How to Talk to Your Teen About Healthy Relationships

2017-12-19T17:05:01+00:00May 16, 2016|Empowering girls, Gender-based violence, Posters, Sexual abuse, SHE Magazine|

Mom and son laughingEvery parent has those moments when we’re suddenly reminded how quickly our child is growing up: the first step, the first tooth, the first time they walk to school without us. For many parents, one of the most challenging milestones is realizing our child is interested in “romance” and dating. The best way to prepare them—and protect them—is to teach them how to build strong, healthy relationships.

Our children learn about relationships every day, simply by observing the world around them.  As Director of Violence Prevention at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, I can tell you that most of what they see is not good. Throughout their lifetime, the average child in Canada will witness thousands of examples of unhealthy relationships— at school, on social media, in celebrity gossip magazines, music videos, movies, and TV. If we don’t teach our children about relationships someone else will, and we won’t like the results!

The Big Question: What’s your dream for women and girls in Canada?

2017-12-19T17:05:59+00:00May 15, 2016|SHE Magazine|

Question markFor the spring 2016 issue of SHE magazine, we invited attendees at our Breakfasts in Toronto and Calgary to share their dreams for women and girls in Canada.

We put the question out there because at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, we have our own dream. It’s that Canada will lead the world by creating the first generation to experience real gender equality. We call this dream GEN1, and it means that:

  • Women and girls live free from violence
  • Women and girls have equal economic opportunity
  • Men and women alike practise inclusive leadership, which is collaborative and respects diversity.

Edelman Gets Consent

2016-05-14T13:00:28+00:00May 14, 2016|Gender-based violence, Sexual abuse, SHE Magazine, Women in media|

Edelman teamThe challenge: Create a thought-provoking campaign about sexual consent that grabs young people’s attention and gets shared across Canada. In six weeks. With a slim budget.

While many would balk at such a proposition, public relations firm Edelman took it on. They created the award-winning Get Consent campaign for the Canadian Women’s Foundation and surpassed all expectations.

“It was an opportunity to help shape awareness about consent and challenge people’s thinking,” says Erin Jacobson, Vice-President, Digital Public Affairs at Edelman in Toronto.