Hamilton woman who was sexually assaulted on escarpment stairs calls for security cameras

WARNING: This article contains details of sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​it or know someone affected by it. 

One unusually warm and sunny December morning, Tara McFadyen was in her happy place, jogging up Hamilton's James Street stairs to the escarpment above — a familiar march she did several times a week. 

Her heart thumping and a podcast playing in one ear, McFadyen didn't hear a man come up behind her, she told CBC Hamilton in a recent interview. But on the third flight up, she said he forcibly pushed her against the railing and tugged at her clothes, trying to get them off.

"I was able to wriggle so I was facing him and I punched him in the face and booked it," McFadyen said.

She ran back down the stairs, calling 911 on the way, but the man was gone by the time police arrived, she said. 

Police released a statement about the sexual assault that occurred around 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 14, 2021 and requested the public check security cameras nearby and for witnesses to come forward. 

McFadyen, 31, is legally blind, seeing only with peripheral vision, and wasn't able to provide a detailed description of the assailant, beyond what police released at the time: a white man about five-feet, nine-inches tall, with an athletic build and wearing an orange bandana or facemask, a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. 

A police spokesperson told CBC Hamilton this week that while detectives have taken "lengthy steps" to gather evidence, but the investigation remains open. 

Pushing for security cameras

McFadyen said she's been "riding on anger" ever since, wishing she could have seen the man's eye colour or if his clothes had any other distinguishable markings that could've led to his arrest. 

For over a year she's been campaigning for security cameras to be installed on all of the city's five escarpment stairs to not only deter people from committing crimes, but also to help police identify suspects in future attacks.

"It's been a long time of feeling scared and nervous and that [the perpetrator] is winning," McFadyen said. 

But if cameras were installed, "there'd finally be some vindication — and I'd feel safer."

She started an online petition that has more than 700 signatures and said she's contacted city staff and elected officials. On Feb. 6, she spoke as a delegate at the general issues committee urging councillors to consider funding cameras as part of their 2023 budget. 

She was emotional yet firm in her request. "If you were to ask me where the money is coming from today, I couldn't tell you," McFadyen told councillors. "I just know there's a need."

After McFadyen made her request, Coun. Nrinder Nann (Ward 3) told CBC Hamilton she'll be bringing a motion to the public works committee for staff to look into how to improve safety on the stairs, whether it be security cameras, panic buttons, better lighting or something else. 

"When a resident comes forward having survived something as atrocious as a sexual assault, we have a duty to act," said Nann, whose downtown ward is home to two sets of escarpment stairs. 

Nann said she's heard reports of residents feeling uncomfortable on the city's stairs and trails and in some cases being sexually assaulted.

She's hoping changes will be made this year, but more expensive projects like installing cameras might have to wait until 2024, she said.

It's very common for survivors like McFadyen to have to fight to be heard when advocating for change, said Miranda Jurilj, the public education coordinator at the Sexual Assault Centre Hamilton and Area (SACHA).

"People don't want to talk about sexual violence because it's a scary reality to recognize how common it is in our communities and so it's easier to push it aside until it's right in your face," Jurilj said.

'We need to start having hard conversations' about safety

Jurilj noted that while cameras would provide a sense of security for some survivors of sexual assault, the added surveillance may make others feel less safe — but it's important to discuss.

"We need to start having hard conversations right now...talking about sexual violence and safety with the whole community involved," she said.

A woman was dragged off a trail on the west Mountain and assaulted by a man last July, police reported. In August, two women were separately assaulted by a man on a bicycle on the Chedoke trail. Both cases remain open — meaning police have yet to make an arrest. 

For a time, they said they were increasing patrols on trails and told female walkers and joggers to stick to populated sections of the trail, avoid poorly lit sections of the trail, carry a phone or alarm device, use the trail without headphones and use the buddy system. 

Nann said police need to do more.

"It's unacceptable to continuously provide the same cookie cutter response that women need to fortify themselves," she said. 

In September, two women were sexually assaulted on Chegwin Trail near McMaster University, and a 38-year-old man was later arrested, according to police. 

CBC Hamilton asked police if there have been any other recent reports of sexual assaults on escarpment stairs or trails and if any cases might be connected, but did not receive a response. 

Within a week of being assaulted, McFadyen said she returned to the stairs to exercise, equipped with a coyote spray and a personal safety alarm, plus a couple extra to give to others using the stairs.

She estimates she's handed out close to 70 alarms, which make a loud beeping sound when triggered to catch the attention of people passing by and scare off assailants.

"This is the only line of defence we have when we're on the stairs," McFadyen said. "This shouldn't be a fall back."