Alyssa Long (right) demonstrates self-defence techniques that she teaches at SAFE International.
Despite the recent assaults on women in the downtown core and the Ottawa police’s subsequent advisory, pedestrians continue to be distracted and wear headphones while walking.
Ottawa police have warned residents, particularly women, to be aware of their surroundings and not to wear earphones while walking, after three daytime attacks.
On Elgin Street recently, pedestrians rush by on a cold evening, bundled up in mitts, hats and scarves.
Most have their hoods up as well, forcing them to look straight ahead or down at the sidewalk, restricting their field of vision. These pedestrians are distracted, listening to music, texting, checking their phones, carrying gym bags and shopping bags.
Stephanie Lane, a woman in her 20s waiting for the bus, says that since the news of the attacks, she is more conscious of her surroundings on her walk home and tries to follow the police’s advice.
She says that although she feels safe in the city, she now takes more precautions during the day as well as at night.
Lane has taken a self-defense course and says the training has made her more alert while walking.
Friends Andrew MacDonald and Jamison Young both laugh as they admit they always wear headphones while walking.
Although they aren’t concerned for their own safety, Young says he does “think about the women in (his) life because of the nature of the (recent) attacks.”
He says the measures recommended by the police would be most helpful in order stay safe.
Another nearby resident, who wished to remain anonymous, says she wasn’t aware of the police’s advice and will now definitely not wear her headphones while walking about.
She says she feels generally safe in her neighbourhood but has more concerns in areas less lively and with less traffic than Elgin Street.
She has also took a self-defence course two years ago, but doesn’t think it would come in handy if she was attacked.
“I think I would need a refresher,” she says.
She’s a young woman, with her hood up, scarf, mitts and hat on, her hands are full with a purse and a gym bag and her earphones are now dangling on her shoulder rather than in her ears.
Const. Khoa Hoang, of the Somerset Community Police Centre, says he believes most downtown residents are already quite “street smart” and that he sees residents following the police’s recommendations during his patrols.
Not wearing earphones is not a measure solely used to avoid possible attacks, he says, but one necessary with all the “vehicles and bikes flying by.”
Hoang says he recognizes the value of a self-defense course and worries that these may increase the paranoia of residents who are already anxious about the attacks.
SAFE International is an Ottawa-area company that has been offering a variety of self-protection instruction courses since 1994.
Many of these are taught in high schools across Ontario and have incorporated self-defence in their gym class curriculums.
“(The) majority of adults who call for self-defense have already had something happen to them," says Chris Roberts, SAFE CEO and head instructor.
"Unfortunately, most people are not proactive with their personal safety and have a false sense that nothing can ever happen to them. More and more often though, I find people will call when there is a serious incident in the news.”
In response to the feeling that self-defense courses foster a false sense of security and increase paranoia, SAFE instructor Alyssa Long says “the most important thing SAFE’s classes teach is how to avoid these situations in the first place.”
Along with a few simple moves to get away from an attacker, her advice echoes that of the Ottawa police: be aware of your surroundings and avoid distractions such as music and cell phones while walking.