About 150 people, mostly women, gathered for a safety session at Burnaby Mountain Secondary on Wednesday night with questions for police about attacks in the city.
The personal safety forum took place near the sites of two recent daytime sexual assaults. There have been five sexual assaults in Burnaby over the past two months.
The session, led by Burnaby city staffer and retired RCMP officer Chris Drouin, focused on steps people – women in particular – can take to protect themselves. While most of the tips were common sense, Drouin said common sense isn’t always common practice.
“This presentation is to help you not become a victim of crime,” he said, adding that violence is not the fault of victims, but it won’t end until perpetrators stop assaulting people.
“There are no places that we are safe from the effects of violence,” Drouin told the crowd. But he added that women can take control of their safety by limiting opportunities for attack.
Some of the tips included being aware of surroundings, walking with confidence, limiting distractions, planning routes ahead of time to avoid isolated areas, wearing footwear that doesn’t hinder movement, and parking in well-lit areas.
Drouin also suggested wearing a personal safety alarm, which emits a high, piercing sound when activated. It can cause an attacker to run, he said, giving women time to escape.
But most importantly, women should trust their instincts and ignore the impulse to be polite, he said.
“Your brain is the ultimate weapon against violence,” Drouin said.
If a stranger tries to strike up a conversation, it may be an attempt to gauge a woman’s vulnerability, according to Drouin.
If a woman feels uncomfortable being approached, they shouldn’t worry about being rude, he added. In fact, men should be aware that their behaviour may appear threatening if they approach or get too close to a woman, and should know to respect boundaries, he said.
When it comes to actually being attacked, he recommended women yell and fight, and do everything possible so the attacker doesn’t move them to a second location.
“Scream for your life, fight for your life, try to escape,” he said.
Burnaby RCMP Staff Sgt. Major John Buis also spoke to the crowd, mentioning the trail attacks in the area in particular.
Audience members had questions following the presentation, including requests for specific information about the attacks in the area. There was some frustration from the crowd when specific information could not be provided, as it might impede the current investigation.
Many women attended the forum to get an idea of how safe they are in the area.
“I’m in the community and I like to walk, and I want to see whether it’s safe to walk on my own, and just to be reassured,” said Patricia Snow, who lives in the neighbourhood.
Drouin recommends that women do not walk alone on trails and in isolated areas.
Women from local running groups were also in attendance.
Rainy Kent, who coordinates two Sun Run training clinics in North Burnaby, said people are tired of feeling afraid and want to do something about it.
Once the clinics wrap up, she is considering connecting with other runners to create a safety network, almost like a runners’ Block Watch, she said.
“It’s the community coming together in solidarity, really, just to say, ‘We’re taking control of this instead of feeling victimized by it,’” she added.
Burnaby RCMP recently created a sexual assault task force to investigate the five attacks, the first of which occurred on Jan. 29.
Police have not yet determined if the five attacks are linked, according to Buis, but the task force is using considerable resources and is working with law enforcement in nearby jurisdictions and throughout Western Canada on the investigation.
Burnaby’s serious crime section is leading the investigation, with help from crime analysts and the RCMP’s behavioural sciences group.
Some people have come forward about a suspect sketch that was released to the media, Buis told the NOW, but those leads have not panned out. Police are asking that anyone who thinks they might know something about the attacks to contact the RCMP.
“Because it’s going to take somebody who’s out and about in a park or a trail who sees something and calls us,” he said. “Because the urges this person has, I don’t think they’re going to just stop for 10 years before surfacing again.”
