Consent is a big topic in the news these days. What constitutes consent to sexual activity? When and how is consent given? How do we misinterpret consent? These are some of the topics in the news and on many peoples’ minds. This is particularly true for...
Blog
Why Focus on Gender-based Violence? by Lynda Laushway
There is a lot of violence in our world and it takes many forms- men’s violence towards other men, violence perpetrated on children, violence directed at seniors, violence against lesbian, gay and transgendered people, and violence against women, to name some of the...
Crime Costs, Prevention Pays by lynda laushway
Canada is spending billions of dollars each year on police, courts and corrections. In the past 10 years these costs have increased by 50 percent. These costs do not include the human suffering to individuals and families. Investment in preventing crime is a wiser use...
Sexual Assault Hits Mainstream Media By Lynda Laushway
The New Yorker magazine’s recent cover photo is of thirty-five women who allege that they were sexually assaulted by actor Bill Cosby over a period of decades. Some of the alleged victims have come forth on their own for years but their claims were hushed up, silenced...
Re-defining Feminism by Elise Pearson
I find that definitions can be limiting and problematic, and I’d like to see if I can encourage you to think for yourselves about what this word, or movement, or ideology might mean to you. Instead I’ll start by providing a few different definitions I’ve come across...
June 16th, 1976: Reflections on South African Youth Day
“They are a generation whose whole education has been under the diabolical design of the racists to poison the minds and brainwash our children into docile subjects of apartheid rule.” -Nelson Mandela Thirty-nine years ago and yesterday, South African...
The Process of Consent by Elise Pearson
On May 25th girls from the Salish Sea Girls' Leadership Project and recruits from grade 12 at GISS (Gulf Islands Secondary School) entered the high school to talk to the grade 11 students about sexual health and consent. In my own experience, and in speaking with...
SparkFest – Sparkling Inspiration
Sparkfest is the annual SWOVA fundraiser that the youth from Pass It On organize. This year on April 30, they really outdid themselves: Music by Ashleigh Ball from Hey Ocean, Tara Maclean & Suzanne Little, spoken word from Morgan Klassen, and the GISS imrov team....
Nurture Commitment – By Kate Nash
As the last months of Pass it On pass by, I am confronted with the word commitment. We all practice commitment in our lives, more often unconsciously. We are the most committed to our lovers, children, friends and habits, following through in our support without...
Be Inspired! Sparkle at Sparkfest
Good News! Sparkfest is weeks away, and we are all getting very excited for our 5th annual Pass It On benefit. Sparkfest will be held on April 30th at the Harbour House Hotel. This year’s generous performers are Ashleigh Ball from Hey Ocean; the Brony documentary;...
Why I Call Myself a Feminst / # Name Calling – By Sharyn Carroll
Feminist: Adjective – of relating to or advocating for equal rights for women; advocating for social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. Noun – An advocate for such rights; a person who advocates for equal rights for women. ...
Media Literacy – By Sharyn Carroll
Technology use is now intertwined with our lives so much that we live in a culture where we are constantly being bombarded with messages from the media at an alarming rate. Our love of media is not a new one. According to the Halifax Insurance Digital Home Index,...