Our deepest condolences to the family, friends and teachers of Amanda Todd. WAVAW had the opportunity to connect with Amanda’s school, teachers and classmates last year when we facilitated our Raise It Up! Youth Program at CABE.

The violence Amanda and many other young people today experience needs to be stopped. Collectively we really need to start examining the structures that cause this violence. Anti-violence work is urgent and relevant everywhere in our society, it is especially vital in secondary schools, where the highly gendered nature of violence is often obscured by all-encompassing terminology. The term ―bullying for example, can mask sexism, racism, homophobia, and violent crimes like sexual assault. We urge parents, teachers, students and all community members to work towards stopping this violence by dealing with its underpinnings.