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A few weeks ago I went to London with a few girls from my school as we attended The Girl Conference held by The White Tiger Company. The conference was filled with several main topics that included:
- A Girl's Right to Stay Safe
- Drug Induced Sexual Assault
- Sexual Assault Awareness Skills
- Preventing Date Rape
- Growing up with Domestic Violence
and - Healthy Dating Relationships
The White Tiger Company teaches women's self-defence. They started to have 'girl' conferences around Ontario to raise awareness about violence against women, and empower women with education on healthy relationships, saftey, and effective ways to protect theirselves against violence.
This girl conference was made as a commemoration for the 14 women tragically killed on Dec. 6th of 1989 at Ecole Polytechnique. On that day, those 14 women were shot to death by one man, who hated women. He actually yelled "you're all a bunch of feminist! And I hate feminists!" After these murders he then decided to end his own life as well.
This tragedy sparked a campaign called the White Ribbon Campaign, which is reflective of the violence against women that takes place in our communities.
At the girl conference there were a couple speakers who bravely shared their personal experiences of violence and abuse. These stories were unbelievable and hit the audience hard in the heart. One women shared her experience about being kidnapped, raped and stabbed - a traumatic event that has effected the rest of her life; and the other speaker shared her history of domestic violence and having to witness it growing up.
Since the White Tiger group is a self-defence group, one of the other presentations was a woman senior instructor, who taught us a few handy self defense moves. She showed us how to get out of a choke hold, areas to aim for during an attack , and stances to take while being confronted with violence. Although this teaching is very important and serious, the instructor made it fun and exciting. I myself would love to enroll in some classes; and in fact soon enough I will.
Finally, the day closed with two singer-songwriters who played keyboard and sang. Not only were their performances beautiful, but they were very original and inspiring. They gave a strong message to the women who participated in the conference, so that we could leave with a sense of power and understanding, rather than pain and hurt that was felt at other times during the conference.
Overall this was another great experience for me, and my fellow school mates. I know that I felt like a stronger woman when I left the room; and a luckier one at that, and I'm sure all the women felt a little better, too. So to The White Tiger Group, and The Girl Conference, thank you -for educating young women, to empowering them.
At the girl conference there were a couple speakers who bravely shared their personal experiences of violence and abuse. These stories were unbelievable and hit the audience hard in the heart. One women shared her experience about being kidnapped, raped and stabbed - a traumatic event that has effected the rest of her life; and the other speaker shared her history of domestic violence and having to witness it growing up.
Since the White Tiger group is a self-defence group, one of the other presentations was a woman senior instructor, who taught us a few handy self defense moves. She showed us how to get out of a choke hold, areas to aim for during an attack , and stances to take while being confronted with violence. Although this teaching is very important and serious, the instructor made it fun and exciting. I myself would love to enroll in some classes; and in fact soon enough I will.
Finally, the day closed with two singer-songwriters who played keyboard and sang. Not only were their performances beautiful, but they were very original and inspiring. They gave a strong message to the women who participated in the conference, so that we could leave with a sense of power and understanding, rather than pain and hurt that was felt at other times during the conference.
Overall this was another great experience for me, and my fellow school mates. I know that I felt like a stronger woman when I left the room; and a luckier one at that, and I'm sure all the women felt a little better, too. So to The White Tiger Group, and The Girl Conference, thank you -for educating young women, to empowering them.
