Strengthening Our Voices

Advocacy

Through this 42-month project, the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network, with support from Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), will increase its ability to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Some of the key objectives of Strengthening Our Voices Advocacy are to:

  • Identify advocacy challenges and opportunities

  • Create a GBV advocacy strategy and communication plan

  • Increase NAWN’s capacity to communicate community needs

  • Build relationships with 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations

  • Engage people to change the social norms, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that contribute to gender-based violence

  • Use engagement to discover the resources that are needed in our communities to prevent gender-based violence and ensure people have reliable access to culturally accessible protection and services

Why this Project is Important

NAWN is growing in capacity, and grassroots advocacy work has increased.

This project aims to create opportunities to empower and engage NAWN in its advocacy and strategic direction.

Strengthening Our Voices is working to enhance NAWN’s ability to illuminate real community needs, a particular social problem that has been ignored, allowing policymakers to see the problem and then address it and make positive change.

This project will enable NAWN to participate and respond to calls for engagement sessions, policy creation, policy recommendations when requested by various levels of government, and national Indigenous organizations.

Medium: Digital Image (Logo)

Mi’kmaq Artist: Marcus Gosse

Mi’kmaq Name: Ala’suinu - Traveller 

Title: “Strengthening Our Voices”

Date Completed: 2023

Description: This logo titled “Strengthening Our Voices” displays a continuous double curve floral design; a braid of sweetgrass; a mirror double curve design; and a hieroglyph for strength(Melkita'suaqn). In the outer section, the continuous double curves represent the community holding hands. The sweetgrass braid purifies thoughts, the environment, and eliminates bad, or, negative thoughts. The inner section displays a mirror double curve which represents a persons spirit and their spiritual balance. All sections of the logo combined, represent the community providing support to an individual to help them achieve spiritual balance, and ‘strengthen their voice’. 

Contact Info

Gender-Based Violence Prevention Coordinator: Kerry O'Quinn

90 Main Street

Stephenville, NL A2N 1J3

Email: gbv.nawn@gmail.com