Resisting Violence page up and running!

Good morning! And good news... the web page for the Resisting Violence project is now up and running! To give a bit of context, "Resisting Violence: Rural Women and Girls Take Action" is a 2-year project based at the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre & Sexual Assault Services Association. The goal of the project is to engage young people and communities in raising awareness about, and taking steps to end, violence against young women and girls. I began working as the project coordinator on January 31st. The project is funded by Status of Women Canada.

Here's the url for the Resisting Violence Page. I encourage you to check it out!

http://antigonishwomenscentre.com/resistingviolence/index.html

2nd Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Gathering - Promotional video!!!

Some of you may have heard about the upcoming Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Gathering that will take place from May 20-23rd in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It's the 2nd gathering of its kind; the first happened in 2008 in Montreal. Check out the promotional video!

If you're living in Nova Scotia and are interested in attending the gathering, drop me a line at betsypd@gmail.com . You can also check out http://www.rebelles.org/ for more info!

Betsy

Cyberbullying linked to suicide

I recently heard the news about a Nova Scotia teen, Jenna Bowers-Bryanton, who took her own life in January. It turns out that she was a victim of online bullying, and her death has motivated loved ones to launch a campaign to end cyberbullying. Here's an article about the campaign:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/03/28/ns-jenna-cyberbullying.html

Jenna's story has caused me to reflect on what the internet, and social networking in particular, means to young people. As a somewhat young person myself, I (admittedly) spend quite a bit of time on Facebook. Given that Facebook only emerged a few years ago, though, it was never part of my experience as a high school student. In many ways I'm glad, because I was already a pretty insecure teen and social networking probably would have just exacerbated my insecurities. Then again, who knows? At any rate, it's kind of a moot point because social networking is an important aspect of many people's lives. How can we make cyberspace a safe space, and not a dangerous one, for those of us who spend time online?

Purple Ribbon Campaign in Newfoundland & Labrador

The government of Newfoundland & Labrador is carrying out a violence prevention initiative that includes a Purple Ribbon Campaign focused on educating the public about, and working to end, violence against women. Here is the website for the campaign:

http://www.respectwomen.ca/

It's got some great resources for survivors of male violence against women, as well as perpetrators, friends, and parents who wish to teach non-violence to their children. There are also lots of good facts on violence against women available on the site.

This is a great resource and something that would be very useful in Nova Scotia...

Happy (belated) International Women's Day!

Well, I had such a busy (and wonderful!) International Women's Day that I didn't get a chance to post anything until now. Just wanted to say happy IWD to all of you, and let us take this week as an opportunity to reflect on the hard work and incredible achievements of our feminist foremothers, and also consider the hard work that lies ahead. Violence against women and girls is still pervasive in Canada and all over the world. Women still earn less than men but perform the majority of the world's work. Women and girls are hypersexualized, degraded and objectified through our media and expected to conform to an increasingly pornographized standard of beauty. Women experience oppression on the basis of sex, gender, class, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, ability, sexual orientation, age, language, geography, political affiliation, citizenship status and religion. Through our taxes, we are made to pay for a war machine created by a handful of extremely privileged men in order to profit from the destruction of life. Regressive policies in our country make the prospect of affordable childcare and affordable housing seem like a distant dream, unless there is serious political change.

The 100th anniversary of International Women's Day marks an important time for women in history. It is a time to celebrate our strenghts and diversity, and to move forward with great courage, clarity and (com-)passion. To quote the Hopi elders, "We are the ones we have been waiting for."

Betsy