Surrey Women’s Centre working to warn sex workers after attack in park

SURREY (NEWS 1130) —  A sex worker assaulted at Kwantlen Park on Tuesday evening is shaken, police are still trying to find the suspect, and a Surrey women’s group is pitching in to warn others.

It was just before 7:00 p.m. when the woman walked with a man to the park, and not long after that, he pulled out a weapon and sexually assaulted her.

In a release on Thursday, Surrey RCMP says it chose to share the fact that the woman was a sex trade worker because they were concerned that something similar would happen to others in the industry.

.@SurreyRCMP are issuing a warning after they say a sex worker was sexually assaulted in Kwantlen Park just before 7p on Tuesday. "The decision to disclose that the victim is a sex worker is being provided to ensure people in this vulnerable group can be aware." #SurreyBC

— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) February 18, 2021

“The Surrey RCMP [Special Victims Unit] works closely with and in support of the Surrey Women’s Centre’s SMART Van initiative; who were proactive in distributing this message, and the Surrey RCMP [is] also increasing police patrols to areas frequented by local sex workers. The decision to disclose that the victim is a sex worker is being provided to ensure that persons in this vulnerable group specifically, can be aware of this incident,” says RCMP.

Lynn Miot is responsible for the SMART initiative – known as the Surrey Mobile Assault Response Team. The service is available 24/7, and the mobile response unit can assist people with getting medical care, a police response, and access to social services after they have been physically or sexually assaulted.

The program has seen an increase in calls for help during the COVID-19 pandemic, and each night they connect with 20 to 30 women. They are also connecting with dozens of homeless men on the street, handing out warm drinks and snacks, and taking the time to talk to them if they need someone to listen.

“We haven’t heard anything from the sex workers directly, but we are in close relationships with the RCMP, and they sometimes alert us to situations that become a concern for the community,” Miot tells NEWS 1130.

THREAD:

Earlier Thursday, a release went out from @SurreyRCMP, as they work to find a suspect in the sexual assault of a sex worker. They mentioned being in contact w/the @SurreyWomens Centre & letting the group know about what happened at Kwantlen Park on Tuesday…

— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) February 19, 2021

When something like this happens, Miot says it makes things even tougher for sex workers who are already dealing with a number of dangers. That’s why it’s important to continue to get the SMART Van out in the community. The outreach done by SMART can be used in warnings issued by other groups, and vice-versa.

“We take ‘Bad Date Reports’ from sex workers, and a ‘Bad Date Report’ is when a sex worker reports where she’s been harmed on the streets, or maybe she’s not consented to the sexual connection out on the street. And then, those reports are sent down to a partnership in Vancouver, and they produce a ‘Red Light Alert,’ which, in essence, is like a newsletter,” she explains to NEWS 1130.

Those alerts are sent back to SMART, and when Miot and the team go out on the van, they can let sex workers know.

“Presently, we’re going out seven nights a week and six days, and we go all over – it’s not just in Surrey – [and these] are handed back out, so then word on the street gets out where there has been sexual assaults,” says Miot.

The Mounties’ release makes note of witnesses who were in the area when the assault happened, and Surrey Women’s Centre’s Executive Director, Shahnaz Rehman, says it’s important those people also take care of themselves.

Lynn Miot runs the SMART Van and says they haven't heard from sex workers about this specific attack but says this fits the requirements of a Bad Date Report & will go out as a bulletin; they'll definitely be warning other sex workers of the attack.

— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) February 19, 2021

“Often, when people witness an assault, those are pretty traumatic experiences for them, and we have a provincial organization, the Ending Violence Association of B.C., that has done a campaign on bystanders. That is basically just, the steps that you need to take and can take to take action around it. That immediate action could be not risking your personal safety, but really taking an action and not just being a bystander at that point,” she says.

Heightened concern among women

Rehman also touched on some of the concerns being shared around the Lower Mainland in the past few weeks, saying that it’s always been a difficult world for women.

“I think the risk factors have always remained for women in this COVID environment. And, of course, with the limited accessibility, and what’s going on, that has really disadvantaged women greatly, and put them at greater risk for harm. So, really, the resources we have – like this mobile response team, the van we have – is really one of the initiatives that is out there to do more community outreach, to create that sense of safety, to create our presence. The issue, basically, is of resources that need to be out there to support women. We are hearing more about gang-related violence, we are hearing about organized crime coming into the cities that are definitely putting women at heightened risk,” she explains.

She says while the group will always be ready to help, the public must also do their part and be attentive to their environment. She’d also like to think that other bystanders who willing and able to can support victims as needed.

As for the SMART Van, Miot points out that it isn’t just the RCMP they’re in touch with to get information about scary situations like the one in Kwantlen Park.

“[We collaborate] with not just the police. We attend many meetings that support the victims of crime, or high-risk individuals that are on the streets. That can be probation, social workers, psychiatric nurses, we have a weekly meeting, and so [information] is shared when confidentiality allows, and consent is given. The initiative with the SMART Van too, our hope is that we do get out to more campuses,” Miot tells NEWS 1130.

They’ve also been seeing more people continue to come forward since the #MeToo movement began.