Unsafe areas of Prince Rupert to be "mapped" by Transition Society

There's a change to the annual Take Back the Night program this year, as the North Coast Transition Society will gather city residents to a function at the Musuem of Northern B. C. on Thursday night.

Instead of the regular march through the city, participants in this years event will be asked to mark on a map of the city those ares which women say that they don't fee safe in, or areas where they feel the most secure while out in the city.

The Daily News had details on their plans and some background on the project in Tuesday's paper.

Mapping project will shed light on safety
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Pages one and three

The North Coast Transition Society is hoping to get as many members of the public as possible out on Thursday evening for this year's Take Back the Night event.

"Last year Take Back the Night was held in conjunction with Take Back the Highway, but it's always been held to recognize women haven't been totally safe at night, not just in the streets but in the home as well," said Leigh Murphy, a practicum student with the Transition Society who's helping organize the event in Prince Rupert.

This year Take Back the Night is being held on its own, and instead of the traditional walk to create awareness, there will be a meeting in the Ceremonial Room (downstairs overlooking the waterfront) at the Museum of Northern B.C. Thursday at 7 p.m.

This year's event will be a gathering of the public to discuss what are the areas of Prince Rupert where women do not feel safe. Hopefully it will result in some draft some recommendations that can be sent on to the City.

Stopping the Violence Program counselor Grainne Barthe has been working with Leigh Murphy to organize this year's event by visiting local organizations and having women place stickers on a large map of Prince Rupert to indicate places they feel safe or think are dangerous after dark.
"We call it the good, the bad and the ugly," said Barthe.

"We're getting women to put star stickers where it's good, the red dots equal places they feel somewhat unsafe, and the green stickers represent places women do not feel safe at all."
It's hoped that at Thursday night's meeting, when the giant poster is put up for everyone to see, the City will be able to react to what the public see as the problem areas in Prince Rupert.

"For example on certain parts of the waterfront there aren't any lights at all, or in the downtown core there are certain spots where we could get more police presence," said Barthe.

"So we're hoping this can be a pro-active ongoing project for Prince Rupert with everybody involved."

The Transition Society isn't just trying to have women involved at Thursday night's meeting, but everyone in the community who cares about the safety of women.

"Violence affects everybody, and we need everybody to participate to eliminate that," said Barthe. "Men have a role to play in it as well, because it's also about changing attitudes in terms of how we view violence towards women."

"This is just the first step in a larger project to make the community safer," noted Murphy. "Other cities have put together a project where they join with the RCMP and City Council and come together as a group to work on community safety."

Those who attend Take Back the Night will also have a chance to put stickers on the map and participate in the project, as well as fill out a small form to explain why they don't feel safe in certain areas, and make suggestions for further improvements to women's safety.

Last year's Take Back the Night was a big success, with around 150 people going out to participate, and Barthe and Murphy are hopeful that this year's evening will exceed that.

The North Coast Transition Society has many programs and services to assist women in the community, the most obvious being the Transition House which shelters women in abusive and detrimental circumstances. They also have an outreach program which does advocacy for women with legal and financial assistance, a B.C. Housing component, counselling for women and children, and a supporting recovery program for women who want to modify alcohol and drug lifestyles.

"Rupert is great in supporting us with everything, whether it's Zellers or Friendship House, or any one of the local private businesses who support the Transition Society," said Barthe. "We hope we can get the same kind of support from everyone else in the community for Take Back the Night on Thursday."