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How To End Violence Against Women? One Step Is Teen Healthy Relationships Programs
“Young women are telling us loud and clear they’re worried about the future of gender equality in Canada,” says Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
She’s responding to the sobering findings of a new Canadian Women’s Foundation study that indicate 79 per cent of Canadians believe Gen Z women (those born after 1999) will be just as likely or even more likely to feel unsafe because of their gender.
The study asked participants whether they expect the next generation of women to experience various forms of violence: sexual assault, online harassment, physical violence from a partner, as well as sexual harassment in public or at work. In all of the categories, the majority said violence against women will either persist or get worse.
10 Reasons Violence Against Women is Still a Problem in Canada
In May, a wildfire engulfed Fort McMurray, Alberta, and thousands of people were evacuated as the flames scorched forests and homes in its path. In response, people from coast to coast demonstrated the kindness Canadians are famous for.
The crisis came at a difficult time in Alberta—the province has been struggling to deal with a recession for months. As the fire died down, another disturbing story emerged: domestic violence has been on the rise in Calgary.
Police believe that the stress of the province’s economic slump and subsequent job loss has exacerbated the problem. Alarmingly, research also shows that violence between partners can increase following a natural disaster. After Hurricane Katrina, violence between partners rose by 98%. In unstable conditions, shelters may be forced to close, making women increasingly vulnerable to violence.
What will it take to end sexual assault?
This article was originally published on the Huffington Post.
What will it take to end sexual assault? Sexual assault is one of the violent crimes in Canada where we have seen little improvement in the last few years. In a 2014 Statistics Canada report on violent victimization, we can see that the numbers are going down for all violent crimes – murder, battery, physical assault, even domestic violence. But the numbers for sexual assault have stayed the same for over a decade.
A recent survey by Canadian Women’s Foundation found that two thirds of Canadians believe that the majority of women are telling the truth when they say they have been sexually assaulted. This same survey asked why perpetrators commit this crime. People said they thought perpetrators must think that sexual assault is no big deal (61%), that they have the right to the victim’s body (54%) or that they could get away with it (47%).
Healthy Relationships Start Young: How SERC Helps Newcomer Youth Develop Lifelong Healthy Relationships
This post was originally published on Klinic's blog.
It is 3:45pm and Bre (SERC Sexuality & Reproductive Health Facilitator) and I are sitting outside a core area school waiting for the acceptable time to go in and take over the classroom. Bre tells me a familiar message I have heard when out with Klinic Teen Talk staff - we don’t want to get in the way of teachers and students as their day is winding down, so we are never early, and never late. It seems to me that this fits with some of the core things we are going to talk about with these students today: how we communicate our needs and respect those of others.
Empowering Teens to Date Safely Online
As we raise our children, we strive to teach them healthy ways to handle peer pressure, to be thoughtful and respectful of others, and to navigate the world of relationships. However, our children are not growing up in the same world we did. Raising sons and daughters in the digital age can be very rewarding, but as our children take their friendships and dating online, parents need to address a host of new issues with their kids to help them have safe and healthy relationships in the virtual world.
Teens and Online Dating
During adolescence, the desire to form independent relationships outside of family is strong and an important part of maturing into adulthood. It’s only natural that our children, who expertly use the Internet and social media to connect daily, turn to the digital world to find or enhance these relationships too.
Day 12: Remembering the École Polytechnique Massacre
Armed with a rifle, a hunting knife and a hatred of feminists, Marc Lépine walked into Montreal’s École Polytechnique on December 6, 1989.
Lépine had a clear plan when he entered the engineering school that day. He strode into a classroom and separated the male and female students, asking the men to leave.
He asked the women if they knew what was going on. “I am fighting feminism,” he told them. After one of the women tried to reason with Lépine, he started shooting.
Want to make a positive difference? Here are 5 ways to take action
When you want to achieve an important goal, it often helps to set a deadline.
So how about a deadline of 16 days?
The goal? To help end violence against women.
We know it’s a tall order, so don’t worry, you’re not in it alone! Women and organizations around the world will be be participating in the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
Five ways parents can teach healthy relationship skills
You’re 14 and you’re at a party. A group of friends come up to you and one pulls out a cigarette. “Wanna smoke?” she asks, as she lights up and starts passing it around.
You don’t want to get in trouble for smoking. But you also don’t want to get “unfriended” for not smoking.
How do you respond? How do you teach your children to respond?
This is the kind of question participants discuss in the teen healthy relationships programs that are funded by the Canadian Women’s Foundation. The programs teach strategies for developing boundaries, empathy, assertiveness and conflict resolution -- skills that parents can also teach at home.
