Women's writings

In 1998, a program was undertaken by the Edmonton John Howard Society and the Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton, with the collaborative support of numerous community-based agencies and organizations. This program was especially designed for women who were in, or at risk of being in, conflict with the law.

The The Barb Wire Collective is a group of Canadian women who believe that women with disabilities and chronic illnesses are important to the well-being of the world. All the members of the Collective are women who live with disabilities and chronic illnesses.

This article is about The Barb Wire Collective and a writing project undertaken by members of the group.

The letter in this article was sent to the editorial collective of CCLOW by a woman who has experienced extreme violence in her life. Morgan McClung clearly expresses the impact, power and control that violence exerts in women's lives. At the same time, because she is able to analyze her past, she helps us understand and gives us hope that we can counteract this violence.

This story is a fairy tale the author wrote her "inner children" to honour their incredible wisdom and their incredible pain. She became acquainted with her wounded and wise inner children as she began delving into the horror of her childhood.

The author talks about her abusive marriage and it effects on her physically, socially, emotionally, and psychologically.

This is story of a woman's childhood of abuse and how it effected her into adulthood.

This is the story of a single working mother's abusive childhood and how she ended up being a teenage runaway.

This is the story of a single mother, trying to upgrade her education and overcome the effects of a physically violent marriage.

What is the effect of violence on education? There are many children in our school systems who are labeled as "hyper", socially retarded, with behavioral problems, etc. We have readiness classes for the children who are unable to function properly in regular classrooms. These children are not "bad kids" as many people believe. They are trying the best that they can to survive. So often they are asking for help through their behaviour.

“We know now that an abusive childhood can lead to an abusive marriage and so the picture spins, reel to reel.”

In this article, the author tells of her history of abuse and how, through education and perseverance, she broke the cycle of abuse.