Meet the Recipients of Our Community-Based SRHR Funding Initiative

Oxfam Canada is pleased to announce the recipients of the Her Future Her Choice Financial Support for Community-Based Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Initiative, generously funded by Global Affairs Canada. This initiative is part of the five-year Her Future Her Choice program, which aims to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Canada, directly reaching over 240,000 people, particularly young women and girls.

The Her Future Her Choice program aims to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health and rights across Canada by supporting community-based public engagement initiatives spearheaded by youth (aged 18 to 29) and women's rights or youth-led organizations.

We are thrilled to announce the first round of recipients of this community-based funding initiative.

There will be two more rounds of funding in 2022.

Youth Recipients

Aine Dolin (she/her) – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Aine will be hosting five community conversations with youth aged 18-29. These conversations will identify and aim to address SRHR needs within the community. The topics covered will be determined through consultation with community, with possible subjects including contraceptive decision making, sexually-transmitted and blood-borne infections, abortion, exploring pleasure and embracing your sexuality/sensuality, consent and open communication about desires and boundaries, and support for young parents. Each community conversation will be moderated by community experts on the topic and will be developed into a podcast episode to share with a wider audience.

Brintha Sivajohan (she/her) [The BIPOC Women’s Health Network] – Mississauga, Ontario

Brintha and the grassroots collective, BIPOC Women’s Health Network, will be working on advancing their “Breaking the Cycle” project which partners with inner-city schools and newcomer centers to develop culturally safe contraceptive & safe sex workshops, as well as educational materials and toolkits. They will also partner with health care clinics to deliver prenatal & postpartum care kits with vital costly items and culturally-competent resource guides; create an “I’m Ready” toolkit providing information and resources for folks experiencing intimate partner violence to create a plan of action to leave when they feel ready; as well as education materials for safe sex counselling.

Fae Johnstone (she/they) – Ottawa, Ontario

Fae will be creating and disseminating a blog series, including videos and podcast content, accessible to folks in all provinces and territories. In partnership with community organizations and advocates, this blog series will be focused on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion and rights, access to youth-friendly services, and gender-based violence. This project aims to reach young folks to equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to advocate for and support themselves, and for service providers to help address 2SLGBTQ+ rights and inclusion.

Jocelyn Wong (she/her) [Wellness Beyond the Binary] – Vancouver, British Columbia

Jocelyn and her team at Wellness Beyond the Binary will be working to destigmatize sex positivity and the right to pleasure, comprehensive sexual health education, 2SLGBTQ+ rights, and ending gender-based violence. They are looking to do this through their online resource hub and blog, expanding their work to be more interactive by bringing in more content creators on key topic areas.

Siobhan Takala (she/her) [Let’s Sprout] – Halifax, Nova Scotia

Siobhan and Let’s Sprout will be hosting a SRHR-focused book club for youth in Atlantic Canada that will focus on books written by BIPOC authors from the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Youth will be guided by trained youth facilitators to discuss the reading material and engage in thoughtful conversations on gender and sexuality. Youth from the book club will be invited to share their reflections and learnings in a pod cast that will include 2SLGBTQ+ community members.

Topaza Yu (she/her) – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Topaza will be embarking on a mission to create and distribute “Empowerment Pacs” to 5 local Saskatoon organizations to address barriers to access of menstrual products and SRHR healthcare. Empowerment Pacs are care-packages containing ethically made menstrual products: one menstrual cup, one box each of tampons, pads, and panty liners, and a comprehensive SRHR booklet. The booklet will discuss basic contraceptive care, and include a list of websites that folks can refer to for youth-friendly SRHR resources.

Tori Ford (she/her) [Medical Herstory] – Montreal, Quebec

Tori and Medical Herstory will be creating a multimedia visual podcast that will feature interviews with leading SRHR activists, doctors and patients to advance youth-friendly care to destigmatize these conversations. This project will present medicine as a cultural product that is influenced by structures of sexism, shame and stigma. The interview series aims to challenge society’s stigmatizing beliefs and end the silencing of taboo subjects.

Organizational Recipient

Birth Mark – Toronto, Ontario

Support will be given to Birth Mark for their Abortion Support Program (ASP) that provides free doula support to anyone in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario through self-referral or community partners. The ASP’s initiatives will put a specific focus on reaching BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ youth, under-housed and newcomer populations.

The ASP will create a comprehensive virtual Abortion Doula Training to train new doulas across the country. ASP will also lead virtual abortion workshops for youth workers that aim to mobilize them as advocates for abortion access through increased awareness, comfort and knowledge. These workshops will explore personal values, avoiding stigmatizing language, abortion access, youth rights, resources, and doula support.

Several emotional and practical preparation tools for abortion will also be created by Birth Mark, including abortion care packages, self-guided support booklets and abortion info brochures. Care Packages will be delivered to folks having an abortion with items they may need for support throughout.

READ MORE: Meet the Second Round of Recipients of the HFHC Community-Based SRHR Funding Initiative