I wanted to intern with the Canadian Centre for Women鈥檚 Empowerment (CCFWE), a national organization based in Ottawa dedicated to empowering domestic violence survivors through advocacy, mentorship, and economic empowerment. They support survivors of domestic violence, helping them to get back on their feet by working with survivors using different resources. For example, through policy advocacy and workshops, the CCFWE establishes the survivors鈥� financial security, enhances their physical and mental well-being, and creates education and awareness about the impact of economic abuse.
I have just graduated from my M.A. in Political Science (concentration International Studies) at 91社区. In September, I am starting law school at 91社区. I am looking forward to pursuing their human rights option, and I am particularly interested in gender equality and Indigenous law. My academic interests fit well with the goals of CCFWE by empowering vulnerable groups (women and youth, respectively) by providing resources and giving them space to seek justice. My interest in equity began years ago but was crystallized during my experience working with the City of Montreal's Equity and Diversity Committee last year. It is for this reason that working with the CCFWE as 鈥淓quity Writer鈥� was a phenomenal experience.
My responsibilities were primarily related to writing articles for the organization. I learned about economic abuse, racial and systematic oppression, and improved my writing skills in the process. I researched economic abuse and resources available for economic abuse survivors. I believe this experience prepared me for continued work in research and honed my skills in written communication. It allowed me to see the overlap between writing articles and political activism, and the importance of clear communication.
The highlight of the internship was writing an article about the impacts of economic abuse on black women. It is part of a series looking at the impacts of economic abuse on Indigenous women and queer women. My favorite part of the writing process was interviewing various survivors who shared their stories about economic abuse. I learned how to sensitively engage in serious and delicate conversations without prying too much, yet still building enough trust to get the information I needed for the article.
I am not using this internship for credit because I am starting a new 91社区 program, but I will continue volunteering for this organization during my legal studies. This will help me in my future goals as a lawyer because it helps me understand organizations from various perspectives. I hope to contribute to some of the legal work this organization is involved in once I get my degree.
The Hinda Ordower King Award of Merit allowed me to pursue this internship. I want to thank the members of the King family for providing the funds to allow me to focus on my work with financial stability.
