“Shadow of fear hangs over Burnaby.”
The headline is big and bold and on the front page of a Vancouver daily newspaper.
It is true and untrue as many headlines often are. It is true that people, particularly women, are being super vigilant after the city has seen five sexual attacks in six weeks. It is untrue that the city is under a complete cloud of fear.
The sad fact is that women almost always have to be super vigilant when they are out alone on trails, or even on city streets. We don’t know of a single woman whose heart doesn’t beat a bit faster when she finds herself alone on a trail or sidewalk when a single male happens to be walking behind her, or is wearing a hoody.
The thought is always there. Is this guy just another walker or jogger, or is he up to no good? Can I outrun him? What will I do if he comes after me? And, the almost always ever-present inner voice that questions “Am I overreacting?”
There are also other feelings. The anger that sometimes rises without notice. The inner voice that says, “Screw it, I’m not going to let him ruin my walk.”
However, that’s easier said than done. Burnaby RCMP are holding a public safety seminar tonight, and to be sure, one of the things they are going to say is that people should avoid being out alone on trails or in less-populated areas.
Police are going to say stick to well-lit areas and switch directions if you think you are being followed.
This month we interviewed a women’s self-defence instructor who likened self-defence to first-aid. “We consider self-defence like first aid, it’s a life skill. We think everyone should have it,” she said. She told us later that after the article was published her class at SFU increased considerably.
That is good. It is also sad. The fact is that statistics show that nearly half of all women will be attacked at some point in their life. It might be an attack that leaves the woman with injuries that she never truly recovers from. It may be an attack that simply reminds her that she is vulnerable. It may be an attack that makes her doubt her instincts. Any attack leaves its mark.
And sometimes the worst is, truly, a shadow of fear.
