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Colour of Violence booklist

Nov 30, 2021 | 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence

Drawing on the foundational work of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, BWSS is undertaking a multi-year Colour of Violence project to examine the intersections of race and gender for Black, Indigenous, migrant/refugee, racialized women and gender diverse people experiencing gender-based violence in British Columbia.

Massy Books has created a booklist in honour of Colour of Violence, and to highlight the experiences of Black, Indigenous, immigrant/refugee, racialized, queer and trans survivors of violence.

Colour of Violence booklist

Colour of Violence booklist selection: Invisible No More Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color Andrea Ritchie

Invisible No More

Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color

Andrea Ritchie

Colour of Violence booklist selection: They said this would be fun by Eternity Martis

They Said This Would Be Fun

Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up

Eternity Martis  

Colour of Violence booklist selection: Color of Violence The INCITE! Anthology

Color of Violence

The INCITE! Anthology

INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence 

Colour of Violence booklist selection: Atmospheres of Violence

Atmospheres of Violence

Structuring Antagonism and the Trans/Queer Ungovernable

Eric A Stanley

Colour of Violence booklist selection: On Violence and On Violence Against Women

On Violence and On Violence Against Women

Jacqueline Rose

Colour of Violence booklist selection: Assume Nothing A Story of Intimate Violence Tanya Selvaratnam

Assume Nothing

A Story of Intimate Violence

Tanya Selvaratnam

Colour of Violence booklist selection: We Have Always Been Here

We Have Always Been Here

A Queer Muslim Memoir

Samra Habib

Colour of Violence booklist selection: The Fire Now Anti-Racist Scholarship in Times of Explicit Racial Violence

The Fire Now

Anti-Racist Scholarship in Times of Explicit Racial Violence

Remi Joseph-Salisbury, Azeezat Johnson, Beth Kamung

Women and Gendered Violence in Canada An Intersectional Approach

Women and Gendered Violence in Canada

An Intersectional Approach

Chris Bruckert, Tuulia Law

I'm Afraid of Men Vivek Shraya

I’m Afraid of Men

Vivek Shraya

The End of Policing Alex S Vitale

The End of Policing

Alex S Vitale

Keetsahnak / Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters Kim Anderson, Maria Campbell, Christi Belcourt

Keetsahnak

Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters

Kim Anderson, Maria Campbell, Christi Belcourt

Written on the Body Letters from Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Lexie Bean, Dean Spade, Nyala Moon

Written on the Body

Letters from Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

Lexie Bean, Dean Spade, Nyala Moon

Violent Borders Refugees and the Right to Move Reece Jones

Violent Borders

Refugees and the Right to Move

Reece Jones

Violence Against Indigenous Women Indigenous Studies Allison Hargreaves

Violence Against Indigenous Women

Literature | Activism | Resistance

Allison Hargreaves

Evicted Poverty and Profit in the American City Matthew Desmond

Evicted

Poverty and Profit in the American City

Matthew Desmond

Colour of Violence booklist selection Queering Sexual Violence - Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement Jennifer Patterson

Queering Sexual Violence

Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement

Jennifer Patterson

Violence against Queer People Race, Class, Gender, and the Persistence of Anti-LGBT Discrimination Doug Meyer

Violence against Queer People

Race, Class, Gender, and the Persistence of Anti-LGBT Discrimination

Doug Meyer

Colour of Violence booklist selection: Stolen Sisters The Story of Two Missing Girls, Their Families, and How Canada Has Failed Indigenous Women Emmanuelle Walter

Stolen Sisters

The Story of Two Missing Girls, Their Families, and How Canada Has Failed Indigenous Women

Emmanuelle Walter

Trauma and Recovery

Trauma and Recovery

The Aftermath of Violence–From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

Judith Lewis Herman

Yellow Peril! An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear John Kuo Wei Tchen, Dylan Yeats

Yellow Peril!

An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear

John Kuo Wei Tchen, Dylan Yeats

Event tonight: Youth Survivors and Dating Violence

Nov 25, 2021 | 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence

Youth Survivors and Dating Violence: Let’s all Recognize the Signs
Event Tonight Nov 25th, 2021

Youth Survivors and Dating Violence – Let’s all Recognize the Signs

To launch the international campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, 2021, we are delighted to invite you to this event.

Eternity Martis is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author

This event features Eternity Martis – Eternity Martis is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author whose debut memoir, They Said This Would Be Fun, was a “Best Book of the Year” pick by Globe and Mail, Apple, Audible, and Chapters/Indigo. CBC called the book one of “20 moving Canadian memoirs to read right now” and PopSugar named it one of “5 Books About Race on College Campuses Every Student Should Read.” This year, They Said This Would Be Fun won the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Non-Fiction.

Intimate partner violence in high school and on university campuses is an everyday occurrence—still, there is so little recognition of the prevalence and very little discussion about it.

Eternity Martis’ keynote will highlight the prevalence of dating violence, the experiences of young women, femmes, and non-binary people, and what high schools and universities can do to address it.

More information and registration at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/youth-survivors-and-dating-violence-lets-all-recognize-the-signs-tickets-211820459697

The event will also be livestreamed on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/BWSSendingviolence

Please also read this important thread by Eternity Martis for last year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women:

How did we do?

If you attended this event tonight, please take a moment and let us know your thoughts. We are always looking for constructive feedback to improve the support we provide to our community! Thank you for participating, this feedback will influence future BWSS events.

Take our short event survey here

Some Women Can’t

Nov 5, 2018 | 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence, Battered Women's Support Services

You Can Just Walk Away, Some Women Can’t.

BWSS creates interactive TSA to simulate the experience of being trapped in an abusive relationship.

One of the most violent times in an abusive relationship is when the woman tries to leave. In fact, in intimate partner violence cases, more than 70 percent of injuries and murders happen after the woman leaves. Every year more than 30,000 women and children are affected by intimate partner violence in British Columbia, with one woman killed every week in Canada.

On November 2nd, 2018, BWSS built an interactive Transit Shelter Advertisement (TSA) that allowed the public to step into the shoes of a woman experiencing violence by their intimate partner. What appears at first glance to be a nondescript apartment door is actually a digital peephole into the frightening world of gender based violence. Reminding us that while we can walk away from the door, some women can’t.

The public one-day stunt is part of BWSS 2018 campaign launching the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Each year BWSS creates various initiatives during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence to raise awareness of the issue and encourage the public to donate and take action to end violence against women and girls. Stay tuned for the full campaign launch November 25th, 2018.

The campaign, so far, has received outstanding media coverage and shares through social media, click the links below to discover more about the TSA

 

The Simi Sara Show -CKNW – Video installation works to show how it is difficult to ‘just walk away’ from domestic abuse

 

 

City TV News –Interactive bus ad gives glimpse into abusive relationships

 

 

CBC News –Video installation captures ‘fear and sense of threat’ faced by domestic abuse victims

 

 

 

CBC Radio – On The Coast –BWSS set up a jarring installation at a bus shelter in North Vancouver to help people understand what it can be like for women experiencing domestic abuse.

 

 

cbc news twitter

News 1130 Facebook

 

 

International Human Rights Day

Dec 10, 2015 | 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence, Events, Immigrant Women, Indigenous Women, Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

International Human Rights Day

Resisting the Backlash Against Women’s Human Rights

by Ela Esra Gunad

December 10th is International Human Rights Day, a day to bring attention to the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that states each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights which belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values. It was sixty-six years ago that this milestone document in the history of human rights, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), was adopted.

Where are we as a global community at today in terms of the rights of women?

Every day, all over the world, women and girls continue to face violence and abuse in their homes, schools, workplaces, online, and on the streets. Globally one in three women has experienced abuse or subjected to gender-based violence in their lives.  Here in Canada, every six days a woman is killed by her intimate partner. Women are facing this violence simply because they are women. There are currently 1,181 missing and murdered  Indigenous women and girls throughout Canada due to the historical and present day systemic and social oppressive forces.

Throughout history and still today, there has been an ongoing battle on women’s bodies during times of conflict and war.  In Rwanda, between 100,000 and 250,000 women were raped during the three months of Rwandan Genocide in 1994. According to the UN agencies, more than 60,000 women were raped during the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), more than 40,000 in Liberia (1989-2003), up to 60,000 in the former Yugoslavia (1992-1995), and at least 200,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998. And, the history repeats itself today from Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iraq to Syria. Even in the absence of conflict or war, being a woman in these regions is being on continual alert of being harmed or killed. It cannot be ignored that during waves of militarization threaten women’s lives all the more.  Women have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, physically abused, harassed, and tortured in ways you may not even want to imagine.

Living free from violence is a human right, yet millions of women and girls face this violence both in times of peace and in war, at the hands of the state, in the home, and in the community. A vast number of women experience forced migration and have to leave their homelands in order to escape gendered systemic violence including gender oppression, gender persecution, political persecution, femicide, war, economic violence, land theft, and the impacts of colonization and globalization. We know through our support and advocacy work at Battered Women’s Support Services, migrant women have always faced structural barriers and there are many inequalities that migrant women face within Canada’s economic, social, legal, and political systems. It is crucial to understand that human rights are linked to each other and these inequalities often deny the basic rights of migrant women and their families. Freedom of movement and residence within any country is a human right, yet migrant women’s lives continue to be threatened by unsafe alternatives that force them to flee their countries, and once they make it into Canada the immigration process makes them even more vulnerable to further violence by the state, by employers, and within their relationships.

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Violence is one of the most common causes of homelessness for women and children. Our work on homelessness and violence against women shows that women leave their homes because of physical and/or sexual violence. On any given day in Canada, over 8,200 women and children are living in emergency shelters and transition houses to escape violent partners. Every woman and her children are entitled to safe, affordable, and adequate housing, yet many women face homelessness and/or further violence as a result of that. BWSS works very hard to get women into social housing and we know the demand supersedes the available resources.  One women’s shelter reported turning away eight to ten women per day at both of the shelters it operates. At BWSS we know many women with children will do almost anything to avoid sleeping on the streets out of fear of losing their children. With no place to go and not wanting to lose their children, many women stay in the abusive relationship.

This reality will not change until we each own our role in ending violence and do what is in our power to advocate and act ( activism ) to end gender-based violence. Women around the globe are rising against the pandemic of gender based violence, standing in their power, mobilizing and organizing to end all forms of violence against women and girls. From Indigenous women warriors’ who took to social media with #IAmNotNext campaign to women survivors who are standing in their power and coming forward with #WhyIStayed, #WhyILeft, and #WhyIChooseNowtoTellMyStory hashtags; from women of the Arab Spring who carried their voices far and wide on the winds of revolution to women in Nigeria who started #BringBackOurGirls campaign to demand the return of hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian girls.

As it has been said, ending violence against women and girls remains one of the most crucial social issue to be obtained, since it weakens all other efforts towards a future just society. To come to grips with today’s most prevalent human rights violations in world, we have to work together towards a world in which women are safe and free everywhere from their very own intimate environments to the wider world at all times.

In the past 35 years, BWSS has been working on this frontline to end violence against women and making a positive change in the lives of girls, women, families, and communities.

On this International Human Rights Day, we ask you to take an effective action to stop violence against women. We need you to create a future free from violence for all.

Use your power today to end violence against women by:

 

Read more about our 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign:

International Day to End Violence Against Women in Canada

Culture Shifts Recognized as Women’s Group Commemorates 35 years of Work to End Violence Against Women

Women’s Leadership for One Future Without Violence

The Dynamics of Power and Control After Separation in Relation to the Family Law Processes

16 Steps for Discovery and Empowerment 

Decolonizing and Healing Through Ceremonies

The Power of Support Groups at BWSS

Volunteering on BWSS Crisis and Intake Line

Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group

A Space for Every Woman to Grow

If you could do something to end violence against girls and women, wouldn’t you?

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Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group

Dec 8, 2014 | 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence, Battered Women's Support Services, BWSS Programs

by Kay Carlson

When you sit or lie very still you feel it, the life-giving beating of your heart. The beating of First Nation hand drums, made from hides of animals that also had beating hearts, merge with the heartbeats of the circle of First Nations women who come together every week to drum and sing as our ancestors have done for thousands of years. We are the Wildflower Drum Group of the Women of Turtle Island a program of Battered Women’s Support Services Indigenous Women’s Program.

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The drumming and singing as a community of women always leaves us feeling better, no matter what problems we arrived with. How can such a simple act be so healing? Our Grandmothers knew that drumming and singing together is excellent medicine. They did not know the science why this is so, but they experienced the healing benefits. Every generation taught the next generation the songs and the importance of the circle of women as a community.

Today’s modern technology has shed light onto the many reasons the ancient ceremony of drumming circles is beneficial to health. In the growing field of energy medicine, it is well known that the Universe is created through patterns of frequency. Science is now documenting what traditional healers have known for centuries. Everything that exists in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms does so on a vibratory basis. Vibrations are essential to life, and the frequency of vibrations of the molecules in a human form affects the health of the person. When we sing, the vibrations within us are improved. And healing vibrations from the drums reverberate through us, improving our sense of wellbeing. We regain our strength and sing loud and proud. Our voices join together as a vital unifying force.

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The Wildflower Drum Group forms a caring community, concerned for the welfare of every woman in the circle. Our immune systems benefit when we laugh together, as shown in recent research. And when one in the group is in physical or emotional pain, we reach out to comfort her and let her know she is not alone.

The ancient practice of drumming and singing together is needed more than ever in our isolated consumeristic western lifestyle. Our children need to learn the songs and be given opportunities to form drumming circles for their good health. So let us take up our drums and sing together from our hearts. A circle of loving, healing hearts.

 

Read more about our 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign:

International Day to End Violence Against Women in Canada

Culture Shifts Recognized as Women’s Group Commemorates 35 years of Work to End Violence Against Women

Women’s Leadership for One Future Without Violence

The Dynamics of Power and Control After Separation in Relation to the Family Law Processes

16 Steps for Discovery and Empowerment 

Decolonizing and Healing Through Ceremonies

The Power of Support Groups at BWSS

 

If you could do something to end violence against girls and women, wouldn’t you?

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16 Steps for Discovery and Empowerment

Dec 1, 2014 | 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence, BWSS Programs, Events

by Daniela Escolar and Emma Ellison, Support Group Facilitators

 “Each step helped me look at my past life and understand what do I needed to do for my recovery.  People’s stories about me don’t fit anymore my internal story anymore.”

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This Fall 2014 BWSS began a new session of our 16 Steps for Discovery and Empowerment support group. Based on the 16-step model developed by Charlotte Kasl, this group offers a self-affirming, wholistic, and empowering approach to support women on their journeys of self-discovery, personal growth, and working through the impact of violence.

This group is designed to support women in finding more safety and power in their lives, expand their definition of self beyond the stigmatized definitions they may be carrying, understand internalized oppression, validate positive survival intentions underlying addictive behaviours, and explore preferred ways to meet these needs.

“I received compassion for my struggles. Gained more insight and self-awareness about why I think and act the way I do so I’m less confused and ashamed of my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors”

Women participating in the group shared that they hoped to find a space for open-minded and open-hearted conversations, develop their skills for coping with the impacts of trauma, and develop tools for managing behaviors that are no longer helpful.  Women also hoped to develop new tools to cope with feelings of pain, fear, stress, and oppression and increase their confidence, self-love, and personal power.

“It was a relief to be listened to without judgment and not being ‘rescued’.”

“I felt free to be vulnerable, becoming more and more comfortable with being myself, and being at the place where I’m at in this moment in my life.”

Every group begins with each participant sharing something new or positive that she did over the past week.  In celebrating these often unacknowledged acts of personal power in their daily lives, women affirm each other’s and their own strength and creativity.  Each week, participants discuss one step and explore how it relates to their lives and how it fits with their own sense of internal wisdom. Together, the participants and facilitators foster a flexible, creative, and open space for women to think for themselves and find their own path to healing and empowerment.

“The most important thing for me was that I’m allowed to affirm that I (we) will have the power to take charge of my (our) life (lives) and stop being dependent on other people for my (our) self-esteem and security.”

The 16 Step approach views women in their wholeness – mind, body, spirit, and within a social context – and holds each woman’s inner voice as the ultimate source of wisdom.  We start from the perspective that each woman is the expert in her own life, with innate knowledge, creativity, and skills to support her healing and guide her journey.

“I feel lighter, more aware of myself and hopeful in my journey.”

For many women, this is new and refreshing approach to healing from abuse and working through addictions.  Their skills for surviving trauma under oppressive and harmful conditions have often been overlooked, devalued, shamed, and stigmatized by mental health systems, treatment programs, society, and religion.  The 16 Step model offers a strength-based approach for women to understand themselves, their experiences, and their skills for navigating the world around them, which challenges dominant stories of guilt, personal blame, and condemnation.  Recognizing the amazing creativity and abilities that women have used in order to survive horrendous trauma brings a whole new perspective to stigmatized addictive behaviours such as substance use.

“I can put shame and guilt down and walk away from it.”

Women have shared that attending this group impacted them positively. The group helped them to validate and learn to love themselves; it normalized their experience; helped them to leave behind guilt and shame, understanding that they have done the very best that they knew in order to survive; process grief; have more compassion and understanding for themselves; reconnect with their bodies and with their chosen spirituality; and start healing broken relationships and feel hope.

For more information and/or to join 16 Steps for Discovery and Empowerment support group, please call 604.687.1867 or email daniela@bwss.org.

BWSS 16 Steps POSTER JAN14-2014

Read more about our 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign:

International Day to End Violence Against Women in Canada

Culture Shifts Recognized as Women’s Group Commemorates 35 years of Work to End Violence Against Women

Women’s Leadership for One Future Without Violence

The Dynamics of Power and Control After Separation in Relation to the Family Law Processes

Intrinsic to women’s empowerment, support groups at BWSS are made possible with the financial contributions from people like you.

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