University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 10 January 1997

Women's self defence program benefits from officer's donation

Layne Bjarnason believes the program is important to the U of A

By David Holehouse

Layne Bjarnason, a patrol sergeant with Campus Security, has asked that his donations to the internal fund-raising campaign over the next five years be earmarked for a women's self defence program offered by his unit.

The 14-year veteran of Campus Security is one of the teachers in the program, which provides women with basic skills in awareness, prevention, risk reduction, risk avoidance and physical self defence.

"It's an important service, and probably costs $3,000 to $3,500 a year in overhead expenses," said Sgt Bjarnason, who has committed dollars from his own pocket because he believes the service is important to the community. He's also made plenty of informal contributions in the past, through giving his own time and "swallowing" some expenses.

"We've given the program to more than 400 women since 1994," he said. "It's for women on campus, and is also open to people from the wider community. A lot of the success of the program has to do with the increased confidence and awareness that it gives, and the greater tendency to avoid risk situations."

Participation rates in the University of Alberta's internal fundraising campaign reached 34.45 per cent as of 3 January, with pledges totalling more than $1.9 million.

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