This winter, I had the privilege of traveling around British Columbia delivering workshops with rural girls and young women as part of Phase 2 of the Pass it On project. These workshops were originally written for youth here on Salt Spring Island and thanks to the...
We recently found out that the Department of Justice Canada is funding us to work in partnership with the Musqueam Indian Band. As part of their Justice Partnership and Innovation Program - Access to Justice for Aboriginal Women, we will look at existing data from...
As Pass It On Phase II is being implemented across the province, young middle school girls are meeting up with their high school mentors. When asked to respond to 3 questions, 2 mentor supervisors from our most Northern communities involved in the project and 1 from...
The Internet has brought pornography to a far bigger and more vulnerable audience than ever before. Technology has made the multi-billion dollar porn industry more accessible, more secretive, and available to far younger people. According to Chris Hedges, author of...
The last week of January was a tough week here in British Columbia. On January 22nd, eighteen-year old Tyeshia Jones from the Cowichan Tribes, was murdered near Duncan. On January 27th, seventeen year-old Chassidy Charlie of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation was murdered...
What makes mentoring work for young women and girls? - having a supportive network. The 10 young female high school mentors on Salt Spring Island had their opportunity to test out their own expectations of what mentoring is this past week. Of the 10 mentors, half were...
We're pretty proud of SWOVA’s R+R program and it turns out that we have reason to be.  Recently a review of the evaluation results for our program by Buote and Berglund, was published in the international Journal of Education, Citizenship and Social Justice.  The...
The Pass It On Project - Phase II is a mentorship program, which partners young high school women with Grade 8 girls. The aim is to foster connections and friendships, which promote the health and safety of young women and girls. Funding from the Status of Women...
A sexual assault in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia in September has aroused much concern and discussion. A young woman aged sixteen was drugged and sexually assaulted at a party by a group of young men. It was videotaped and posted on the internet. The result has...
Dialogue Circles February 14 or 16, 7-9pm (Registration required) A collaborative evening of dialogue for parents and youth of the Gulf Islands These evening talking circles are an opportunity for open, honest and safe dialogue between youth and parents about...
These days there are a wealth of online resources that compliment and inform the work we do here in the Gulf Islands with the Respectful Relationships (R+R )Program. At each grade level we have the opportunity to work with youth as separate gender groups to discuss...
In October I had the great privilege of with working with Musqueam Nation to train almost 30 men and women to deliver the R+R Program to youth within their community. The first weekend was spent assisting new facilitators gain a more comprehensive understanding of...
At the end of this month, Respectful Relationships will return to SD #64 for its 12th consecutive year of delivery! Â We are excited for another year of classroom delivery as well as training both new and returning youth facilitators who will then join us in the...
September is a time for fresh starts. No one enters school thinking they are going to start a fight, be a victim of a violent attack, or feel ostracized because of their gender orientation. Anticipation runs high. Sometimes too high. Youth have high expectations...
Working in the classroom with Respectful Relationships (R+R) youth, we often find that media tools including YouTube videos, documentaries, and magazine articles assist us in our dialogues with youth. We encourage youth in their critical thinking about Media and its...
Examining the relationship between stereotyping, the media, and violence is a major focus of SWOVA's Respectful Relationships program (R+R). Our workshops examine how media stereotyping can legitimize and normalize inequality and treat generalizations about groups of...
In an age of social media, along comes a project founded on human relationships. Pass It On – Phase II has been a project inspired by a mentorship pilot project of the same name implemented on Salt Spring Island in 2009. With funding from the Status of Women Canada,...