November 2007
by Connie Kaweesi, Janet Wagner and Louise Hara
The Coalition for Women’s Economic Advancement
Principal Investigator Dr. Colleen Reid
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Women’s experiences with paid and unpaid work, and with the
formal and informal economies,
have shifted over the last 20 years. In British Columbia, women’s
employability is affected by
government legislation, federal and provincial policy changes, and
local practices. Through using
a feminist action research (FAR) methodology, we examined the relationship
between women’s
employability and health/well-being. We adopted a social model of
health that recognizes the
social, economic, political and cultural determinants of health. We
explored the relationship
between women’s employability and health in four communities
that represent British Columbia’s
social, economic, cultural/ethnic, and geographic diversities. In
each community over the course
of our 2-year project, we established and worked with Advisory Committees,
hired and trained
local researchers, conducted FAR (including a range of qualitative
methods), and supported action
and advocacy. Since the selected communities were diverse, the ways
that the research unfolded
varied between communities. Expected outcomes, such as the provision
of written reports and
resources and the establishment of a website for networking among
the communities, were aimed
at supporting the research participants and Advisory Committee members
in their action efforts.
The
Needs, Trends, and Working Conditions of Sex Workers in Prince George,
British Columbia
Submitted by: Christal Capostinsky
Data Collection by:
Christal Capostinsky, Tina Joyce, Candace Lolly & Sherrice Lucier
A document of Prince George New Hope Society
April 2007
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONTEXT
It is important to note that sex work has inherent choice, meaning
that sex workers control and
negotiate the environment and terms. In Canada, sex work is legal;
however, sections of the
criminal code make it impossible for sex workers to work without legal
repercussions. Raven
Bowen from the BC Coalition of Experiential Communities states, “When
sex work is
criminalized, the ability to verbally and publicly negotiate terms
is taken away (section 213)3 or
the ability to negotiate the environment (section 210)4. This leads
to ambiguity, and shifts control
from the seller to the buyer, who is the one with the money!”
This can perpetuate the cycle of
violence by creating or maintaining “power-over”. Criminalization,
according to Bowen, “also
increases instances of situational violence where customers have expectations
that are not met,
because they haven't been negotiated-only implied”.
The environments for sex work and survival sex are fluid. As environments
and conditions
change, workers find themselves sex workers one minute and survival
workers the next. We
must be aware that it is the environment or the conditions that are
seen as survival, not the
worker! It is important to understand this. More often than not, society
blames the individual
instead of the situation that perpetuates the behaviour (Bowen). Furthermore,
recalling the
definition of the term survival sex, any situation where workers are
not permitted to exercise
choice is a survival situation. It is important for our communities
to ensure that adequate
resources are in place and to create healthier environments, both
on the streets and off the streets,
where workers are able to move from instances of less choice to circumstances
of increased
choice (Bowen). We are at the forefront for creating awareness and
education around sex worker
issues to not only the public, but to the sex workers themselves.
Most women in the sex industry
are not able to exit without social support, addiction treatment,
legal support and economic
alternatives. For women in street level sex work, education and life
skills play a large part in
their success.
Submitted by Lynda Brunen Candidate, BSW and
Submitted to The Northern Secretariat of the BC Centre of Excellence
for Women's Health
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
This
discussion paper is the product of a practicum placement at the Northern
Secretariat of the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health. To
fulfill the requirements of a bachelor degree in Social Work, UNBC
student Lynda Brunen chose to learn about the research process.
Under
the supervision of Northern Secretariat Coordinator Dr. Theresa Healy,
Lynda
undertook to: 1) define and develop a viable research question in
women's health, 2) identify and assess some relevant literature, and
3) provide recommendations for further research. In this paper she
synthesizes available material to explore racism in health care. In
particular she examines the ways in which First Nations women who
misuse substances are triply marginalized in the health care system,
and the devastating implications of this.
As
a result, this paper delineates a significant, poorly understood and
under researched problem in health care delivery. Lynda's ground work
provides a basis from which to launch further research with potentially
significant outcomes.
Lynda
has recently been hired to help develop the first youth detox centre
in British Columbia, here in Prince George. This work, demands not
only the practical skills of a social worker, but also the analytical
skills of a researcher.
By Annette J. Browne with Jo-Anne Fiske and
Geraldine Thomas for the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for
Women's Health
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
This
investigation of First Nations women’s encounters with mainstream
health care services was carried out in a small reserve community
in northern British Columbia. A qualitative research design was used,
comprising a series of two interviews each with 10 First Nation women.
Women
described their encounters with health care services under broad categories
of invalidating or affirming. Although this report examines invalidating
encounters in greater detail than affirming encounters, the discrepancy
reflects the emphasis provided by the research participants. Both
types of encounters are described along with their influences, and
policy implications are raised and listed in the authors’ conclusions.
The women’s stories may be read as illustrations of the broader
social, economic and political forces at work influencing the lives
of First Nations women in relation to the dominant social systems.
A
second phase report on this research will examine in greater detail
recommendations for change and possible alternative strategies to
address the issues raised in this phase.
By Lynda Anderson, Theresa Healy, Barbara
Herringer, Barbara Isaac, and Ty Perry for the British
Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Three
primary research questions guided our investigation into lesbians’
experiences of the formal health care system in northern British Columbia.
First, how do lesbians describe their experiences of formal (allopathic)
health care services? Second, what barriers do they experience? Third,
how do lesbians negotiate these barriers and address their health
and wellness needs inside and outside of the formal health care system?
This
qualitative study illuminates the impact of the anti-lesbian/anti-gay
social climate of the north and its permeation into health care services.
For lesbians living in this context, considerations of personal safety
and personal freedom are intricately intertwined with health. Significant
changes are needed in services and in the community at large to bring
down the barriers that obstruct lesbians’ access to health care.
This
report documents a uniquely collaborative participatory action research
process that blurred conventional boundaries between researcher and
researched and has led to social action initiated by participants.
Prepared by Jessica R. Madrid, RN, BScN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Planning from Strength, a project designed
to empower and motivate northern British Columbian women to identify
and implement healthcare initiatives to address the unique health
care needs of their communities and the larger health region, was
a project that developed from a collective vision of many northern
women.
This qualitative research, constructed to occur in two distinct phases
(Planning from Strength and Mobilizing from Strength), consisted of
the conduction of focus groups in six northern communities: Fort Nelson,
Fort St. James, Mackenzie, Prince George, Quesnel, and the Robson
Valley (Dunster, McBride, and Valemont). After the preliminary data
collection occurred, a final session was held in Prince George, where
a representative from each community attended on behalf of the group
to participate in validation of the research findings and the data
analysis. Then, based on the objectives of this research, the themes
identified with the community representatives, and the additional
findings of this research, several recommendations for the Mobilizing
from Strength segment of this research were identified by the group.
The Planning from Strength project revealed
that amidst the challenges of northern living, women within the northern
health region were highly resourceful in designing initiatives to
address women’s health and wellness. This research discovered
that in addition to the promotion of the women’s centered model
of care, what northern women required the most was support in their
present endeavors to enhance local women’s health and wellness
and to have the importance of northern women’s health acknowledged.
Spinning
a Northern Web: Women Using Information and Communication Technology
to Network For Health And Wellness
By Christina McLennan, BSW,
MSW
Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree Of Master of Social Work - University Of Northern British Columbia
ABSTRACT
This case study explores women’s experiences
using information and communication technology (ICT) to address women’s
health concerns in northern, rural and remote communities in British
Columbia. Incorporating features of collaborative, action research
methodology, an online focus group structure was created for 12 women
from across northern BC to interact with one another and undertake
internet-based activities.
The setting for the study was the primarily internet-based Women
North Network (WNN) which, within a health promotion framework, seeks
to build community by strengthening connections between women across
the North and supports information sharing, action and the development
of joint social and health-related research and policy initiatives.
The WNN utilizes ICT as a means to overcome geographic isolation through
the online components of email, a publicly accessible website and
a password protected Online Gathering Space supported through WebCT
– a distributive learning tool used to provide post-secondary
off-campus education. Through their experience using the WNN online
components, study participants offer an understanding of what is practical
and meaningful for women using ICT and provide an account of what
supports and prevents their access to and participation in the WNN.
Findings suggest that through encountering supportive relationships
which build a sense of community leading to concrete action women
will become engaged in using ICT. Increased access to up-to-date computers,
high-speed internet and the skills to use them effectively are also
essential. Findings further suggest that by embracing the power of
ICT and networks such as the WNN, social work and other health promotion
professions will have greater ability to include diverse communities
in influencing and developing social and health policy and service
delivery in northern, rural and remote communities.
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