Several
women went on to take leadership positions in neighbourhood
coalitions
like "Breaking the Silence Against Violence Against Women" and the Downtown
Eastside Women's March held annually on Valentine's Day for the missing or
murdered women. These women conferred with the WAG at WISH and brought
information about the strategies organizations were taking together. In February
2003, many women from WISH assisted in the Women's March as security, speakers
and helpers. Sex
Trade Workers and Leadership Clearly,
the voices of sex-trade workers are essential for initiating solutions
to violence, discrimination and alternative opportunities. Women have proven
that
they have both the capacity and the vision to participate in the debate.
At
WISH, women have created their own vehicles for discussion through the
Newsletter and
the monthly WAG meetings. Women have stepped up to decision-making roles,
whether it be deciding on the refreshments for an event or speaking at a
local demonstration. By following and supporting the agenda women set
for themselves
at WISH, the Learning Centre was able to reinforce women's forays into leadership
and collective empowerment. The results were that women, as a group, set
higher goals for themselves. In addition, individual women became more
assertive in
their lives and more confident in their self-expression. Currently, two women
involved in
the Learning Centre are planning to publish books with the assistance of
WISH and
Capilano. There
is no doubt that women are ready to provide leadership in the organization.
However, the constraints of women's lives mean that "consultation" and "decisionmaking"
needs to take a different shape. The collaborative, on-going process for
coordinating trips in the Learning Centre meant that all women did not have
to be present at each meeting for the event to be researched, planned and implemented.
A more fluid and flexible consensus was eventually reached but it did not happen in
one designated session. This has implications for creating more flexible ways of
incorporating women's knowledge and analysis into the operation and leadership of
the WISH organization and the larger political sphere. |
