The University of British Columbia’s RCMP detachment is cautioning female students not to walk alone at night after two sexual assaults occurred on campus within a month.

A woman who was walking alone after midnight on Oct. 7 on the UBC campus reported she was grabbed by a man, according to the RCMP statement.


The statement goes on to say the attacker fled the area and the woman was not physically injured.


The incident follows another in early September, when a woman reported to the RCMP that an unidentified male attempted to grope her while walking alone after midnight. She escaped unscathed as well.

Female students are cautioned to be aware of their surroundings, carry cellphones and avoid walking alone at night, according to Sgt. Peter Thiessen spokesperson for the RCMP detachment at UBC.

According to Thiessen, there is uncertainty about connections between the two incidents, except that they both occurred in the early morning hours and in an “isolated part” of the campus.

He said there have previously been reported incidents of women being assaulted on the UBC campus. “It could be that they are being reported more often, but that doesn’t mean they are happening more often,” Thiessen said.

“In terms of reports, we haven’t had this type of incident reported this year at all, other than recently, with the new semester,” said Brian Wong, manager of community relations and crime prevention for UBC campus security.

Both the UBC campus security and the RCMP encourage students to use SafeWalk while on campus at night.
 

The SafeWalk program is a free service offered to students in which volunteers walk with them to their destinations. It operates until 2:30 a.m. on weeknights, according to the program’s website.
 

UBC’s student newspaper, The Ubyssey, conducted a survey and found that 83.5 per cent of students said they feel safe on campus during the day.


At night, however, the number dropped to 40.6 per cent, and 7.5 per cent said they do not feel safe at all on campus after dark.
 

UBC has not actively informed students on a large scale about the assaults in the form of official emails or newsletters, according to students.


Students said they found out about the groping incidents through online sources such as the UBC Bookstore Facebook page and newspapers.


“I heard about the groping incidents, but only through online newspapers. Nothing in the form of official emails from the school has gone out, nor are there signs around campus cautioning women,” said Joey Cheng, a psychology PhD student.


Michelle Lee, a first-year science student, expressed concern about the warning. “I’m pretty scared since I walk on campus well after midnight almost every day. I’m scared that my assumption that campus was a safe place was totally wrong.”


Lee said she plans to comply with the warning – to a certain extent. She said she always carries a cellphone but can’t avoid walking alone at night.


The RCMP advises students who do walk at night to let someone know where they are going and when they will return, and to use the SafeWalk service and know the location of UBC Blue Phones which are directly connected to Campus Security.


UBC also has a Sexual Assault Support Centre and counselling services available to survivors of sexual assault.