A realtor in Duncan is one of more than two dozen realtors in B.C. who are being victimized with texts and phone calls that are sexual in nature.
All the realtors are women, with most living in the Lower Mainland.
The Duncan realtor is remaining anonymous for safety reasons, but Vancouver Island Real Estate Board president Ian Mackay said she informed the board and the RCMP of the ongoing harassment last week.
Mackay said that, in his experience, this type of harassment is B次元官网网址渜uite unusualB次元官网网址�, but in the age of instant and easy communications, itB次元官网网址檚 not just members of the real estate industry that are experiencing such abuse.
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B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 easy for any nut to get on a phone or some other device and reach out to whoever they want,B次元官网网址� he said.B次元官网网址淏ut it tends to be easier to connect realtors as they publish all of their contact information as part of their careers.
B次元官网网址淲e have had no other reports like this from any other realtor on Vancouver Island up to this point, but if any realtors find they are being similarly harassed, they should immediately get in touch with the police and, hopefully, they will find out who is responsible.B次元官网网址�
Mackay said itB次元官网网址檚 disconcerting that the harassment of the realtors is occurring so close to the anniversary of the death of 24-year-old realtor Lindsay Buziak, who was stabbed and killed on Feb. 2, 2008, while showing an empty home in Saanich. The case has not yet been solved.
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B次元官网网址淟ike all things, time erodes memory and many realtors have let their guards down since then,B次元官网网址� Mackay said.
B次元官网网址淲e remind realtors that they should always be hyper vigilant and donB次元官网网址檛 ever put themselves at risk.B次元官网网址�
Mackay said VIREB and other realtor agencies have protocols for realtors to protect themselves, which includes a list of B次元官网网址渂est practicesB次元官网网址� that encourages them to record who they are seeing during an appointment, when and where they are meeting, and when they plan to return.
He said realtors also have access to an alert system on an app that can just be touched when the realtor find themselves in uncomfortable or threatening situations, and help will be quickly on the way.
Mackay said there is also a B次元官网网址渃hivalry programB次元官网网址� where male realtors will escort female realtors on a house showing if they feel uncomfortable.
B次元官网网址淭he security of our realtors is in the forefront of our minds,B次元官网网址� Mackay said. B次元官网网址淲e encourage them to never put themselves in any kind of danger.B次元官网网址�
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