Bringing Down Barriers: Black and Indigenous Survivors

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/145396244124416/

Online: us02web.zoom.us

Advance registration required. Register at the Zoom link provided in this event posting. April 2021 is the 20th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time to honour the voices and experiences of victims and survivors, and to bring awareness to issues relating to sexualized violence. Everyone has a role to play in ending sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. This year, Avalon has partnered with other community organizations working to support survivors of sexualized violence, to bring people together for conversation, learning and strategizing on bringing down barriers to service access. “Black & Indigenous Survivors” is the first of these conversations.

This panel discussion will highlight the experiences of Black and Indigenous survivors of sexualized and gender-based violence, the barriers to accessing services and supports, and ideas on how to offer inclusive and culturally responsive services.

The panel will feature:
Debra Paris Perry, who has been the senior peer outreach worker at the YWCA for almost 5 years, servicing young people who have experienced sexual violence in workshops and circle groups. She is an active voice in the community with lived experience, which makes her a strong leader. She spends her free time crafting, enjoys spending time with puppies, but most of all she loves being with all her family.

Denise John, who is Mi’kmaw from Conne River First Nation, a Mi’kmaw community on the South coast of Newfoundland. She is a woman’s traditional dancer who enjoys traveling to many First Nations communities to attend the Mawiomi’ (gatherings). She takes pride in her Mi’kmaw culture and shares many of her teachings with others. Denise works at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre as a Victim Support Navigator.

Justine Colley-Leger, who is a wife, mother, community advocate, and is the African Nova Scotia Sexual Violence Community Engagement Coordinator with the East Preston Daycare and Family Resource Centre.

The panel will be moderated by Shianne Gordon. For the last 5 years Shianne has been an outreach worker at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Halifax and is currently the Community Navigator for Avalon. She works in targeted communities supporting women and young people in overcoming barriers to accessing services. She believes that everyone has the right to heal, not just survive. Her hobbies are creating poetry & music, watching scary movies, and fishing in the summer.

The Avalon Sexual Assault Centre is a feminist organization working to eliminate sexual assault/abuse, and to change the current socio-political culture that fosters sexism, social injustice and other forms of oppression.