Following several attacks on Black, Muslim women in Edmonton, Canada, a new program seeks to make women feel secure while outdoors.
Sisters Dialogue, a community organisation which supports and offers culturally safe spaces to Muslim women and girls, has launched a new program called Edmonton SafeWalk. When Muslim women, particularly Black women, are walking around or running errands in town, the program provides a buddy system.
Aisha Ali, a Sisters Dialogue board member said:
The idea that people are safer in numbers and on walking together.
Ali stated that the program was developed in response to violence against Black, Muslim women witnessed in the city over the past years.
Muslim women in closed women-only Facebook groups shared safety tips, such as keeping personal alarms, asking about carrying pepper gas, and carrying sticks while going for walks. Sisters Dialogue reacted to this by launching the initiative. The program pairs Muslim women with volunteers to accompany them on walks or to run errands.
"Of all the things that have been happening against Muslim women, in particular Black Muslim women, there has been an increased sense of fear and hyper vigilance within our community," Ali said.
Volunteers for the program are chosen through a meticulous process. Sisters Dialogue and EFCL interview them and require a criminal record check.
"They also go through some training just to make sure that they're not causing more harm to the vulnerable people that reach out in looking for support," Ali added.
Although SafeWalk is designed to protect Black and Muslim women, the program is available to anyone who wishes to feel safe while walking around the city.
