‘Non-fat Americano’: Vancouver coffee shop creates code order for people in danger
Posted March 21, 2021 2:10 pm.
Last Updated March 21, 2021 6:28 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — As public anxiety grows in light of women in Vancouver reporting they have been followed, a coffee shop owner wants people to know his business can be a safe haven.
Recently, a video surfaced of a woman trying to run an errand in the Tinseltown area who said a stranger followed her for 40 minutes.
After the video was posted, another Vancouver woman told CityNews she believed the man shown in the video had also followed her around the same area last month.
RELATED: ‘He didn’t have any fear to him’: Video shows frightened Vancouver woman being followed by stranger
In response to hearing these women’s experiences, Eldric Stuart, owner of Harken Coffee in the Downtown Eastside, says his space will look out for you.
“I hope we never have to have a situation where people will have to use the code … but at the very least, it might just make people feel a little bit safer to know that there’s an option out there,” he tells NEWS 1130.
If you are being followed but can’t vocalize it because the person causing you fear is nearby, Stuart says order a “non-fat Americano” — the drink doesn’t exist, but staff will know what it means.
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Stuart says he hopes making this an option will give people “peace of mind” and a sense of relief if there’s a situation where they feel unsafe.
However, Stuart hopes this initiative will inspire other coffee shops, retail stores, restaurants, or any daytime business to develop similar codes or signals.
Like some bars that have bad date codes bartenders recognize, Stuart says implementing these strategies for daytime businesses would be helpful.
“Sexual assault, physical assault, those sort of unsafe situations, they don’t follow the timeline and they’re not specific to neighbourhoods. It can happen in any neighbourhood. It can happen anytime during the day,” he says.
While some businesses may be hesitant to vocalize their support to a cause thinking it can backfire, Stuart says there is no excuse when it comes to the safety of others.
“It’s non-negotiable. Businesses shouldn’t be afraid.”
Stuart adds the code is not only to protect cis women.
“It’s not just a woman safety issue. We also have to make sure that we are inclusive and other people. We have to recognize that we still have to look out for trans women who are seeing even increased rates of aggression … and sexual assaults, including sex workers, people in the queer community… also, people in the Asian community who are also experiencing issues right now. We need to help each other.”
RELATED: VPD identifies ‘person of interest’ in case of woman being followed through downtown
Police say they have identified a “person of interest” in the case of a Jamie Coutts, who filmed her experience of being followed. But she told CityNews that she was shown a photo of the man who is in custody and does not believe it is the man that followed her.
– With files from Ashley Burr
