Attacks against women in Alberta are still happening — with a random stabbing attack on a woman in Calgary earlier this month and another attack occurring on two Muslim women in Edmonton..Diana Trang is the owner and founder of Satori Wellness Studio in Calgary, which specializes in JiuJitsu, a self-defence heavy sport in which Diana is a black belt..“I’ve always appreciated the self-defence side of it as a woman, and also as a black belt coach,” she said..When the attacks first began in Calgary in late 2020, Trang decided to take community outreach into her own hands. (It should be noted during that time there were next to no officially reported cases of these attacks to police — it was solely a social media awareness campaign where at least 20 different accounts of different experiences were noted by different users.).“In the past, I would maybe do a [self-defence] seminar every few months. This year, I’ve been consistently doing them every month, even multiple times a month for certain groups and organizations.”.Trang said she’s seen a rise in attacks around her community of Hillhurst. She described incidents where her male neighbour was assaulted in Kensington, and another where a woman she didn’t know knocked on her door in the wee hours of the morning begging for help as she was fleeing a man who had just tried to abduct her in his car..While Trang’s experience with the Calgary Police Service was positive when the woman came to her door in the middle of the night, she said there’s a tendency towards offering damage control instead of pro-active help that leaves room for improvement..“With the police, I think you make a call, they show up and do what they need to do and then that’s it, but that’s sad. That’s after the incident has happened. Self-defence is a pro-active approach to the problem.”.Trang said her classes have been somewhat of a haven for those who have experienced the attacks and because of her line of work she’s had the opportunity to interact with more victims..When the pandemic was at its peak in late 2020 and early 2021, Trang began offering her classes online so people could still experience some level of training from their homes. She found she was reaching a wider audience than ever with her online classes..“I’ve been focusing more this year on that [street attack deterrence] than in previous years..“For people who have been actually attacked, it’s been difficult to leave the house even though they’ve tried to do something. For some people, it’s been harder to get back out again, and for others, they don’t have a choice, they have to resume a normal life.”.If you are looking to feel safer, Western Standard offers the following safety tactics and precautions..Take a self defence class.Purchase your own self defence keychain: A great way to support both yourself and small local businesses is to pick yourself up a self defence keychain. They fit quickly over one’s knuckles and can — with proper training — quickly disable an attacker, allowing the victim to run.Use built in phone features:On both iPhone and Android smartphones a feature exists to quickly call 911 with little to no effort. For both operating systems, pressing the “lock”/”lock screen” button five times successively initiates a call to 911. This can allow you to dial emergency services quickly and without having to stop and unlock your phone.Use apps, like My SOS Family: My SOS Family is an app that can be found in both the Apple app store and the Google play store. It works by allowing one to program in certain emergency contacts that with the quick press of a button can be alerted and shown your location if you are in trouble.Look out for others when you can:One of the best tactics to avoid being targeted or attacked is power in numbers. If you witness someone looking extremely uncomfortable in an interaction – especially if it seems there could be a power imbalance – you can ask directly if they’re alright or need help or you can pretend to know them and try to escort them out of the interaction..Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
