Victims and Survivors of Crime Week starts with self defense tips

With the help of some self defence experts, Victims and Survivors of Crime Week was launched Monday in Prince George.

Brad and Marta Grantham of Shadow Martial Arts put about 20 College of New Caledonia students through the paces at Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park, teaching them how to avoid being attacked and what to do if they are assailed.

Tips included walking with confident body language and with your head up.

"Most aggressors don't want somebody that's a hard target, they want somebody that's easy and is going to give them what they want," Brad Grantham advised.

He also suggested trusting your instincts and walking away if you think you could be into the middle of danger.

And he spoke in favour of taking a wide berth when walking around a corner.

"If you're walking around a corner and you're up against the wall and some bad guy is on the other side of that corner, you're going to have no time as you come across the corner," Grantham said. "But if you come across a corner from a bit more of a distance, you're going to have more time."

The Granthams went on to provide a condensed version of a three-hour introductory course on self defense, showing proper stances and moves to get yourself out of trouble.

The theme of this year's event is "transforming cultures together."

"Talking about moving from language around being a victim to being a survivor to being on a healing journey as that can be more helpful for people who've experienced drama," said Erin Anderline of the Prince George Native Friendship Centre.

Workshops for service providers will be held on Tuesday. They will be related to the Indigenous court program, collaborative justice and the Moose Hide campaign to address domestic violence in northern communities.

On Thursday, an appreciation luncheon will be held for the victim service workers and related service providers.

The Prince George Native Friendship Society, the Prince George Elizabeth Fry Society and the Prince George RCMP's victim services unit are hosting the events.

"The programs have been working together in tandem for pretty much 11 years," said Prince George RCMP victim services coordinator Krista Levar. "It's been a great journey and we are a really lucky community because we do work together so well...we make sure that we are referring to each other, we're making use of each other's best skills."

The groups provide crisis intervention, emotional support and information about the criminal justice system to the victims and survivors of crime.

"And that's all crimes, whether it's sexual abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse, violence against women, violence against families, sudden death and emergency situations that arise as well, said Bally Bassi of the Prince George Elizabeth Fry Society.

Those interested in participating in the workshops or attending the luncheon can call 250-564-4324.