Julie Turner knows about violence. As a junior in high school, she was the first on the scene of a murder-suicide.

Her friend had shot his ex-girlfriend and then committed suicide in a hallway of Turner’s high school.

Now, Turner works to prevent such violent acts through an organization she began with her sister Deborah Zimmer. Their group is called B.R.A.V.E., or Be Ready Against Violence Everywhere.

Turner said what drove her to become a self-defense advocate was a class Zimmer convinced her to attend more than 10 years ago.

“My sister asked me to go to a self-defense class and just like 99 percent of the women out there I was thinking, how boring,” Turner said. “She did convince me to go and afterwards we were amazed at how powerful we felt. We really thought everyone should feel that way.”

Turner and Zimmer, both from the Des Moines area, organized B.R.A.V.E. in 1993.

The programs presented by the group are separated into four different sections: awareness, prevention, action and motivation.

Thirty students participated in the B.R.A.V.E. presentation at Iowa State on June 26.

Recently, B.R.A.V.E has been traveling to grade schools and teaching students about the effects of harassment, bullying and teasing.

“We are prepared to give a lecture or program on whatever incident of violence is occurring,” Turner said.

Zimmer said the organization has had requests from all over the nation.

“We feel like we can reach a lot of people,” she said. “This job is very fulfilling for us. If we can save just one person’s life it is all worth it.”

Turner said they emphasize the amount of violence that does not even appear in the media.

“We want everyone to know that just because violence doesn’t make the paper doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening,” Turner said. “Fifty percent of all crime doesn’t make the paper.”

Nearly 10 years after its inception, the organization continues to spread the word about violence.

“They covered a lot more of the situations that you could get yourself into,” said Laura Clark, senior in dietetics. “We learned preventative stuff rather than just how to get out of situations. I thought that was helpful.”

The organization’s Web site, www.brave.org, provides information about the group and a schedule of their programs.