Assault rates (including sexual assault) appear to be on the rise in the Rideau-Vanier ward, rising 6.2 per cent between the year 2012 and 2013, while the solvency rate has gone down 8.2 per cent, according to Ottawa Police crime data.

Six candidates are currently running to be elected as the councillor for the ward. The elections are this Monday, Oct. 27.

The ward itself is comprised of various areas such as the downtown Byward Market, Sandy Hill, Lowertown and Vanier. These areas are prime spots for tourists, students, and partiers.

Close to the bar scene in the Market lies shelters and public housing.

In 2013, the second highest ward with assault crimes was Somerset. Even still, the Rideau-Vanier statistics were 56.8 per cent higher.

Mathieu Fleury, the current councillor for the area who is once again running for office, explained that the atmosphere attracts troublesome behaviour. Especially at night in the party scene where alcohol and drug use are apparent, and people are exchanging those things on the street it becomes “an area that is not friendly for most.”

Fleury said there are a number of things taking place and being discussed to keep the area safe. This includes police on foot patrol-where the police walk around and monitor problematic areas, security meetings with local businesses, along with changing dark and overgrown environments to lighten and open them up.

Linked with assault crimes is sexual assault, which is a problem affecting everyone, but disproportionately women.

Erin Leigh is the executive director of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women who offered an interesting perspective on the validity of assault crime statistics and what it means for women.

“It’s really hard to gauge from stats especially knowing 90 per cent of women who experience sexual assault won’t bring it to the police.”

What often happens she said is “victim blaming” where one can disregard the attacker’s actions and blame it on the victim, for not taking precautions. This is an unfortunate and false viewpoint that puts victims in an even worse situation.

Leigh said that numbers in assault crime rates fluctuating can either mean people are feeling more forward and reporting more, or more is happening-but it’s hard to tell.

There are a number of resources in Ottawa for women and people experiencing sexual assault, including French and English 24 hour crisis lines and services, such as Le CALACS francophone d’Ottawa and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa.

The OCTEVAW has a variety of programs in place to reeducate society and help the issue.

One program is called “I Can MANifest Change.” This is a workshop to train men to recognize violence, whether it is verbal or physical towards women. With this knowledge, they are encouraged to challenge their peers in recognizing those things as well as not tolerating them. This workshop also challenges gender roles and “what it means to be a man.”

Leigh said that people can’t necessarily protect themselves from assault, but they can take measures to empower themselves, such as self-defence training.

A coordinator from Crime Stoppers, a volunteer network that takes tips from strangers to help police solve crimes, who wished to remain unnamed, said that crime happens in every ward in every community.

“Crime doesn’t discriminate,” he said, “All it takes is one or two people to cause more problems in that community.”

He said that social housing and drug pushing can be factors in making a neighbourhood more dangerous. Drug issues can bring out the negative elements in a community, but once certain people are removed, the problem might disappear, he explained. “The cause of it is a bad apple in the neighbourhood.”

The issues surrounding the Rideau-Vanier ward continue to be discussed, as many individuals are working hard to protect the people living in and visiting it.

Fleury said the issue is deep and complex. “The city needs to question themselves about what they mean to make the community safer…What is the root of the problem, and why are people coming here to commit crimes in the first place?”