Abduction Attempts
October 25, 2000

Recently a great deal has been said in the media about the increasing number of abduction attempts of children in the Lower Mainland. What has not been said is that virtually all of these instances involved adult men trying to coerce girls and young women into their cars. The silent truth of this is that men attempt to lure girls into their cars all of the time. Since the disappearance of Heather Thomas an increased number of girls and young women have reported to the police that adult men demanded that they get into their cars. I sincerely doubt that the number of these attempts has increased, it is far more likely that girls are realizing that what they may have labelled as just another man "offering" them a ride was actually a man trying to abduct them. Sadly, the prevalence of male violence in girls' and young women's lives leads us to dismiss our experiences of it. I remember the first time a man tried to get me into his car-l was thirteen. The most recent time was when I was seventeen. If you think my experience is uncommon consider this: as girls and young women, every female at our office has been subjected to this type of violence.

I challenge you to ask the girls and young women you know if a man in a car, a man they did not know, ever asked them, or urged them, to come for a ride with him. Don't ask if they have ever experienced an abduction attempt because most of us don't realize that we have.

Joanne Butowski, Justice for Girls Outreach Society
Printed in The Vancouver Sun on October 25, 2000