Comox Valley Sisterhood Change Agents

11/26/2025

New name of this page! Keep following for info and resources on women's issues, social activism, and events.

11/26/2025

There is for online abuse

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This video contains descriptions of violence and may be distressing for some viewers.These are the real testimonies of women and girls ac...

11/22/2025

Ok, I've done some thinking and may end up keeping this page active but changing it to a resource page. I'm thinking maybe posting on topics such as consent, body image, and other youth relevant topics - as well as timely topics and events.

Any thoughts? Could this be helpful?

Although my work life has changed and I'm not working with youth anymore, it's still a big interest of mine to provide some sort of support in this area.

11/22/2025

A Mighty Girl Pick of the Day: "Consent (For Kids!): Boundaries, Respect, and Being in Charge of YOU." When Rachel Brian co-created the viral "Tea Consent" video, parents wanted a way to explain the same idea to their kids -- so she wrote this playful, accessible guide to consent and bodily autonomy for kids! In eight short chapters packed with illustrations, Brian talks about body autonomy, what boundaries are and how to set them, and how to respect other people's boundaries, as well as what to do if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe and how to identify red flag relationship behaviors like abuse of power or inappropriate grooming. She also reminds kids to practice talking about and asking for consent in their own interactions: "CONSENT TAKES PRACTICE. The more that people around you practice consent, the more natural it is for everyone." This timely and empowering book is the perfect way to talk to kids about the importance of consent and body autonomy. Highly recommended for ages 6 to 10.

"Consent (For Kids!)" is available at https://www.amightygirl.com/consent-for-kids

To start teaching children -- girls and boys alike -- from a young age about the need to respect others and their personal boundaries, we also recommend "Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent, and Respect" for ages 4 to 7 at https://www.amightygirl.com/body-boundaries

For a powerful book that explores the common problem of sexual harassment in middle school, we highly recommend "Maybe He Just Likes You" for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/maybe-he-just-likes-you

There is also a helpful guide for teens on topics such as consent and setting boundaries: "Real Talk About S*x and Consent: What Every Teen Needs to Know," for ages 13 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/real-talk-about-sex-and-consent

For more books for young children that establish an early foundation of respect for personal boundaries and bodily autonomy, visit our blog post "Body Smart, Body Safe: Talking with Young Children About Their Bodies" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11069

11/19/2025

*Update*

This page will remain up and shift focus from group activities to resources and dialogue :)

This page will be shutting down by this Sunday, November 23rd. The Comox Valley Transition Society is no longer running Girls Group. Thank you to all who participated and supported Girls Group over 25 years 🙏

12/13/2024

Maybe not president.... :(

If you loved Segi in "I Love My Hair," then you're going to love watching her sing "Change the World," an inspirational song empowering girls with to be anyt...

05/02/2024

Thank you so so much to 100+ Women Who Care Comox Valley for your generous donation, that will contribute to improving the lives of girls, young women, and non binary youth, and helping them develop leadership skills!

Comox Valley Transition Society cheque presentation $13,700. Congratulations!
Left to Right Diane Kenny, 100+ Women Committee, Heather Ney, Executive Director, Anne Davis, Volunteer Coordinator and Grant Writer, Carol Daize, 100+ Women Committee, Mandy Baker, 100+ Women Committee, Shelby Berkenstok, Girls Group Coordinator
Platinum Sponsors:
Baker & Associates Private Wealth Management
Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community
Carla Arnold
Andrena Koch-Schulte
Royal LePage In the Comox Valley

05/01/2024

Tomorrow evening!

SD 71 DPAC is offering an online session called Period Piece: a Brief History of Periods. What's changed, what's new and what's normal.

Date: Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 pm.

Through workshops, professional development trainings, and resources, Shift Education forges the way for teachers, caretakers, parents, and grandparents who want to learn how to talk to young people.

No registration is required. Scan the QR code in the picture to access the zoom meeting link for the event.

SD 71 DPAC is offering an online session called Period Piece: a Brief History of Periods. What's changed, what's new and what's normal.

Date: Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 pm.

Through workshops, professional development trainings, and resources, Shift Education forges the way for teachers, caretakers, parents, and grandparents who want to learn how to talk to young people.

No registration is required. Scan the QR code in the picture to access the zoom meeting link for the event.

04/19/2024

We owe it to our young people to call out this kind of bad behaviour.

Maya Angelou once said that, ‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women’.

Hannah Waddingham just did that. When asked to ‘show me some leg’ whilst being photographed, she, quite rightly, called out the photographer with ‘you’d never say that to a man…don’t be a d***…no.’ And she’s right. She’s so right. Because it’s utterly outrageous that in this day and age, women are still subjected to and expected to reveal themselves for the male gaze. That we are scrutinised and judged on our appearance and expected to accept it. That the photographer felt that this was an acceptable request in the first place shows just how far we as a society still have to go.

When I was growing up, from my very early teens in fact, I remember cars slowing down whilst I was walking home. Leering out of the window. Wolf whistles. ‘Get your t@* # out for the lads’. Being groped on a night out. Being told, ‘Just stand there and look pretty’ whilst at work. The conversations, professionally and socially, that have been had whilst someone stared at my breasts whilst I wanted to scream, ‘I’m up here actually’.

It’s not ok. None of it. It wasn’t ok then. I just didn’t have the confidence to speak out. To say no. It seemed that was just the way it was back then. Accepted. That I should in some way be grateful for the attention. That I should be pleased that someone should find me attractive. Except that I wasn’t actually. I found it all a bit intimidating, predatory in fact.

At 45, I’d now have a great deal to say in reply and it would be most likely very colourfully put.

When you have a daughter, it hits deeper. Because I don’t want that for her. I don’t want her to believe, as I did, that her worth is based on her appearance. I don’t want her to feel that validation comes from the approval of others full stop. I want her to know that she has to right to be glamorous, if she wishes, without that meaning anyone has the right to expect something in return, whether that be a flash of her legs or anything else. That they are her legs. And if she wants to wear a skirt or shorts that doesn’t mean she’s asking for attention or inviting advances.

Asking a woman to show leg may seem trivial to some but actually it represents something far more worrying about how women are still viewed in our society. Imagine if a photographer asked a male celebrity to ‘show me some abs, that’s it show me calf.’ It wouldn’t happen. It shouldn’t have been asked of Hannah Waddingham either.

Thank you Hannah, for in standing up for yourself, you stood up for me and for my daughter. For all of us. Little girls are watching. What an example you have just set them ❤️