10 DAYS OF RESILENCE

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO LAUNCH 10 DAYS OF RESILENCE EVENTS

According to Stats Canada 2013, Guelph is one of the safest cities in Ontario. Despite being what many people would deem a safe city, gender-based violence still happens here. That is why some community organizations have decided to collaborate to bring 10 Days of awareness, celebration, action, and change this fall from September 25^th to October 4^th.  While much of the focus of the 10 Days is around raising awareness of gender-based violence, the group also wants to try and create more room for discussions around the ways queer and trans folks experience violence, as well as celebrate the resilience within these communities.  

Because violence in our community affects everyone, the 10 Days group wanted to provide lots of different opportunities for people to get involved, says Jessica St. Peter, the Public Educator from Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis; “People can connect with equality in various ways and sometimes certain events limit people’s participation but by expanding the opportunities for people to be engaged and informed we can have a greater impact in our community”. 

Experiencing violence has negative impacts on people’s health as well and can put them at a greater risk of HIV says Olivia Kijewski, the Women’s Community Development Coordinator at HIV/AIDS Resources & Community Health. “It’s important that we work together to challenge violence and its detrimental effects on our community”, says Kijewski.

Some of the multiple organizations working together on the 10 Days include: the Guelph Resource Centre for Gender Empowerment and Diversity (GRCGED), Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, HIV/AIDS Resources & Community Health (ARCH), the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), SlutWalk Guelph, and the Wellness Education Centre. 

The week will kick off on Thursday September 25^th at 6:30 pm in Marianne’s Park for the 27^th Annual Take Back the Night march and rally to raise awareness about and end sexual violence against women and girls. Other events during the 10 Days include: A workshop for young girls on bullying & self-esteem, Wen-do self-identified women’s self-defense training, service provider training on Anti-Oppressive Practice Approaches to Women’s Health, a sex Toy Workshop, trivia night at the Jimmy Jazz, an LGBTQ+ discussion group on Queer responses to violence, a documentary screening of “Jasad and the Queen of Contradictions”, an information sharing and discussion of ARCH’s sex worker needs assessment, as well as a workshop on consent by Karen B.K. Chan. The 10 Days will conclude with the 2^nd annual SlutWalk Guelph march at beginning at 1 pm at the Market Square, City Hall. SlutWalk Guelph is a movement that works to challenge victim blaming, slut-shaming, and sexual assault, stating that those who experience sexual assault are never at fault. 

For more information regarding any of these events visit www.gwwomenincrisis.org/ or contact wiceducator@gwwomenincrisis.org for details.

Jessica St. Peter

Public Educator

Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis

Cell: 519-993-5624

Phone: 519-836-1110 ext.234 

TAKE BACK THE NIGHT 2014!!!!!

What does Take Back the Night mean to me?

A world where I can walk home alone at night after school or after work, without fearing what might be hiding in the shadows. A world where I can wear whatever I want without living in fear of inviting unwanted attention. A world where I can be a woman and that can mean whatever I want it to. 

Take Back the Night means that and so much more. This event unites people all over the world for one night to stand up against the fear, oppression and violence that women across the world experience everyday simply because they are women. It gives women a voice in a world where they are constantly being silenced. This night is an opportunity to reclaim the streets, to become empowered and to raise awareness.

For over the past two decades, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis has collaborated with the wider community to make this very important event a reality each and every year. This year, the Take Back the Night march and rally will take place on Thursday, September 25 at 6:30 – 9:00pm. We will meet at Marianne’s Park and march through downtown to City Hall. The park itself was dedicated to Marianne Goulden in 1993 by the city of Guelph. Marianne was one of the first women to stay at the Women in Crisis shelter. She became a volunteer soon after and eventually a staff member for Women in Crisis. On January 21, 1992 Marianne Goulden was stabbed to death by her common law partner, Timothy Weldon, in front of her teenage daughter. 

Violence affects each and every one of us. It can impact us directly if we experience or witness it ourselves. It can impact us indirectly when we watch our friends, loved ones or even acquaintances live through it. And it shapes who we are as women when we are taught from a very young age to not go out after dark, to not dress a certain way, to live and act in a manner that will keep us safe. What is safety if we live in constant fear? What is safety if your partner is the one perpetrating the violence against you? What is safety if our children, our future, continue to witness acts of violence in the home?
I invite you to answer the question then:

What does Take Back the Night mean to you?