rush or forgo screening and negotiation processes that increase the risk of bad dates and STI contractions. This disproportionately impacted the safety of oppressed communities such as indigenous, substance dependent and transgender workers who are often restricted to this area. Over the years, this has also contributed to the many missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) cases, including those involved in the mass killings by serial killer Robert Pickton. Crime and public disorder Reported crime rates in the DTES are higher than in the rest of the city, with most crimes being assaults, robberies, and/or public intoxication. Although it is home to 3% of Vancouver's population, the DTES was the location of 16% of the city's reported sexual assaults in 2012. In 2008, it was the location of 34.5% of all reported serious assaults and 22.6% of all robberies in the city. These figures may be an underestimate, as marginalized populations such as DTES residents tend to be less likely to report crime. Many residents are survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system or experience transgenerational trauma as a result of Residential Schools, and are further traumatised by excessive policing. The figures do not indicate how many of the reported crimes were committed by DTES residents; some residents and business owners believe that visitors from other neighbourhoods are responsible for a significant proportion of serious crimes. According to police, DTES women say that what they fear most are "predatory drug dealers who conduct their business with violence, torture, and terror." In addition to reported crime, the DTES has highly visible street disorder, which The New York Times described as "a shock even to someone familiar with the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 1980s or the Tenderloin in San Francisco." Some government social workers have refused to enter certain SROs out of concern for their own safety, despite being mandated to monitor children who live there. Tourists are often encouraged to avoid the DTES, although they are seldom victims of crime. High crime rates and difficulties in obtaining affordable property insurance deter legitimate businesses from opening or staying in the area, resulting in many vacant storefronts. Poverty The greater DTES area is significantly poorer than the rest of Vancouver, with a median income of $13,691 versus $47,229 for the city as a whole. 53% of the greater DTES population is low-income, compared to 13.6% of the