REGINA – Men and women in Canada suffer similar rates of criminal offences – about 185 per 1,000 people – but an RCMP officer says men commit an overwhelming percentage of those crimes.
Const. Dave Doncaster told the Associated Country Women of the World meeting in Regina on Oct. 14 that women must be aware of risky situations.
“Everyone agrees that a woman should be able to go where she wants and do the job she wants without harassment. But that’s not reality.”
Doncaster, who teaches martial arts and self-defence, said the biggest challenge is women’s mindset. They are taught not to be rude, even though that could save them in a dangerous situation. He said women should listen to their gut feeling when a man offers to help them. The man may be pouring on the charm to ask them for a date, but he could also be charming to take advantage of them.
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“It’s impossible to say how many situations you’ve thwarted in your lifetime by listening to the little voice in your head.”
Harassment is not limited to city streets, he said. It is also found in rural areas.
Doncaster said he was asked to do a self-defence course for the staff of Ducks Unlimited. Many of them were young women who went out to farms to convince farmers to sign land over to the wildfowl organization. Sometimes these women felt pressured to do things they regarded as unsafe.
Doncaster advised them to drive their own vehicles to the farmland and not ride with strangers. He also advised them to take cell phones along, even though not all rural areas are covered. And he suggested they make sure someone knows where they are and when they are expected back.
