A WIC Podcast series on all the latest updates and discussions happening at Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. Stay tuned for all the upcoming episodes!
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Current Episode – “I Feel Like I’m Missing a Big Piece of My Heart:” Remembering Marianne Goulden, with Mia Goulden
In this episode, Public Educator Cindy McMann sits down for a conversation with Mia Goulden. Mia is the daughter of Marianne Goulden, who was a G-W WIC client who stayed at the shelter after leaving an abusive relationship, and who then went on to give back to women in the Guelph community as a volunteer and a staff member at the shelter before she was killed by a partner in 1992.
Mia talks about her incredible mother, about the tragic end of her mother’s life, the impacts of femicide on her family and about the ways her mother’s beautiful spirit shines on.
Episode 14 – “We’ve Done It Before and We’ll Do It Again:” Gender, HIV/AIDS and the Fight for Community Care, with Ariel Oleynikov
In this episode, public educator Cindy McMann sat down with Ariel Oleynikov (she/her), formerly of WHAI (The Women’s HIV/AIDS Initiative) and ARCH (HIV/AIDS Resources and Community Health), which closed in March after 35 years when their funding was discontinued.
Ariel and I talked about her activist work around women living with HIV/AIDS in Guelph and Wellington County, the links between gendered oppression and the HIV epidemic, the beauty of collaborative, community-based health care, the impacts of ARCH closing on Guelph and a lot more.
Episode 13 – “The More I Read, the More I Realized that There Were Some Problems:” Philosophy and Sexual Violence, with Amber Spence
In this episode, Public Educator Cindy McMann chats with Amber Spence, a doctoral student in philosophy at the University of Guelph who specializes in sexual violence.
We talk about how philosophy helped Amber in her journey as a survivor, what tools it can offer other survivors, how philosophy misses the mark in academic research on sexual violence and why that matters for the rest of us.
Episode 12 – “You’re Not Mellowing – What You’re Becoming Is Strategic:” Activism and Survivor-Led Disruption, with Nneka MacGregor and Marsha Hinds Myrie
In this conversation, Public Educator Cindy McMann sits down with the University of Guelph’s 2024 Activists in Residence, Nneka MacGregor and Marsha Hinds Myrie. We talk activism, disrupting systems and making survivor voices the centre of efforts to end gender-based violence at the local, national and international level.
Episode 11 – “I’m Tired. Again:” Survivorship and Queer Communities of Care, with Nealob Kakar
Happy Pride Month! This month’s episode of the WIC-Ed podcast features the brilliant Nealob Kakar, talking to public educator Cindy McMann about queer communities of care, transformational change and why the word resilience makes us suspicious and tired.
Episode 10 – “What Does Justice Look Like for You?” Restorative Justice Processes, with Community Justice Initiatives
May is Sexual Violence Prevention Month! This month, Public Educator Cindy McMann sat down with Kate Crozier of Community Justice Initiatives (CJI), along with 2 guests with experience in restorative justice processes.
Kate and her guests take us through restorative justice alternatives to the criminal legal system, what the process is like for people who have experienced sexual harm and for people who have caused harm, how restorative justice can empower survivors of sexual violence, and what we can do to make this option more widely available to survivors.
Episode 9 – “Put Me in Front of the People – I Have Stuff to Say:” Brain Injuries and Intimate Partner Violence, with Christina Hennelly
In this episode, Christina Hennelly from the Brain Injury Association of Waterloo Wellington talks with Public Educator Cindy McMann about Christina’s work on the connections between brain injuries and intimate partner violence (IPV).
We talk about the impacts of brain injuries, how common they are in relationships where there’s physical violence, tools people can use if they think they or someone they love might have a brain injury and what service providers can do to better support people.
Content Warning: physical violence, impacts of physical injuries due to violence
Episode 8 – “Trying to Steer the Titanic with a Plastic Spoon:” Talking to Men and Boys About Violence, with Jacob Pries
In this episode, we hear from Jacob Pries, from the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region’s Male Allies program. Jacob chats with WiC Educator Cindy McMann about masculinity, talking to men and boys about gender-based violence, and Jacob’s work on consent education with Hockey Canada.
Episode 7 – Gender-Based Violence and Violence Against the Land (Ft. Courtney Skye and 2Rivers Festival)
The 2Rivers Festival presents a podcast in partnership with Guelph-Wellington Women and Crisis and Protect the Tract that explores the relationship between colonization, gender-based violence, land violence and consent. Host Jensen Williams discusses the role of consent in movements to end gender-based violence and ensure land rights with Courtney Skye of Protect the Tract and Emma Callon and Horeen Hassan of the 2Rivers Festival.
Episode 6 – Unpacking Femicide with Myrna Dawson
In this episode we chat with Myrna Dawson, the Founder and Director of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. Dawson is a leading expert on femicide and leader in research and advocacy on violence against women and femicide prevention both nationally and internationally. Have a listen as we unpack the term femicide, the work of the observatory, ways in which data on femicide is collected and pathways to femicide prevention. For more information on the Canadian Femicide Observatory, please visit their website and follow them on twitter @CAN_Femicide.
Episode 5 – Sexual Assault: Shifting to a Culture of Prevention & Support
Sexual Assault: Shifting To A Culture of Prevention and Support
In this episode, we sit down with our Sexual Assault Centre and Anti-Human Trafficking Program counsellors during Sexual Assault Prevention Month discuss realities and barriers for sexual violence survivors and how we can shift towards a culture of support and prevention.
Episode 4: Intersections: Labour Trafficking and Precarious Migration
Emma speaks with Loly and Jaitra from FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto. They shed light on the reality of labour trafficking in Guelph, Ontario and Canada. Within the conversation the intersections between climate change, national migration policy and labour trafficking within Canada are brought up. Labour trafficking is often forgotten when discussing human trafficking within a Canadian context, this episode breaks down these barriers and speaks to the prevalence of labour trafficking.
Click here for the full transcription for podcast episode 4
Episode 3: Immigrant Services and Human Trafficking – A Guelph Wellington Collaboration
Emma speaks with Dayami Ramirez from Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington. They speak about their past collaboration with clients and within the conversation discuss the intersecting identities of those with human trafficking experiences and immigration needs. This episode brings great insight into the importance of language specific resources and services. It’s an excellent refresher on the realities of human trafficking on July 30th World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
Click here for the full transcription for podcast episode 3
Episode 2: Sex-Work Positive Approaches to Human Trafficking
Emma and Jalena speak about the difficulty in supporting human trafficking survivors without further isolating sexworkers in the process. Jelena provides insight into the negative consequences and impact of anti-human trafficking legislation and services. This feedback and knowledge is important to assuring that the safety and security of some does not harm others.
To hear more about Jelena’s work and analysis check them out on social media at
– https://www.facebook.com/IsisIntrepid
– @IsisIntrepid (twitter)
– https://www.instagram.com/Isis_Intrepid/
Episode 1: Human Trafficking 101
Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis is producing a podcast series on the topic of human trafficking. The first episode is available below and will be on social media on February 22, 2020. The first episode will explore the problem of human trafficking locally. Consequent episodes will discuss human trafficking and the commercial sex trade and labour trafficking in Canada. Guests include representatives from the Sex Workers’ Action Program of Hamilton and Sex Workers’ Action Network of Waterloo Region, HIV/AIDS Resources & Community Health, the FCJ Refugee Centre, Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington and more.