Gender studies students and instructors are involved in many social justice and advocacy agencies in the Victoria area.
The Anti.Violence.Project (AVP) is your on-campus sexual assault centre, located in the Student Union Building, Room B027. Support services are totally confidential and available anyone who has experienced sexual violence or knows someone who has.
Staff and volunteers are trained to provide emotional support and can act as a bridge for anyone seeking counselling, health and/or legal services. AVP has a great resource library, and offer educational workshops and awareness events on-campus.
Since 1986, AIDS Vancouver Island has been working to improve the lives of people living with HIV or AIDS and to prevent more individuals from becoming infected with the virus.
Established in 2002 by gender studies professor Jo-Anne Lee, antidote is an award-winning grassroots network and community-based organization of over 180 multiracial girls and women in Victoria, British Columbia. Members represent diverse voices, ages, ethno-cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds and affiliations in the community. Antidote works with youth, multiracial families, schools, community groups, service providers, policy makers and researchers to promote the visibility and needs of racialized minority and Indigenous girls and young women.
Bridges is a gutsy, innovative community agency that delivers employment training and supportive programs to women impacted by violence or abuse. Bridges' Vision: "Every woman affected by violence or abuse will have economic security to sustain herself and her family, in safety, health and freedom." Bridges staff draw on extensive knowledge of the impacts of abuse on employability to provide education, training and consulting to community agencies, employers and government.
CFUV is Victoria's campus and community radio station. CFUV is operated by over 200 volunteers, and always welcomes new ones! CFUV is located in the basement of the Student Union Building on the UVic campus.
The Women's Radio Collective includes female staff members and volunteers at CFUV. Members produce and host/tech shows, DJ, conduct interviews, record promos, create public service announcements, produce news, discuss issues, and play music. The collective's mandate is to promote the representation of women and women's issues in radio. We work to support the involvement of women as creators of radio. We also work to make CFUV more accessible to community groups and all community members.
The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (
ICA) helps individuals and organizations to connect across cultures. ICA provides information, support and tools to help immigrants reach their goals, and creates a welcoming community by engaging people through networks, education and arts programming.
More than just birth control! At
Island Sexual Health, the staff and volunteers realize that a person's sexual health is about a lot more than the prevention of pregnancy. They offer sexual health clinics and sex education programs for all genders, orientations, identities, and ages in Greater Victoria, BC. There is also lots of online sexual health information that you can read.
PEERS Victoria Resource Society provides support, resources, and programs specifically for past and current sex workers—any gender—as well as help with housing, training and volunteering opportunities, advocacy and public education around sexual exploitation and the issues of adult sex work.
Sexualized violence is a reality in the lives of too many teens.
Project Respect aims to create a world where sexualized violence doesn't happen—a world based on respect. Project Respect is a group of youth and adults who work together to prevent sexualized violence and promote respect as the organizing principle of all relationships. They strive to create awareness of the issue of sexualized violence beginning with encouraging critical thinking about its root causes—gender stereotypes, power imbalances, and miscommunication. Community work raises awareness and promotes everyone's right to a sexuality without violence.
Rainbow Health Co-operative is a community owned organization with the mandate to provide healthcare, livelihood and related services to underserved communities. Our membership is open to all, but our focus is the gender non-conforming and transgender (trans) community. We are trans-centric and queer inclusive.
We are not a charity, but operate in partnership with charities that share the mission of promoting wellness in communities. We are a not for profit co-operative. Our primary service is to promote existing groups and establish new ones to assist transgender people and their families.
1-888-941-2292
The
Sandy Merriman Emergency Shelter is part of the Victoria
Cool Aid Society, and opened its doors for the first time on December 19th, 1995. It had 15 beds for women in need and the length of stay for each resident was seven days. It did not take long for before they saw their first clients. Today, Sandy Merriman House has 25 beds and the daytime drop-in program averages over 800 hot, nutritious meals served each month. Daytime services are open to all women in the community over the age of 19 years.
TAPS is the only organization in Victoria providing free, face-to-face legal advocacy for people with income assistance, disability benefits and tenancy issues. TAPS assists over 5,000 people in Victoria each year. TAPS helps all types of people—from professionals who have just lost their jobs to people who have seen their health decline from living on income assistance.
The University of Victoria has committed itself to the preservation of the history of pioneering activists, community leaders, and researchers who have contributed to the betterment of transgender people. The UVic Archives have been actively acquiring documents, rare publications, and memorabilia of persons and organizations associated with transgender activism since 2007. The collection began with the generous donation of the Rikki Swin Institute collection. It has been enhanced by other significant donations including the personal papers of Reed Erickson, the University of Ulster TGA collection, and the records of Zenith Foundation, among others. Donations are being co-ordinated by Founder and Academic Director Dr. Aaron Devor and managed by University Archivist Lara Wilson. Further donations of materials would be greatly appreciated, as would contributions to support the enhancement of public access to the collection. For more information on supporting the Transgender Archives, see the Donate page.
The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is accessible to the public, and available to faculty, students, and scholars for teaching and research.
Trans Care BC supports the delivery of equitable and accessible care, surgical planning, and peer and community support for trans people across the province. Find transgender health services in BC. Trans Vancouver Island is a resource and information site for transgender and gender diverse people and their allies.
Many gender studies students are involved in the
UVSS, both in governing and in advocacy groups: the Native Students' Union (
NSU),
Pride, Society for Students with a Disability (
SSD), Students of Colour Collective (
SOCC) and
The Third Space.
VIDEA was established as a non-profit organization in 1977 to "inspire thought and action on global issues." Based in Victoria, VIDEA actively involves youth, educators, and community partners in the development and implementation of international development, global education and youth and community engagement initiatives. For the past 7 years VIDEA has operated a vibrant international programme focused on working in solidarity with communities and organisations in southern Africa. In addition to an international internship programme VIDEA also provides a range of work, learning and engagement opportunities for youth in Canada.
The Victoria Native Friendship Centre (
VNFC) has been in existence for 40 years. VNFC provides services to an estimated 15,000 Aboriginal people living off reserve in the greater Victoria area; as well as the 5,000 residents from the First Nations communities in the southern Vancouver Island region, in addition to a sizeable Aboriginal population from across Canada. VFNC takes great pride in their exceptional approach to First Nation social issues.
The Victoria Sexual Assault Centre -
VSAC - is a feminist organization committed to ending sexualized violence through healing, education, and prevention. We are dedicated to supporting women and all trans survivors of sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse, through advocacy, counselling, and empowerment.
The
1Up|Single Parent Resource Centre provides a steady, helping hand for single parents and caregivers in Victoria by providing education, support and a place to be heard—in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment. Their work transforms lives, creating stronger families and healthier children. It provides hope and the promise of a brighter future for parents and children, not just today, but well into tomorrow creating a stronger and more vibrant community in the process.
The
Victoria Women's Movement Archives opened in September 1995. It is a collaborative effort of women's groups in Victoria, the University of Victoria Archives, and the Department of Women's Studies. The Archives recognizes the important contributions that local women have made to the improvement of women's social, economic and political condition in the Victoria area. It provides a record of the events that have lead to the rich legacy of activism which has served all women in the Victoria area. The collection is housed in UVic's McPherson Library.
Asking for help takes great courage.
Transition House staff and voluteers know how difficult it is for women to reach out and try to change their lives and relationships. By providing safe shelter, counselling, and support, they assist women in finding their strengths. Shelter and Outreach Workers are skilled in helping women find suitable housing, navigate the various systems (legal, medical, financial) and advocate whenever possible.
