[Wamvan] Help with article research for sexual assault rates for Vancouver?

[Jenny Tsundu]

Hi Joanna, and fellow WAM! members-

Sounds like this could be a really interesting and important story. I'd love
to help anyone look into this.

For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Jenny and I've been the
coordinator of the Investigative Team at the Ubyssey (UBC's student paper)
for the past year. Joanna actually helped me get my start in journalism in
my first year at UBC, when she was coordinator of the Investigative
Team, and I was a member.

I was at the WAM! Conference in March, and have been following these threads
with great interest for the past few months. I'm nowhere near as familiar
with some of these issues as some of you are though, and would love to
collaborate with anyone else on this story!

Cheers,
Jenny
On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 12:28 PM, Joanna Chiu <chiu.joanna5 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Is anyone interested in writing this article or co-authoring it with me?
> I'm already behind on a couple of stories, and I won't be able to get this
> out in a timely manner on my own.
>
> If you are interested in writing the article youself, I could help with
> research, pitching, and getting interviews.
>
> Let me know!
>
> Joanna
>
> On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 10:18 AM, Natalie Hill <nhill10 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Here is a story CBC did when the 2009 crime stats were released (in
>> January 2010).  They actually reference the spike in sexual assaults in the
>> lead.  I found print coverage of this story to be better this way, while TV
>> and radio coverage was abysmal (mostly about how "all violent crime was
>> down").  Unable to find any of the latter at this time.
>>
>>
>> http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/01/20/bc-vancouver-2009-crime-statistics.html
>>
>> I've also attached the document from the VPD website on 2010 crime stats
>> (released earlier this year).  Interestingly, when you look up the press
>> release and document for the 2009 crime rates on the VPD website (the report
>> that shows a 20% increase), it comes up in illegible internet-coding mumble
>> jumble (or at least it is for me on this computer).  Not formulating a
>> conspiracy theory about it or anything.... just sayin'.
>>
>> Here is a link to another release/report they did sexual assaults
>> specifically, September 2010:
>>
>> http://vpdreleases.icontext.com/2010/09/27/sexual-assault-statistics-report/.
>> Report in full is also attached.  This report attempts to accurately reflect
>> actually occurring rates of sexual assault (rather than just the reported
>> ones) - I don't understand how this is impossible.  It also gives a summary
>> of very small increases in sexual assault from 2008 to 2010 (it says the
>> "bottom line: up 6%/9%"), but if you read the report in full, sexual
>> assaults went up 40%, even 50% in some areas of Vancouver (DTES and
>> Kits/Fairview respectively).
>>
>> It would be Interesting to find out how many sexual offences are hidden by
>> being lumped into the category of the more "serious" offence (like robbery
>> or murder).  From what I understand rapes and sexual assaults often go
>> unrecorded when police and the legal system put another crime as priority.
>>
>>
>>
>>  On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 3:43 AM, Joanna Chiu <chiu.joanna5 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>>  Hi everyone,
>>>
>>> I've heard that the latest crime report shows that rates of sexual
>>> assault in Vancouver have increased more than 20% but after Googling, I
>>> can't find any articles on the subject. Has anyone seen anything on the rise
>>> in sexual assault in Vancouver?
>>>
>>> Someone has also mentioned to me that the media has downplayed the rise
>>> in sexual assault by reporting that "major crimes" have gone down in
>>> Vancouver (not counting rape as a major crime). Any examples of particularly
>>> bad media coverage?
>>>
>>> I'm hoping to write a media critique.
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Joanna
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Joanna Chiu
>>>
>>> Freelance Writer
>>> joannachiu.com <http://www.joannachiu.com/>
>>> twitter.com/joannachiu
>>>
>>> Organizer, WAM! Vancouver
>>> wamvancouver.wordpress.com
>>> twitter.com/wamvancity
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Joanna Chiu
>
> Freelance Writer
> joannachiu.com <http://www.joannachiu.com/>
> twitter.com/joannachiu
>
> Organizer, WAM! Vancouver
> wamvancouver.wordpress.com
> twitter.com/wamvancity
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wamvan mailing list
> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>
>


-- 
Jenny Tsundu
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