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CA MARCHE 2010: It’s astounding… Time is fleeting…

by Sense Project on

Extremely awesome moves!

Extremely awesome moves!

Says Sarah Odell, Fundraising & Events Coordinator:

I remember jumping to the left on De Maisonneuve and doing the pelvic thrust on Ste. Catherine, shouting out for sex ed in our schools on St. Hubert and walking, dancing and ‘time warping’ on the streets of Montreal with thousands of people who want to raise awareness and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Our team!

Our team!

We have already raised $12,800 and the campaign continues until December 1 (World AIDS day). Help us make 2010 (Our 40th anniversary!!) our biggest fundraising effort to date by contributing to our online campaign here!

HURRAY: Ontario court decision helps keep sex workers safe

by Sense Project on

GREAT NEWS today as a superior court judge in Ontario ruled that the current prostitution laws actually endanger sex workers rather than protect them.  About time!!  Laws against communicating for the purposes of prostitution, making any living off of sex work, and keeping a “bawdy house” (aka a brothel) do more harm than good to sex workers, forcing their work underground and limiting their ability to protect themselves.

Terri-Jean Bedford and Valerie Scott, who launched the constitutional challenge to the current laws

Terri-Jean Bedford and Valerie Scott, who launched the constitutional challenge to the current laws

Find out more:

-From the Globe & Mail: Ontario superior court judge strikes down controversial prostitution law

-From CBC: Prostitution law struck down by Ontario court

-Check out Stella, a Montreal community resource by and for sex workers.

-Statement from the Sex Professionals of Canada website.

-The now-defunct but always-awesome $pread Magazine.

We say HURRAY and CONGRATULATIONS to every single dedicated person and group involved in this struggle. We know that the federal government is “concerned”, and considering appealing this decision, to avoid a domino effect of decriminalization across the country before they can shut it down. We say, domino away!

Update: Reimbursements for abortion services in Quebec

by Sense Project on

The Quebec government is offering reimbursements to those who paid for abortion services between 1999 and 2008:

Following an agreement, the Superior Court of the District of Montréal handed down a decision providing compensation to people who paid to obtain a voluntary interruption of pregnancy between May 2, 1999 and January 13, 2008. All claims for reimbursement must be filed before January 31, 2011. For more information go to http://www.reclamation-ivg.qc.ca/ ”.

Remboursement pour interruption volontaire de grossesse: À la suite d’une entente, la Cour supérieure du district de Montréal a rendu un jugement permettant aux individus qui ont déboursé pour avoir recours à une interruption volontaire de grossesse entre le 2 mai 1999 et le 13 janvier 2008 d’être indemnisées. La période pour faire une réclamation se terminera le 31 janvier 2011. Pour plus de renseignements: http://www.reclamation-ivg.qc.ca/”.

Note that claims must be filed before January 31, 2011.

sense training week two: practice makes perfect…

by Sense Project on
pile o' condoms!

pile o' condoms!

This week in Sense animator training, volunteers started practicing delivering the series of three workshops we offer to youth.  It was exciting to see their mad facilitation skills and secret talents come out of the closet!

Here are some highlights from Week 2:
- guest stars and past Sense animators Sarah K. and Noam, who helped out and co-facilitated some mock workshops with me and Julia! Thanks!
-playing a riveting round of Wizard Sleeves, which is like “who am i?”, but you have to guess the sexual term taped to your back… (see key learnings below)
-some super-informative workshops on Sexually Transmitted Infections with Kathleen from Head & Hands, and HIV/AIDS with lovely folks from AIDS Community Care Montreal!
-getting up super early on Sunday morning to join the rest of the Head & Hands team for Ca Marche!!

Key learnings:
-a “cozy charlie” is when the tips of a circumsized and uncircumsized penis are touched together, and the foreskin of the uncircumsized penis is wrapped around the head of the circumsized penis.
-”bowcat” is a hilarious slang term for oral sex on the vulva, because it’s like… bowing to the… um… pussy...
-if a condom breaks while you’re putting it on, start with a new one! this is also true if a condom breaks during condom demonstration – hey, it happens!

Animators rock the Rocky Horror look at Ca Marche!

Animators rock the Rocky Horror look at Ca Marche!

-what does the “H” in “HIV” stand for?  Human.  Meaning, this is a virus that is passed between humans (as opposed to, say, animals), and most importantly, anyone can get it. we also learned that in terms of risk, HIV is a virus that “if it dries, it dies”. Meaning, the virus can continue to live in bodily fluids in moist environments (e.g. where there is lube, vaginal fluids, semen, breast milk, blood present) , so it’s super important to use condoms or dental dams during oral or penetrative sex, and when sharing sex toys between partners!

> Photo by Amber. See more of Amber’s pics from the Marche here! To donate to our team, please visit our fundraising page!

Ça Marche is this Sunday! Shimmy, shake and donate for sex education!

by Sense Project on
So you think you can MARCHE? Join us on Sunday!!

So you think you can MARCHE? Join us this Sunday!!

Alert:::  Ça Marche is this Sunday, September 19th!!! Help us fill the streets of Montreal and send a message that the fight to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS is not over! This will be Head & Hands’ 6th year participating in Ça Marche and raising money for the Sense Project.
We are keeping up the tradition of turning this walk-a-thon into a dance-a-thon… so get ready to show off your dance moves as we shimmy, twirl, shake our way through the streets of Montreal.  Sign up for our team here!
This is a great opportunity to connect with other people and organizations who recognize that HIV/AIDS still exists, and still affects people from all sectors of society – not only globally, but right here at home.  
If you can’t come out and join us, show your support by donating to our team.  You can make an online donation with your credit card by visiting the Head & Hands team page. 
Whether it is $5, $10, $20, $50 etc., every contribution counts!  Thanks in advance for supporting the Sense Project!!

***

Joignez ou appuyez L’Équipe À deux mains/Head & Hands.  Nous sommes entrain de former une équipe de danse de rue ludique pour Ça Marche 2010! Ça Marche, une initiative de la Fondation Farha, est le plus grand évènement de sensibilisation sur le VIH/SIDA au Québec. Dimanche, le 19 septembre, venez danser et marcher avec nous afin de faire la levée de fonds pour le Projet sens, une initiative d’À deux mains qui a pour but de réintroduire l’éducation sexuelle dans les écoles secondaires montréalaises et de réduire les taux du VIH/SIDA parmi les jeunes de notre ville.  Si vous ne pouvez pas nous joindre en marchant, vous pouvez quand-même faire un don en ligne dès maintenant avec une carte de crédit au http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=167260&langPref=en-CA (il ne faut que suivre le lien « Commanditer l’équipe »). C’est également possible de nous envoyer un chèque ou venir nous visiter au 5833 Sherbrooke Ouest !

 

Chaque don – soit de 5 $, 20 $, ou 50 $ – est une expression de votre appui d’un programme d’éducation sexuelle accessible, intelligent, et dirigé par des jeunes. L’éducation sexuelle : ça fait du sens ! 

Chaque don – soit de 5 $, 20 $, ou 50 $ – est une expression de votre appui d’un programme d’éducation sexuelle accessible, intelligent, et dirigé par des jeunes. L’éducation sexuelle : ça fait du sens ! 

 

 

GO TEAM GO!!!

sense training: prejaculate, pan-sexuality, and posi attitudes all ’round!

by Sense Project on

Hey folks!

It’s been awhile since our last post, ’cause we’ve all been such busy birds and bees starting up the Sense school year!

Sense Animator Training is well underway!  We’re currently training up 14 fantastic volunteers to be able to facilitate Sense Project workshops in schools.  These dedicated young people are giving a whole lot of time and energy, putting on their student hats as well as getting up on their feet to practice.  

Lots of learning takes place on cozy couches!

Some highlights of the training so far:

  • coining the term ‘prejaculate‘ (pre-ejaculate) to describe pre-cum, the fluid that can come out of the penis before ejaculating. we learned from one animator that pre-cum is actually an accepted scientific term now!  but prejaculate is also funny!
  • great discussions about sexuality, sexual orientations and gender identities. polyamory, pansexuality, and more… talking about these terms as a group has been a learning experience for a lot of folks, no matter how they identify.
  • guest stars like Amber, the Daytime Office Coordinator at Head & Hands, who came in and offered a most excellent workshop on Active Listening & Empowering Referrals, and Robin & Mathab who facilitated a discussion about group/classroom management!
  • positive attitudes on display all ’round… getting the giggles out is a regular routine in daily check-ins and check-outs!

We’re halfway through – looking forward to guest workshops from Kathleen, the Health Educator at H&H, and learning more about HIV/AIDS with ACCM on Saturday!!!