“One year later, women still vulnerable to predators in Downtown Eastside”
The Globe and Mail (November 22, 2013)
A year after his report detailing the disturbing conditions responsible for the disappearance and murder of dozens of women in the Downtown Eastside, retired judge Wally Oppal says little has changed in the troubled Vancouver neighbourhood.
The women who walk the streets alone at night remain as vulnerable as ever.
“The Vancouver police and the province have accepted all of my recommendations and are working on them,” Mr. Oppal says. “So I’ll take them at their word. It’s never as fast as you’d like, but some of this stuff isn’t easy, and I recognize that.”
He is, however, concerned about the lack of meaningful change in the Downtown Eastside. And about the fact little has been done to protect defenseless women in northern B.C., many of whom have died after striking out alone on Highway 16, the infamous Highway of Tears. At least 18 who were last seen on the highway disappeared or were murdered in the previous few decades.