Vancouver women uneasy after random, violent weekend attacks

After at least five women were attacked in Vancouver in the span of 40 minutes over the weekend, advocates say many women continue to feel a major sense of unease on the streets of the Lower Mainland and the recent spree reflects a wider issue of public safety.

Cole Stanley Martin, 38, has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of assault, one count of assaulting a police officer, three counts of uttering threats, and one count of breaking and entering. Police say he is known to them.

The violence began Saturday in Vancouver’s Fairview neighbourhood, where several women were hurt, including one woman who was punched and another who was chased by a man holding broken glass.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that we have seen this particular kind of violent act against a considerable number of women,” Angela Marie MacDougall with the Battered Women’s Support Services said.

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“It would have been very obvious who that man was, He was most likely covered in blood and running around with shards of glass in his hands,” Vancouver police Const. Tania Visintin said.

Gender-based violence rising

Police say the attacks targeted women, which unfortunately did not come as a surprise to MacDougall who says she has heard more and more attacks on women.

“This has been a consistent pattern that we’ve seen escalate since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020 that we’ve seen what is without a doubt an increase in stranger assaults of women including Asian women, including elderly women, including Indigenous and other women of colour,” she said.

MacDougall urges officials to step up to acknowledge gender-based violence has escalated and act to address it.

She says the B.C. government should have included more funding in the budget to take action.

“It’s going to be about us being closer as a community, so this is a bigger issue so it does require us to recognize that, and I wish our provincial and federal government would recognize it and invest in it right now because it would go a long way,” she said.

“Never her fault”

Wenlido WEST self defence instructor Jennifer Kirkey says women should not be blamed when they are attacked.

“It’s never your fault if you get attacked, it’s 100 per cent the attackers fault. But believe yourself, trust your instincts, if you can – avoid it, run away,” she said.

Kirkey has been teaching self defence for 30 years, and says overall the attacks on women are typically done by someone they know, but stranger attacks do happen and there are some tips to respond if they do.

“Yell, make noise, draw attention to yourself,” she said.

She commends a program by the Vancouver police, and suggests taking a course if you want to learn more and practice.