Rest Peacefully.

I first read on Friday morning that a body had been found outside a Southeast church and that there were unconfirmed reports that it was a body of a woman. Immediately I thought of Tara Landgraff and Wendy Hewko, two women murdered in Calgary last summer; I thought, “oh godde, another murdered woman.” Arcelie Laogagan’s face was so badly beaten the police will not confirm her identity until a DNA test is completed. Her family believes it is her and is of course devastated.

A few recent attacks I’m reminded of:

On November 4, 2007 a woman was viciously attacked and sexually assaulted in the beltline. Police have not made an arrest.

There was another incident in November when a man followed a woman pushing a stroller from a C-Train platform who fought him off her after being pushed to the ground.

Saturday, November 24, 2007 a woman was followed from a C-Train platform onto the U of C campus and pushed her to the ground in an isolated area. Her cries for help were heard by a security guard and a professor (42 year old man was caught and charged with assault causing bodily harm)

On Tuesday, January 15, a repeat offender robbed a tanning salon and then dragged the woman to a nearby treed area, assaulting her. The man was caught and has been charged.

This past Sunday a woman was grabbed by an unknown man while walking home; she fought him off and he again tried to grab her outside her home and she managed to escape.

Calgary Transit says it will evaluate its safety measures and security on the C-Train line. It’s maddening that it takes a murder to initiate this, and although I appreciate the concerned reaction, it is going to take more than an evaluation; more than additional cameras or guards for women to be protected and have a sense of security. The problem isn’t a lack of surveillance, the problem is that these men feel that they can intimidate, harass, threaten, and physically violate women.