In 1973, on the tail end of feminismB次元官网网址檚 second wave, five womenB次元官网网址檚 shelters opened in four provinces across Canada, unbeknownst to each other. Violence against women in all its forms B次元官网网址� emotional, physical, sexual B次元官网网址� was rampant, keeping women from all walks of life in toxic relationships for lack of a place to go.
Former journalist and local writer Margo Goodhand, in her new book not only provides a definitive account of the history of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first five shelters in Toronto, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Aldergrove and Vancouver, but traces the root of the issue all the way back to the womenB次元官网网址檚 suffrage movement.
While the chorus today is saying #MeToo, Goodhand prompts the ask, B次元官网网址渨hy, stillB次元官网网址�?
What came before ? tells us at the launch of her book
B次元官网网址� Kristyn Anthony (@allovthethings)
Following the stories cross-country, Goodhand and her sister, Joyce B次元官网网址� who helped found the first shelter in Swift Current, Sask. in 1989 B次元官网网址� tracked down the women responsible for the movement over 40 years ago.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 ashamed to say I knew nothing about domestic abuse or womenB次元官网网址檚 shelters in 2011,B次元官网网址� Goodhand says of the year she started working on the book, a lifelong dream. B次元官网网址淚 wanted to tell a good story and a true story and I wanted it to be about women.B次元官网网址�
The former editor-in-chief of the Winnipeg Free Press and the Edmonton Journal, who now lives in Victoria, started the book in 2011, but B次元官网网址渟helvedB次元官网网址� it below her desk for a few years before diving back in when she left the news business.
B次元官网网址淭his wasnB次元官网网址檛 my story, it was theirs,B次元官网网址� she adds of the 25 women she and Joyce spoke to. B次元官网网址淚 was so scared to tell it, in a way. I wasnB次元官网网址檛 there, and I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to recreate scenes I wasnB次元官网网址檛 there for.B次元官网网址�
She sent early drafts to all 25 women, expecting a slew of corrections to flood her inbox, but nothing arrived.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think we understood what we were getting into,B次元官网网址� says Janet Currie, who in 1973 was working in a menB次元官网网址檚 prison in Abbotsford when she got a call asking if she could help a small group open a space for women in the Fraser Valley.
B次元官网网址淲e rented a tiny house in ultra conservative Aldergrove. It was kind of an odd place to start it, but it was a really cheap place to rent a house,B次元官网网址� she remembers. B次元官网网址淲e were learning as we went.B次元官网网址�
In 1974, also opened the cityB次元官网网址檚 first emergency shelter in an aging home, too small and in need of repair, but a step in the right direction. More than 40 years later, 50 staff and 70 volunteers are still running the house.
Funding was and still is a difficult road. The original five shelters were mostly made possible by grants available through Pierre TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 Liberal government. When Stephen HarperB次元官网网址檚 Conservatives took power in 2006, they not only slashed access to much of the funding these shelters relied on, they closed 12 of the countryB次元官网网址檚 16 Status of Women offices in 2007.
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Participating in the research for GoodhandB次元官网网址檚 book enabled Currie to reconnect with many of the women she worked with all those years ago. While frustrated that shelters like the one she started are still necessary in 2018, she was thrilled that someone felt their early work was important enough to finally write about it.
B次元官网网址淲hy is it that women find it so difficult to talk about their accomplishments?B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淢argo was great about saying this is real, and itB次元官网网址檚 really bad that it hasnB次元官网网址檛 been recognized.B次元官网网址�
The bookB次元官网网址檚 release in fall 2017, was pushed up from January 2018 as #MeToo gained traction. Goodhand thought sheB次元官网网址檇 put a book into the hands of a world revelling in the victory of the first female American president. Instead, the irony is that Donald Trump has kickstarted something more profound, she says.
B次元官网网址淭he womenB次元官网网址檚 movement is so fractured,B次元官网网址� Goodhand says. B次元官网网址淲ith this book I was kind of hoping people would at least not disparage the second wavers as much as they have. I hate watching women eat each other.B次元官网网址�
In her research, Goodhand was inspired by a common narrative of women eating and cooking and living together B次元官网网址� those in need and those in charge. Both sides learned from one other, because the women who ran those shelters for 20 years poured their heart and soul into it, she says.
And thatB次元官网网址檚 what Currie remembers.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the most wonderful things about women is their enjoyment in working on projects together and that was a huge reward in what we did, the solidarity.B次元官网网址�
