Blog

Demanding Accountability from our Police

WAVAW is participating in Vancouver DTES Cop Watch’s Anti Police Brutality Rally on the International Day Against Police Brutality (March 15).  We are demanding accountability from our police. We expect better from the institution charged with working for our safety. We know the police are the coercive arm of the state on this unceded Coast […]

We can do better: Violence against women in film and TV

WAVAW’s Victim Services Medical Support Worker and Counsellor, Arlana Green, joined the panel on Portrayals of Violence Against Women in Film and Television at Women in Film and Television‘s International Women’s Day event. Thanks to the organizers for posing great questions and thanks to Angela, Hilla, Natalie and Jarrah for a wonderful discussion!  Arlana and […]

Our Decolonizing Practice

Recently during a staff workshop on Fat Oppression, the facilitator Kalamity acknowledged that we were gathering on unceded Coast Salish Territory. As an organization delivering workshops, speeches, trainings, etc. in the community WAVAW always does this as well. However Kalamity did something different afterwards, she asked us WHY it was important to acknowledge that this […]

Rape Culture in Politics

Speech from the January 29th “Is Rape Culture in Politics?” panel. My name is Irene-Tsepnopoulos-Elhaimer and I am the Executive Director at Women Against Violence Against Women Rape Crisis Centre, WAVAW. I came to feminism by way of my being a student at Concordia in Montreal in 1989 during the Montreal Massacre. This event changed my […]

Reclaiming Consent : Resisting Individualism

WAVAW’s speech at the November 22nd March to Reclaim Consent We’re here tonight to Reclaim Consent.  Let’s first Remind ourselves to acknowledge that historically consent has been an important tool of feminist legal reform.  We also want to acknowledge that consent cannot be the only response to sexualized violence.  Consent must happen in the absence of […]

SlutWalk Vancouver: A march to end rape culture

Guest post by SlutWalk Vancouver 2013 SlutWalk Vancouver is a march to end rape culture. Our march this year is on June 2nd, at 12pm starting at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Our focus is to end victim-blaming and slut-shaming of sexual assault victims. Recently the national media has focused on bullying as a pervasive issue […]

Women and Allies Call for Safe, Affordable Housing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

The brilliant autumn sun came out for the sixth annual Women’s Housing March on Saturday, September 15th—along with hundreds of demonstrators.  I joined up with a handful of WAVAW colleagues who were carrying our agency’s banner; we found ourselves surrounded by homemade signs emblazoned with calls to improve the quality and accessibility of housing in […]