IMPACT Boston

04/07/2026

May 10-17th is S*x Week Boston this year and we're excited to include our Women of Color Self Defense workshop as part of it! Organizations from across Greater Boston will have other workshops on s*x education, q***r anx trans joy, s*xual liberation, kink and much more. Be sure to follow S*x Week Boston

03/17/2026

The unforgiving and punitive stance taken towards survivors who killed their abuser in self-defense - often after the criminal legal system proved it would not keep them safe - needs to evolve. For more info on the movement to free survivors, check out the work of Survived and Punished.

A new law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of survivors of domestic violence. Most are still behind bars.

03/16/2026

Impact staff spent the day listening to and supporting survivors and advocating for our .doe.inc legislative priority bills at our local legislators offices. Many thanks to the JDI team for coordinating and motivating us to take action on these critical bills that support our and all our partners' work.

03/10/2026

Join us on May 13th for the launch of our Executive Director's second book!

12/23/2025

Our public class schedule for 2026 is out and registration is open! Read more about our classes and find the link to register at https://impactboston.org/in-person-classes/.

Classes fill up quickly, so don't delay! Financial accessibility is important to us and we have scholarships available for all classes!

{IMAGE: A 2 page flyer with purple, yellow, and pink color scheme. Title is "IMPACT Self Defense Public Class Schedule 2026". Page 1 lists 4 classes and says "
Jan 14 - Women’s Self-Defense Workshop, Brighton, MA 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Jan 24-25 - All-Gender 10-Hour Self-Defense Boston, MA 11:30AM - 4:30PM Both Days
Feb 5, 12 & 19 LGBTQ 9-Hour Self-Defense Brighton, MA 6PM - 9PM ALL Days
Feb 7 Community Self-Defense Workshop Brighton, MA 2PM - 4PM

Page 2 lists 4 more classes and says:
March 8 - Introduction to IMPACT for Trauma Survivors BOSTON, MA 11:30AM - 5:30PM
March 20-22 - Women’s Core Self-Defense Boston, MA 6PM-9PM on the 20th, 10AM-7PM on the 21ST, 10:30AM-6:30PM on the 22nd
April 2 - Community Self-Defense Workshop Boston, MA 6PM - 8PM
May 15-17 Women of Color Core Self-Defense Boston, MA 6PM-9PM on the 15th, 10AM-7PM on the 16th, 10:30AM-6:30PM on the 17th
On the bottom right corner it says "Scholarships Available!}

12/18/2025

Sharing this ridiculous satire of self-defense products from The Onion because so much of what passes for real safety advice is no less ridiculous!

CAMDEN, NJ—Revealing that the products offered customers multiple protection options in a delicious range of flavors, food processing giant Campbell’s announced Thursday it had launched a new line of self-defense soups. “Whether you attach the can to a strap and use it as a flail or heat up th...

12/17/2025

IMPACT Boston is launching a new social media and communications internship position! We are looking for someone who is interested in helping to shape the narrative around violence-prevention, personal and community safety, SA/DV survivor advocacy, s*xual health and s*x positivity, and what healthy relationships look like. We believe this would be a great opportunity for someone who has communications experience who is also an activist and/or community organizer for social justice causes. This is currently an unpaid, volunteer opportunity that would involve 5-10 hours of weekly remote work. We are also open to the possibility of doing this as part of university work/study programs, and are willing to provide the required documentation. IMPACT Boston will also offer self-defense training and networking opportunities as part of this internship.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. If you or someone you know is interested, please apply as soon as possible by sending a resume and cover letter to Kiki Ghossainy at [email protected].



[Image description: blue and green flyer with the title Internship Opportunity! Social Media and Communications Internship. If you have some or many of these experiences, interests, and skills, please consider applying!
- Social media content creation, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn
- Strategic and creative skills to engage target audiences
- Organization skills and ablility to maintain consistent posting schedule
- Availability to work remotely 5-10 hours weekly
- Commitment to LGBTQIA+ justice, anti-racism, and community safety through empowerment
- Involvement in community organizing, activism, campaign experience
- Demonstrable understanding of consent, boundary setting, and s*x positivity
This is an unpaid, volunteer internship that is expected to run for 4 months from start date. The position offers professional experience, self-defense training, and networking opportunities. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Send résumé & Cover letter to: [email protected]]

12/11/2025

We don’t have a social media person. We have dedicated instructors who are out meeting the demand. Our donors make this possible. Because of them, we haven’t turned away any student for lack of funds in over 20 years. If you want to make a tangible difference in keeping people safe in this increasingly unsafe world, consider joining our supporters and sending a gift of any amount. Go to the links in our bio!

[IMAGE: White letters against a dark blue background. The post says: “We forgot about Giving Tuesday because we were busy... being in BPS 5 days a week teaching self-defense & healthy relationships to students with disabilities, responding to community demand by teaching another 20-hour self-defense intensive for women of color, teaching self-defense to girls who are about to go to college, & training a cohort of new instructors so we can reach more people. But you can support this work and give any day. Thank you!” With the IMPACT logo at the bottom and a QR code to the donation page.]

11/18/2025

Join The Black Response and Impact Boston for The Criminalization of Self-Defense, a community education event at The Community Art Center in Cambridge, MA. This free and public gathering will explore how self-defense is criminalized, particularly for Black, Brown, and marginalized survivors, and how communities can reclaim safety through resistance, advocacy, and care.

WHEN:
NOVEMBER 20, 2025 6-8:30 PM

WHERE:
COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER
119 WINDSOR STREET
CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139

Speakers:
• Prof. Alisa Bierria - Survived and Punished / UCLA
• Meg Stone, Impact Boston
• Kishana Smith-Osei, MA Women of Color Network
• Lea Kayali, Palestinian Youth Movement Boston

Co-facilitated by Prof. Daanika Gordon and Virginia Cuello

***Books for sale by Porter Square Book Store***

EVENT CO-SPONSORS:
• BDS Boston
• Black Alliance for Peace
• Boston S*x Workers and Allies Collective
• Massachusetts Pirate Party
• NAACP Mystic Valley
• Transition House
• SURJ Boston

REGISTER NOW: tinyurl.com/TBR-IMPACT

For more information, contact:
General @ TheBlackResponseCambridge.com

10/30/2025

Don’t forget to register for Women of Color Core! Our most comprehensive self-defense course, taught by & for women of color.

Dates*: Dec 5th (6:00-9:00pm), Dec 6th (10:00am-7:00pm), Dec 7th (10:30am-6:30pm)
*Students must attend all sessions
Location: The Nonprofit Center, 89 South St, Boston, MA 02111
Price: Sliding scale pay what you can from $50-$450. Full scholarships also available. Contact us at [email protected] to inquire about a scholarship.
Click on the link in our bio & go to In-Person Class Schedule to register!

Women of Color CORE is a 20-hour weekend course is specifically designed for women and teen girls of color ages 16+. Students develop physical and verbal skills to resist threats, intimidation, violence and acts of discrimination perpetrated by both strangers and familiar people. In a supportive, trauma-informed environment, students learn assertive boundary setting techniques and physical skills to defend and fight back against various threatening situations, including confrontations, verbal assault/harassment, attacks from behind, attempted s*xual assaults, and ground fighting. This class also addresses harm reduction strategies in response to state violence.

{IMAGE: A flier for the class with a purple background and cartoon images of women of color with their arms around each other. The flier says: “Self-Defense for Women of Color. May 19 – 21. Malden, MA. Sliding Scale. www.impactboston.org. Learn verbal & physical skills in realistic scenarios with trauma-informed instructors. “I feel safer & stronger in my body everyday because of IMPACT.” “I can’t recommend them enough.””}

10/20/2025

IMPACT Executive Director Meg Stone on the ASPIRE podcast talking resilience, resistance, institutional courage and more.

Podcast Episode · Aspire: The I Have The Right To Podcast · 10/18/2025 · 1h 19m

09/26/2025

What a fun and empowering night we had at WBUR City Space ()! IMPACT led a self-defense workshop with community members, in collaboration with WBUR and Diane Rosenfeld - author of The Bonobo Sisterhood and founding director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard ()

Diane spoke about the revolutionary, liberatory potential that is within all of us if we draw inspiration from the social behaviors of bonobos, our closest primate relatives, who have eliminated s*xual violence through female solidarity. Check out her book - The Bonobo Sisterhood - to learn more!

We also got to teach some empowerment self defense training, including physical skills as well as verbal assertiveness & boundary setting skills, and how to be a bystander like the bonobos.

What a wonderful night of expertise and revolutionary solidarity.

-defense

Photo Descriptions.
Carousel of 6 pictures from the event.
P1. Photo of 2 members from IMPACT demonstrating boundary setting.
P2. Photo of 2 members from IMPACT demonstrating physical self defense skills.
P3. Photo of 2 members from IMPACT talking about empowerment self defense.
P4. Photo of Diane Rosenfeld during her presentation and two members from IMPACT standing to the side.
P5. Photo of the venue WBUR City Space.
P6. Photo of IMPACT Community Engagement Manager tabling at the event.