\n

As part of changes to the higher education sector this year, set standards have been put in place to respond to gender-based violence.<\/p>\n

Patrick O’Leary from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women said the program was well-aligned with the national framework.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Professor Patrick O’Leary praised GGK but said it was not the only solution to gender-based violence. (ABC Brisbane)<\/p>\n

But he warned that keeping women safe was a much broader responsibility.<\/p>\n

“In particular, it’s on men and boys to be thinking about their own role in supporting safe environments,” Professor O’Leary said.<\/p>\n

Since its initial launch in 2022, the Guardian Girls Karate initiative has expanded to 22 countries and trained more than 2,000 women and girls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Savannah Last has been a “karate kid” since she was two, but when she was attacked by a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,342396,63,2806,342398,10891,342397,342399,72395,85],"class_list":["post-703427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-audrey-griffin","tag-australia","tag-central-coast","tag-empowering","tag-gender-based-violence","tag-guardian-girls","tag-guardian-girls-karate","tag-karate","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}