Meet the Recipients of our 2022 Community-Based SRHR Funding Initiative

Oxfam Canada is pleased to announce the second round of 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 more than 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 second round of recipients of this community-based funding initiative.

Youth Recipients

Anna Balagtas (she/they) – Toronto, Ontario

Anna will run a Radical Birthwork Training, which will train 2SLGBTQ+ and BIPGM (Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority) to participate in doula trainings with a decolonial, anti-hierarchical and anti-racist foundation. This opportunity will allow these communities to access reproductive support and knowledge from their own kin and will make birthwork training more accessible for racialized queer folk who will in turn be able to further support others in this work.

Delilah Kalahunda (she/they) [Saskatoon Sexual Health] – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Delilah, in partnership with Saskatoon Sexual Health, will host a solidarity event for abortion access and reproductive justice that will be a catalyst for a renewed energy and commitment to work on SRHR. This event will be hosted in partnership with community allies and provide the opportunity for participants to write postcards to government representatives stating what they want to see change in SRHR in Saskatchewan, along with a documentary viewing and discussion on reproductive justice. An online interactive portal with resources will also be produced to record the demands being made and to share the realities of accessing reproductive care and the stories of resilience and dedication of the reproductive justice community.

Hani Rukh-E-Qamar (she/her) [The Canadian Advisory of Women Immigrants] – Regina, Saskatchewan

Hani, in partnership with the Canadian Advisory of Women Immigrants, will work on a Community-Based SRH Campaign and Curriculum that builds on the recently finished qualitative study on the “experiences of immigrant women and girls with the SRH curriculums in Canada.” This project will develop two workshops and a toolkit utilizing the research done in the qualitative study. An online symposium on SRH will take place to update attendees on the progress being made on the research project, along with curriculum updates, conversations on the importance of comprehensive sexual education and the importance of this research and project overall. An online workshop will also be held to discuss the experiences of gender-diverse immigrants with mainstream SRH curriculums, and how to approach these conversations with a culturally-sensitive lens.

Kathryn LeBlanc (she/her) – Ottawa, Ontario

Kathryn will be launching Our Bodies, Our Narratives: Best Practices on Campaigning for Sexual & Reproductive Rights. This project will document the best practices and lessons learned from campaigners and activists fighting for sexual health and reproductive rights. An event will also be held to disseminate findings and share the profiles of the campaigners and activists interviewed for the project, alongside the social media posts made to circulate the interview findings.

Rebecca Baron (she/her) [Beyond Boundaries Foundation] – Vancouver, British Columbia

Rebecca will be producing and hosting the Beyond Boundaries Foundation Podcast, of which there will be six episodes. The podcast will share the voices of health professionals, patients and advocates changing SRHR policies and improving the current healthcare landscape in British Columbia. Each episode will examine three overarching themes: (1) making sexual and reproductive health care trans- and gender-inclusive; (2) understanding the lived experiences of barriers and facilitators to healthcare; and (3) describing inequities and determinants of their engagement with SRH services in Canada.

Organizational Recipients

Northern Birthwork Collective – Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Northern Birthwork Collective will be launching the Northern Reproductive Justice Project that will focus on improving access to and provision of Indigenous-focused midwifery programs. As there are currently only two communities in Northwest Territories that offer midwifery services, this work will help ensure Indigenous people do not have to evacuate their homes for reproductive care, like abortions and birthing. This project will consult with communities in various regional hubs to hear the needs and hopes for birthwork midwifery care, including delivering the following activities:

• Run a government relations and advocacy campaign calling for the creation of a territorial Indigenous focused midwifery education program
• Run an advocacy campaign calling for more culturally-appropriate supports for people who are evacuated for birth or abortion from remote Indigenous communities
• Host workshops and sharing circles for people who are evacuated to educate them on informed consent, their options and their rights
• Develop an escort program to accompany pregnant people to their prenatal appointments to support their interactions with care providers
• Further develop an abortion support program in partnership with the local abortion clinic in Yellowknife

Sex Workers of Winnipeg Action Coalition – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Sex Workers of Winnipeg Action Coalition will start their project called S.H.A.R.E. (Sex-workers Have Access to Resources Equitably) that will provide a weekly drop-in space for sex workers in Winnipeg. These weekly drop-ins will address and centre the needs and experiences of street-based sex workers, many of whom are disproportionately female, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, low income, people who use substances, people with HIV/AIDS, survivors of intergenerational trauma and violence and people who are underhoused. This project will allow for Winnipeg-based sex workers to access requested and necessary supports in a low-barrier, accessible environment that can meet them where they are without judgment and with a lens of harm reduction. S.H.A.R.E. will also produce and distribute two zines that will be made by sex workers who attend the weekly drop-in sessions.

READ MORE: Meet the First Round of Recipients of Our Community-Based SRHR Funding Initiative

Lisa Gunn is a SRHR program officer in Oxfam Canada's Canadian program.