Blog

Seriously, Supreme Court? A Woman’s Credibility Still Depends on What She’s Wearing?

By Alana Prochuk, WAVAW’s Campus Anti-Violence Initiative Coordinator In a split decision, Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that judges must determine on a case-by-case basis whether a witness can testify while wearing a veil across her face for religious reasons.  The need to establish witness “credibility” was cited as factor that might lead a judge […]

We Will Be Watching

We will be watching how this Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Report really makes change for women on the ground. How are men going to change how they value Aboriginal women? How are Aboriginal women going to be treated differently by each individual? How are the systems going to change to value Aboriginal women, marginalized […]

What are the benefits of this whistle?

For a few years now, I have been hearing that universities have been handing out “rape whistles” to students on campus. Specifically, mainly first year students are encouraged, even by professors, to make sure and get a rape whistle. What are the benefits of this whistle? Well you can make a loud piercing noise in […]

WAVAW: still as relevant and necessary as in 1983

I am once again very pleased to report on the successes of WAVAW this past year. It is always a challenge and a delicate balancing act to move an organization forward that is focused both on providing direct essential services to women and youth, and on pushing for social change. This is even more difficult […]

In Memory of Bayush Araya Hagos, 1954-2011

A special Thank You to the Bayush Hagos Memorial Fund for their kind donation to WAVAW in honour of Bayush Araya Hagos. Bayush was a caring and dedicated community support worker. She worked with the Vancouver and Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services for 19 years, supporting battered women and marginalized people to find housing […]