Shop for Gen1 – In Support of the Canadian Women’s Foundation

Wear clothes that make a difference!

Did you know that you can help support Canadian Women’s Foundation and end the cycle of violence against women by getting your own shirt just like mine!  But this #ShopGen1 shirt Winners and Homesense.

Did you know that 67% of Canadians say they know at least one woman who has experienced physical or sexual abuse?!  I’m one of those women, which is why I’m so passionate about helping women see their value, worth and beauty.  When we see these things about ourselves, it’s much easier to stand up to our abusers, and get out of the situations we are in.

No one deserves to be abused – whether it is verbal, emotional, physical, sexual, etc.

For those who don’t know my story, I met a man at the age of 24.  When I met him I hated myself, I did not see my beauty and had never been told by a man that I was beautiful.  When I met my former husband, he was the first man to tell me I was beautiful.  And then it was as if it didn’t matter what he did to me or how he treated me, because the goal was to find a man who thought I was beautiful – wrong!

I was challenged by every person who attended my wedding leading up to my wedding day and was asked –was I sure this was the man I wanted to spend my life with.  Determined at this point to prove everyone wrong I walked down the aisle.

I thought once we got married it would get easier, but it only got worse!  The abuse got worse, I was stripped of all of who I was and was left unrecognizable to those in my life.  1 week before our 2 year anniversary, something switched in me and I realized I could no longer live in this pain and that I needed to tell him to either leave or fix things.  He left.

Sounds sad – but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.  Out of that place of despair I embarked on the journey to love me, see my value and worth and realize that I am amazing, have a lot to offer and it’s out of this place of wholeness and healing that I am able to help other women see the same things about themselves.

There are some staggering statistics about abused women in Canada!

• Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16.
• On any given night in Canada nearly 3,500 women and more than 25,00 children sleep in shelters because it isn’t safe at home
• Approximately every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. Of the 83 police-reported intimate partner homicides in 2014, 67 of the victims – over 80% – were women.
• Only 1 in 3 Canadians have a full understanding of sexual consent (that both positive verbal or behavioural consent, and ongoing affirmation are required).

So how can you help?!

Shop Gen1 at Winner and Homesense and show your support.  Net proceeds from the sales of the shop for Gen1 T-Shirts, tanks and hats will go to the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation helps women in Canada to move out of violence by funding women’s shelters across Canada, programs that help women to rebuild their lives after surviving violence, and violence prevention programs that help to stop the violence – for good.

To learn more visit – canadianwomen.org/shopforgen1