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Description

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Our Purpose
Health for all women in an equitable society

Our Mission Statement
We are women who value womens knowledge support one another to take charge of our own health and raise awareness and inspire action for the feminist advancement of womens health

Our Political Agreements
We value shared information and experience over authoritative knowledge especially when it comes to our own bodies We support a womans right to make informed choices about her health and health care More

Our Collective
A collective is a group of women using a universal set of agreements within a nonhierarchical structure to organize toward a common goal Collectives are a useful way of organizing to support a movement to resist any form of oppression because they represent the thoughts and actions of a unified group of women who have equal decisionmaking power

VWHC Volunteers
Volunteers are the foundation of the collective and are equal partners in decision making VWHC volunteers are women who are interested in ensuring that all women get appropriate and equitable health care They provide oneonone support for women who contact our Womens Health Resource Centre maintain the VWHCs womens health information resources take part in community outreach participate at forums rallies and community events cofacilitate VWHC workshops fundraise for the VWHC and help shape the direction of the VWHC through collective participation

VWHC Steering Committee
The VWHC selects a Steering Committee at its annual general meeting each year Steering Committee members decide on the day to day work of the VWHC as well as developing policy and determining the future direction for the organization

VWHC Staff
The VWHC employs an Executive Director and an Womens Health Resource Centre Director Our Executive Director Caryn Duncan oversees the administrative operations of the VWHC including office management fundraising and financial management and advocates for appropriate quality health care for women at community events and forums and through the media Our Womens Health Resource Centre Director Lisa Moore coordinates the VWHC Womens Health Resource Centre volunteers training and workshops for women in the community The VWHC also hires a summer student each year

Our Funding
We are a charitable nonprofit womens organization funded primarily by donations membership fees grants gaming revenue and fundraising initiatives

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History

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The Vancouver Womens Health Collective began in 1971 when women who were angered with the health care provided by their doctors got together to do something about it The founding women recognized that womens health care needs were often ignored underrepresented and trivialized within the medical system Originally the collective worked as a meeting place for women to discuss their experiences and frustrations with the health care system In 1972 the VWHC was established as a nonprofit charitable womens organization

What began as a small support system turned into a clinic where women could see a doctor and receive health care in a supportive environment Women also used the space as a place to share their ideas and advocate for changes in the health care system for all women Furthermore organizing as a collective rather than a hierarchical structure made all women participants in the organizations decision making process

During the 1980s the clinic closed and the VWHC focused on providing information and resources for women Over the years the VWHC has been active in a variety of ways based on womens needs the political climate our volunteer power and expertise and of course funding challenges VWHC members volunteers and staff attended general practitioner conferences and the Provincial Womens Health Lobby in the fall of 1992 We held press conferences to promote awareness on diethylstilbestrol DES a synthetic estrogen given by doctors to pregnant women between 1941 and 1975 to reduce the risk of miscarriage DES was later found to have serious health effects The VWHC also raised awareness about and was involved in actions against producers of the Dalkon Shield an interuterine device promoted as a safe form of birth control The Dalkon Shield was later found to seriously harm women who used it

Over the years the VWHC has produced publications on a variety of womens health issues from a feminist perspective some of which were translated into Mandarin and Spanish The VWHC has also hosted workshops on numerous womens health issues including breast health DES abortion birth control complementary therapies mental health natural fertility menopause pap tests sexually transmitted diseases and unlearning racism Past communitybased organizing has included a 25th anniversary celebration supporting women artists through art shows at the VWHC and fundraising initiatives such as the sale of sunflowers on 4th Avenue in Vancouver From 1998 to 2002 th