Vancouverites fearful as police report four daily stranger attacks average

Stranger attacks are happening at a rate of around four a day, according to Vancouver Police, and given the number of recent incidents, about 200 people took part in a public safety virtual forum to address their fears.

Thursday night’s forum, was organized by Vancouver city councillors, including Lisa Dominato, who says, “What came through loud and clear is that people are not feeling as safe as they used to in the city.” 

She says there was a theme of wanting more support from higher levels of government.

“We didn’t collect any demographic data. But we certainly got a sense that … Vancouver residents … [questioned] do we have adequate supports for people who might be struggling with mental illness or addictions?” she said. “How do we work with the different levels of government … to ensure that we have the right supports in place in our city?”

At least five women were attacked in Vancouver in the span of 40 minutes over the weekend. One suspect was charged, and police believe he may have been experiencing psychosis.

Incidents like these are exactly what Dominato says locals are expressing concerns about. 

“We’ve seen this rash of stranger assaults, and it’s deeply concerning and troubling for the public,” she said. 

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Police have said the recent attacks have targeted women, which comes as no surprise to Angela Marie MacDougall with Battered Women’s Support Services. 

“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,” MacDougall told CityNews Tuesday. 

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

She said 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. 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.

In terms of a more creative potential solution, Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association chief executive Nolan Marshall wants to see more events.

He believes bringing more people downtown more often could improve community safety.

Dominato, Coun. Rebecca Bligh and Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung have requested a meeting with the Vancouver Police Board, Vancouver Police management, the mayor, and the rest of the council to better understand what’s driving these stranger assaults and create an action plan. 

With files from Ashely Burr