About Equal Press
Equal Press is a three-year initiative based in Vancouver, British Columbia that seeks to address how local news media represents gender and gender-based violence. The project applies an intersectional lens which takes into account the diversity of class, race, and sexuality in the community, and endeavours to help journalists integrate a trauma-informed approach into their work.
It was launched as a response to two key issues:
- Women and gender-diverse people are currently underrepresented in news media.
- Gender-based violence is often underreported or poorly reported in news media.
Equal Press has three main goals:
- To promote gender equality and diversity in news media content;
- To enhance news media capacity to appropriately and ethically address gender-based violence; and
- To enhance the representation of women and gender-diverse people as experts and leaders in news media.
To achieve our objectives, we are:
- Developing a guide for news media outlets, journalists, and journalism students on trauma-informed reporting of gender-based violence.
- Creating an online database of women and gender-diverse experts on gender and gender-based violence for journalists to access for consultation, guidance, and comment.
- Providing training materials and workshops on media engagement for experts of underrepresented genders.
Background
Equal Press Guidebook & Tip Sheets
Latest News
Reporting on Gender-Based Violence: A Guide for Journalists
It’s finally here! Equal Press is proud to present Reporting on Gender-based Violence: A Guide for Journalists. After many months of research, consultation, and writing, we’re thrilled to launch our guidebook for news media reporting on gender-based violence. Recent years have seen […]
Recap: Media Training Workshops
In response to the excellent feedback following our last media training workshop in September, Equal Press decided to bring Shari Graydon of Informed Opinions back to Vancouver for two more workshops in February. These workshops were tailored specifically to women […]
Media Training Workshops – February 2020
Join us for two exciting media training workshops for women and gender-diverse experts in BC! About these events Equal Press is thrilled to host Shari Graydon from Informed Opinions for two media training workshops for women and gender-diverse individuals, who have specific expertise in […]
Experts
cicely@cicelyblainconsulting.com
www.cicelyblainconsulting.com
(604) 245-0772
Cicely Belle Blain is a diversity and inclusion consultant, activist and writer; they are one of Vancouver’s fifty most influential people of 2018, as awarded by Vancouver Magazine, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter – Vancouver, one of CBC’s 150 Black Womxn Making Change in Canada and BC Business 30 Under 30 2019 and has served as a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to the United Nations. Cicely Belle runs Cicely Blain Consulting – a social-justice informed diversity and inclusion consulting company with over 50 clients across North America, Europe and Asia. Their work is informed by their professional and academic background at the University of British Columbia, their lived experience as a Black, queer artist, a community builder, an intersectional feminist and a Black liberation activist. Cicely Belle is also an instructor in Executive Leadership at Simon Fraser University and their first book debuts in 2020.
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Ethnic Origin: Caribbean, African
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
Languages: English
Jennifer@peak-resilience.com
www.peak-resilience.com
(604) 833-6140
Jennifer Hollinshead (BSc, MA) is the Founder and Clinical Director of Peak Resilience, which she created with a vision to provide easy-to-navigate, high quality, trauma-informed services for clients motivated to feel better and live their best lives. Outside of her client work, Jennifer provides consultation, support and supervision to the team at Peak Resilience and can’t believe how lucky she is to be surrounded by such strong, compassionate, and authentic women.
In her practice, Jennifer brings over twenty years of combined counselling experience and education. She likes to uncover how clients have changed and been resilient in the past, and what motivates them to be resilient and inspired in the present. Jennifer also practices from an intersectional feminist approach, meaning she is curious about how living in a patriarchal, capitalist and colonialist society can impact mental health.
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Ethnic Origin: European
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Languages: English
chastityontheweb@gmail.com
www.chastitydavis.com
(778) 251-0444
Chastity Davis (MA, BA, DiplT) is a mixed heritage woman of First Nations and European descent. She is a proud member of the Tla’amin Nation. Chastity strives to keep her sacred First Nations culture, traditions, and values incorporated into her modern-day life. She feels it is her life purpose to facilitate the building of bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and has dedicated her professional and personal life to do so. Chastity is sole proprietor to her own consulting business, Chastity Davis Consulting and has been a successful award-winning entrepreneur for 8 years. She is the Chair of the Ministers Advisory Council on Indigenous Women and co-founded the Professional Aboriginal Women’s Network. Chastity is also Chair of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Indigenous/Reconciliation Council. She is also a certified Yin Yoga Teacher and is passionate about weaving Indigenous knowledge/ways of being/worldview into this ancient practice and co-creating pathways for women to reconnect with the true essence of who they are as a radical act of individual and collective reconciliation.
Location: Vancouver/Williams Lake, British Columbia
Ethnic Origin: North American Indigenous
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Languages: English