1 in 10 women aged 15-24 experience sexual assault and 3 in 10 are emotionally, psychologically, and/or emotionally abused by a partner. Women from visible minorities experience higher rates of domestic violence: According to the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces: 29% of women belonging to an ethno-cultural group designated as a visible minority reported experiencing some kind of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. In a recent study of Two-Spirit women, 78% of the women had been physically assaulted and 85% were sexually assaulted.

What are the factors that may contribute to gender-based violence?

Gender Based Violence is NOT a women’s issue! We are talking about basic human rights! We want every women to know, that you deserve a life of respect, dignity and freedom. You are powerful, appreciated and loved.

My dad keeps hurting me and compares me with other people of my age, I hate it, I'm depressed

What are some ways to end gender based violence? According to UN Women, it will take 99.5 years in order to achieve gender equality. Despite this, there are various way we can make this process a bit sooner. Plan International has a list of 16 ways we can end gender violence. Some of them include raising awareness, challenge yourself and speak up, listen to other people experiences, engage boys and men, etc. There are numerous ways you can participate in making a change!!! Just believe in yourself and use your voice, because it’s beautiful !!

Trauma responses are triggered unconsciously to protect us and this is why they are so misunderstood. Nobody wants to deliberately betray their wants and needs in an attempt to be loved and accepted, nobody wants to be on constant alert to threat, nobody wants to consistently pass out after substance abuse as a way to avoid life. What we want is to feel a deep trust in our safety and to connect with others from a place of acceptance. These trauma responses can be activated everyday at varying levels and usually result in people feeling ashamed or ‘wrong’ - and this is on top of everything else!