About 200 students gathered on the UBC campus Wednesday night to take part in a ‘Take Back the Night’ rally following six sexual assaults at the school.
Chanting ‘two four six eight, stop the violence, stop the rape!’ they started marching shortly after 5 p.m.
The Facebook page to organize the event had more than 900 people signed up but it appears many did not make it out.
The march made its way to an undergraduate residence, then the Sauder School of Business (which was in the news a short while ago due to the ‘rape’ and ‘racist’ chants), and then wraped up in front of the RCMP headquarters on campus at about 8:30 p.m.
Students say they also want to stop what they call the ‘rape culture’ at UBC, and want to change what they say is the attitude from staff and RCMP that women have to stop living their lives or wearing skirts for the attacks to stop.
Earlier today the president of UBC, Stephen Toope, said they have put in place ‘unprecedented police and security measures’ to make sure students feel safe.
“This is one of the safest campuses in North America,” said Toope. “There is not normally a climate of fear or insecurity on the campus.”
The RCMP’s major crimes section believes one man is responsible for three attacks this month and similar incidents in April, May and September, bringing the total to six.
All the women were attacked while walking alone late at night on campus, and the descriptions of the attacker are all similar.
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