TOOLS & REFERENCES
Resources
A verified resource guide for women who train. Everything here has been fact-checked. Where sources are contested or limited in scope, we say so.
A Note on This Guide
All hotline numbers verified as of May 2026. Phone numbers and org URLs can change — if you're in crisis, call 988 or 911 first. BJJ has no unified governing body equivalent to USA Gymnastics or USA Wrestling. This is the single most important structural fact about safety in this sport: there is no mandatory reporting system, no independent investigation process, and no jurisdiction overlap with SafeSport for most academies. We are naming this clearly because pretending otherwise would be irresponsible.
Crisis & Safety
Hotlines & Reporting
800-656-4673
Text "HOPE" to 64673 | chat at rainn.org/hotline
Verified active. 24/7, English/Spanish, confidential.
800-662-4357
samhsa.gov/find-help
Verified active. 24/7/365. English/Spanish. Treatment referral for mental health and substance use.
Not a crisis line — for active crisis, call or text 988 instead.
988
Call or text 988 | 988lifeline.org
Verified active. SAMHSA-funded, 150+ languages. Fastest option for active crisis.
800-799-7233
Text "START" to 88788 | thehotline.org
Verified active. 24/7, 200+ languages.
Documented intermittent service disruptions; overflow is routed to an AI chatbot ("Ruth"). RAINN may be more reliable during high-volume periods.
833-587-7233
"833-5US-SAFE" | uscenterforsafesport.org/report-a-concern
Verified active.
BJJ is not an Olympic sport, so SafeSport does not have jurisdiction over most BJJ academies. Use for judo, wrestling, boxing, taekwondo. SafeSport is also in institutional crisis: its CEO was fired in April 2025 following a scandal involving a former investigator charged with rape and sex trafficking. New CEO Benita Fitzgerald Mosley took over Feb 2026. For BJJ practitioners, direct survivors to RAINN, local law enforcement, or civil counsel.
844-762-8483
strongheartshelpline.org
Verified, 24/7. Culturally specific to Native American/Alaska Native survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
866-331-9474
Text "LOVEIS" to 22522 | loveisrespect.org
Verified. Partner project of The Hotline.
Research & Data
Peer-Reviewed Sources
The two large IOC consensus documents (2016 harassment, 2014/2023 RED-S) and PMC-hosted reviews are the highest-quality, freely accessible sources here. Where a source is a preprint, journalistic, or paywalled, we say so.
Harassment & Abuse in Sport
Female Athlete Physiology & RED-S
Gender Dynamics & Martial Arts
Organizations
Women's BJJ & Combat Sports Communities
"Women Who Submit" does not exist as a BJJ organization. The name belongs to a Los Angeles literary nonprofit for women and non-binary writers (womenwhosubmitlit.org). If you've seen it cited in BJJ contexts, that is a sourcing error. It has been removed from this guide.
Donation-based women's & girls' open-mat events across multiple U.S. regions. Founded by Shama Ko. Includes leadership programs and scholarships.
Online and printed magazine covering women in BJJ and MMA. Editor-in-chief Evelyn Sutton. Known for advocacy on equal pay and equal weight divisions.
Women-and-girls-in-combat-sports organization founded 2012. Publishes annual all-female fighter calendar and an active blog.
Women's-only grappling camps and an inclusive academy that grew from those camps. Active in 2024–2025.
Personal blog and YouTube channel by "Jess D." A personal-voice resource for Black women in BJJ.
Treat as a creator/blog, not a national organization. Updates are irregular.
Women's BJJ + rock/ice climbing camps in the U.S.
Women-owned women's BJJ/grappling apparel brand running an annual Epic Open Mat in Tulsa, OK.
A useful directory of recurring women-only open mats by U.S. state.
Not women-specific, but the most active travel-and-train community in BJJ globally and notably welcoming to women travelers. Runs 100+ camps worldwide.
Broad advocacy, research, and support for women in sport.
Recommended Reading
Books
Trade-book authors have commercial interests — Sims sells courses, Nagoski runs a substack, Tawwab does paid speaking. None of this disqualifies the work, but readers should know. Where a book has documented scientific critique, we say so.
Trauma & Nervous System
Boundaries
Female Athletic Performance
Safety & Broader Context