Free self defence classes for women are being offered in Derry as fears grow following a string of four alleged serious sexual crimes in the space of a week.
The latest serious alleged sex crime happened during daylight hours in the Waterside area of the city on Saturday, when a woman in Top of the Hill Park was approached by a man armed with a kitchen knife, who "grabbed at" the victim before running off when she called out and swung at him with a dog lead.
The PSNI say detectives are "investigating the possibility" that incident is linked to a "similar attack" that was reported in the nearby Drumahoe area the previous night.
Read more: Police hunt sex attacker after second knifepoint incident in less than 24-hours in Derry
Read more: PSNI appeal after woman pushed to ground at knifepoint in sexually motivated attack
At around 10pm on Friday in Drumahoe Park, just outside the city in the Waterside, police say a woman was allegedly punched to the side of the head, pulled into nearby trees and pushed to the ground at knifepoint before she struck her attacker in the head with a torch and escaped.
Police were still on the hunt for an alleged attacker in both incidents on Sunday night.
The second "knifepoint attack" in less than 24 hours followed two earlier alleged sex crimes in the city the previous weekend - an alleged violent sexual assault in the Lecky Road area and an alleged rape in the Bank Place area.
Following the previous two alleged incidents, the PSNI Area Commander for Derry and Strabane, Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney, had said police would increase patrols and send plainclothes officers into bars and public spaces to watch out for "predatory behaviour".
A detective has now also promised a "focused, tactical patrolling plan" including a "high visibility police presence in key areas such as our local parks" following the latest knifepoint incidents.
As fears grow, self-defence classes are being offered to women living in the area for free.
Lifestyle Combat said classes to "help support local women in developing awareness, confidence and self defence techniques" are being offered free of charge at its 'combat centre' in the Whitehouse area of the city.
Former Justice Minister Claire Sugden, speaking to Belfast Live, said: "It's concerning and there does seem to be more frequent occurences. Regrettably, I'm saying to women to be wary of your surroundings, to keep safe - and I shouldn't be saying that to women.
"We shouldn't need to be telling women to keep safe. You shouldn't have to say those things but, sadly, we have to.
"Otherwise we are going to hear more and more stories like this. The number of stories that we've heard in the last number of weeks is concerning."
She continued: "You know, we need to get a grip on why this is happening. We do have the wider Executive strategy of ending violence against women and girls. It doesn't seem to be getting across. It won't happen overnight but we do need to change attitudes more widely within society in how we treat women - from low level misogyny to what's acceptable in terms of how we speak to each other.
"More needs to be done to ensure that the places that we call home - the communities, the areas that we walk in, that we should be able to feel safe in - are safe.
"I would encourage the police to do what they can. It sounds like they are."
SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin, in a statement on Sunday, said there is "huge concern" in the local community.
In a statement, she said: "There is huge concern in our city. I am seeing details of self-defence classes being shared online and women and their families having real fear about them heading out on their own. Mothers are having to caution their daughters to take care when out and about and this should not be happening.
"Every woman lives with the fear that something like this could happen to them, whether on a night our or simply going about their life. This has been an accepted fact and tolerated within our society for far too long, we have a serious issue here and we have to get to grips with it."
She added: "I will be raising this directly on the floor of the Assembly tomorrow [Monday] morning. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the events of the last week in our city, the victims are uppermost in our thoughts, but behind closed doors there will be many women who have had similar experiences and this will have brought it all back.”
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