Burnaby residents raise concerns over sex assaults at RCMP safety summit

Participants at a Burnaby RCMP forum about safety say they're nervous and being extra vigilant after a rash of sex assaults that have caused some of them to form block watch groups.

There have been five sex assaults, one in broad daylight, in just over five weeks since January, 2016 in Burnaby prompting the RCMP to form a task force and host a public safety seminar at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School.

More than 100 people attended the seminar Wednesday night to listen to RCMP Staff Sgt. Major John Buis and others deliver personal safety tips.

Residents were also told there is no update yet on the investigations surrounding the five attacks.

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The latest incident was March 6, when police say a woman who had just left the the Lake City Way SkyTrain station was attacked on a trail near SFU around 2:50 p.m. PT.

Her sexual assault was interrupted by a Good Samaritan who left prior to the police arriving on scene. 

"It's important for me that our neighbourhood is safe for citizens, especially women," said I-ju Lai at the seminar. "I want to be able to walk the trails and enjoy nature with my daughter."

Lai lives on Burnaby Mountain and says she walks to work, while her daughter walks to school every day. Since the attacks Lai no longer listens to her radio on her headphones in order to be more vigilant.

"I keep an eye out for friends walking on their own, I make sure that they go in groups," she said adding that she attended the seminar to learn more tips about being safe, especially what to do if she noticed someone was following her.

It's the same sort of information 26-year-old Amanda Javorsky says she came to the seminar to learn as well.

"I don't feel safe when I'm walking," she said, adding that she has changed her daily habits since the assaults.

"I used to walk every sunny day, I used to hike up Burnaby Mountain, and I don't really feel comfortable in my own area right now."

Now Javorsky sticks more to main roads where there are people around.

Sandra Knox says she's not as concerned for her own safety as she walks with her dog, but has worked to have a block watch established in her neighbourhood.

"So that we would have a mechanism to communicate to one another when this kind of thing took place," she said. "As neighbours we watch out for each other."

At the seminar police offered the following safety tips:

• Don't walk or jog early in the morning or late at night when the streets are deserted.
• Try to have a friend with you.
• Stay visible and stick to well-lit areas and walk with confidence.
• If you think someone is following you, switch directions or cross the street.
• If the person continues to follow you, move quickly toward an open store or restaurant or a lighted house.
• Don't be afraid to yell for help and call 911.

​According to the Ending Violence Association of BC, every year in the province there are more than 60,000 physical or sexual assaults against women. While almost all of them are committed by men, only 12 per cent of them are reported to police.

With files from the CBC's Kamil Karamali.