One of the most important reasons why I work with youth around gender, stereotypes and healthy relationships, is that I get the opportunity to engage in complex and thought provoking conversations with young men. Â Speaking of self- esteem, emotions, conflict...
Jennifer Quam is the Mentor Supervisor for the Pass It On Project in Valemount/ McBride, British Columbia. McBride has a population of 710 while 90 kilometers away is Valemount, with a population of 1100. The school population for both communities hovers around 100...
The Pass It On Project - Phase II is occurring simultaneously in 5 communities throughout British Columbia - Salt Spring Island, Uclulet, Valemount/McBride, Prince George and Kamloops. Kamloops is in the Southern Interior of the province with a population of 85,000....
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...
Respectful Relationships (R+R) is a National and Provincial award winning schools-based primary violence prevention program for youth, developed by SWOVA. SWOVA has spent almost a decade of research and development, refining ideas about how to stop bullying,...
In the classroom, we use Energizers as activities for groups of youth to practice skill building related to the Respectful Relationships program as well as have the opportunity to move around and be in their bodies during our sessions. In a recent circle we played...
Today in the Respectful Relationships Program, we worked with Grade 8 youth to explore stereotypes and how they relate to violence. My co-facilitator Kevin and I do a role play and act out our two scenarios of two youth in conversation. The first scene is a young man...
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...