Yehudit Zicklin-Sidikman
MBA
NY, US"When I speak, I am a tour guide, taking my audience on a tour of the historical and current modern-day understandings of Empowerment Self Defense and violence prevention education.
My hope is that when they leave the tour, they'll have been given enough information to make decisions about their safety, and possibly decide whether or not they want to bring ESD into their schools or offices."
~ Yehudit Zicklin-Sidikman
Many people dream of making the world a better and safer place for everyone.
Yehudit, beloved "Sensei" to her thousands of empowered students, has been an Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) instructor and advocate of violence prevention education since 1996. In addition to certification as an ESD instructor, she holds a fourth-degree black belt in Judo.
As an open survivor of sexual assault and abuse, Yehudit brings these experiences to her work as a motivational speaker. She has inspired hundreds of women to share their stories, heal from past trauma, and move on to live fuller, healthier lives.
Yehudit is the co-founder and CEO of El HaLev, a nationally recognized non-profit organization in Israel dedicated to providing self-defense and martial arts training to women and girls in a safe and empowering environment. The organization was recently given Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council), in recognition of its authority as an expert resource.
She is also the president of ESD Global Inc., a US non-profit committed to making Empowerment Self-Defense training accessible worldwide.
In addition to founding two women-led NGO's, Yudit is currently an active member of Women Moving Millions, an organization dedicated to creating initiatives to benefit women and girls and to inspire others to invest with a gender lens. Yehudit presented at the 2018 Women Moving Millions Summit on the importance of bringing ESD to all women and girls.
She has also worked to create social justice, aid the vulnerable, and preserve human dignity through her with Lions of Judah association.
in the role of executive producer, Yehudit partnered with author Ellen Snortland in the production of the documentary "Beauty Bites Beast," a provocative call for women to take charge of their bodies and learn Empowerment Self-Defense.
In July of 2019, Yehudit gave an ESD workshop at the Girl Up Leadership Summit. In September of that same year, at the 3rd Annual Conference on Domestic Violence in Oslo, Norway, Yehudit delivered a talk entitled "The Role of Empowerment Self-Defense as a Method of Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention."
Her awards include the Israeli Ministry of Social Equality's Honor Award for prevention of violence against women, the Colleen Gragen Award of Inspiration by the National Women's Martial Arts Federation, Jerusalem Woman of the Year (WIZO) award, the Woman of Valour Award from the Ambassadors' Club of Israel and she was counted among Nashim Magazine's top 50 women in Israel.
Yehudit's work to eradicate violence against women - one of the world's largest health issues - revolves around Violence Prevention Education. Under her leadership, ESD Global and El Halev have trained thousands of people, including women, children, and other vulnerable populations in Empowerment Self-Defense.
"When I speak, I am a tour guide, taking my audience on a tour of the historical and current modern-day understandings of Empowerment Self Defense and violence prevention education.
My hope is that when they leave the tour, they'll have been given enough information to make decisions about their safety, and possibly decide whether or not they want to bring ESD into their schools or offices."
~ Yehudit Zicklin-Sidikman
Many people dream of making the world a better and safer place for everyone.
Yehudit, beloved "Sensei" to her thousands of empowered students, has been an Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) instructor and advocate of violence prevention education since 1996. In addition to certification as an ESD instructor, she holds a fourth-degree black belt in Judo.
As an open survivor of sexual assault and abuse, Yehudit brings these experiences to her work as a motivational speaker. She has inspired hundreds of women to share their stories, heal from past trauma, and move on to live fuller, healthier lives.
Yehudit is the co-founder and CEO of El HaLev, a nationally recognized non-profit organization in Israel dedicated to providing self-defense and martial arts training to women and girls in a safe and empowering environment. The organization was recently given Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council), in recognition of its authority as an expert resource.
She is also the president of ESD Global Inc., a US non-profit committed to making Empowerment Self-Defense training accessible worldwide.
In addition to founding two women-led NGO's, Yudit is currently an active member of Women Moving Millions, an organization dedicated to creating initiatives to benefit women and girls and to inspire others to invest with a gender lens. Yehudit presented at the 2018 Women Moving Millions Summit on the importance of bringing ESD to all women and girls.
She has also worked to create social justice, aid the vulnerable, and preserve human dignity through her with Lions of Judah association.
in the role of executive producer, Yehudit partnered with author Ellen Snortland in the production of the documentary "Beauty Bites Beast," a provocative call for women to take charge of their bodies and learn Empowerment Self-Defense.
In July of 2019, Yehudit gave an ESD workshop at the Girl Up Leadership Summit. In September of that same year, at the 3rd Annual Conference on Domestic Violence in Oslo, Norway, Yehudit delivered a talk entitled "The Role of Empowerment Self-Defense as a Method of Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention."
Her awards include the Israeli Ministry of Social Equality's Honor Award for prevention of violence against women, the Colleen Gragen Award of Inspiration by the National Women's Martial Arts Federation, Jerusalem Woman of the Year (WIZO) award, the Woman of Valour Award from the Ambassadors' Club of Israel and she was counted among Nashim Magazine's top 50 women in Israel.
Yehudit's work to eradicate violence against women - one of the world's largest health issues - revolves around Violence Prevention Education. Under her leadership, ESD Global and El Halev have trained thousands of people, including women, children, and other vulnerable populations in Empowerment Self-Defense.
Think Equal, Teach Equal
Every creature is born with a self-defense system. We are all born with an instinct to protect our food, our homes, and our bodies. If you watch a mother dog with her puppies, you see her nurturing this instinct in their play, regardless of the puppies' gender.
When we educate girls, however, more often than not, this instinct is not nurtured. Think Equal, Teach Equal helps explain why this is so dangerous, and what we can do to educate girls and women to stay...
Acknowledge. Announce. Act. The Three A's of Empowerment Self Defense
What if. . .?
What if we taught women, children, and other vulnerable populations, The Three A's?
Acknowledge. Announce. Act.
What if we taught them to respect themselves enough to know that they are worth fighting for, and know that they have the ability...
The Hidden Cost of Gender-Based Violence
It is estimated that 1 in 3 women will experience either gender-based or sexual violence in their lifetime. The majority of this violence occurs before the age of 26, which means that a large portion of school children and approximately one-third of the female workforce are survivors of violence.
Gender-based violence (GBV) has been associated with significantly lower academic...
