Brittni Jacobson, Author at Canadian Women's Foundation

Empowering Girls Through Culture, History, and Friendship: Strong Girls of Inlailawatash

Brittni Jacobson2017-12-19T16:28:36+00:00June 15, 2017|Empowering girls|

When a shy girl gradually emerges from her shell and develops the confidence to lead a group activity, Jennifer Hamman knows that the Strong Girls of Inlailawatash program is succeeding.

“Just seeing them take those opportunities to take a little risk, to be a little vulnerable, and to let themselves just be themselves has been a really awesome thing to watch.”

The program, which receives funding from the Canadian Women's Foundation, provides a rare girls-only space for Tsleil-Waututh First Nation girls aged 9-13.

The Tsleil-Waututh community is set on the Burrard Inlet, surrounded by urban North Vancouver. As program coordinator, Hamman organizes the weekly program meetings, which aim to foster healthy relationships and connect the girls to their culture in a positive way. Hamman, who is also the Tsleil-Waututh Community Therapist, talks about how the program helps develop girls’ confidence, connectedness, and resilience.

Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors: A Look at Alternative Methods

This March, federal court justice Robin Camp resigned after a 15-month inquiry. His conduct during the questioning of a 19-year-old woman during a rape trial included wildly inappropriate comments like “sex and pain sometimes go together.” During the inquiry, the woman said the experience left her with suicidal thoughts.

That same month, a Nova Scotia judge acquitted a taxi driver who was charged with sexual assault on the basis that his passenger, although heavily intoxicated, was capable of consent. Police had found the man with his pants unbuttoned and holding the woman’s urine-soaked underwear, while she lay unconscious and half-naked in the back of his cab.

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