Girls Creating Change:

Girls Creating Change is a 10-week discussion group for young women aged 14-18 to discuss issues important to them. These include:

• gender identity and what it means to be a woman
• self-esteem
• boundaries and being assertive
• healthy sexuality
• power/privilege and its effects on our lives
• violence, self-harm and bullying
• leadership and taking action

Towards the end of the program, we move towards a focus on action and empowerment-ways in which girls can take action in their lives to promote healthy relationships and to stand for a cause/belief they identify as important. Instead of viewing girls as victims, the program helps girls find their voice and use it.

This group provides a safe space for young women to engage in meaningful dialogue about important topics that impact their everyday lives. These issues are relevant when it comes to creating the tools women need to experience healthy relationships and to addressing gender-based violence in their own lives and the lives of people they know. We have offered the program in a various settings including schools, community centers and libraries.

Participant feedback reveals that the young women who have participated in Girls Creating Change experience improved self-confidence and greater awareness and understanding about the topics discussed in the group. Many have stated that they felt better able to differentiate between a healthy and unhealthy relationship, felt more knowledgeable about what to do if they (or someone they know) are in an unhealthy or abusive relationship, felt more capable of communicating their needs and feelings, and felt more aware of self-esteem and body image issues and the impact of negative representations of women in the media. Furthermore, many participants stated that because of the conversations they had had in the group they now feel better informed and more capable and comfortable talking about these important issues with others – which can lead to even more meaningful conversations about healthy relationships beyond the program.