Parents, mentors, politicians also need to act, says Boers
OPINION
By Mackenzie Boers
Flamborough Review
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Healthy Youth Network’s student ally team, HEART (Healthy Education About Relationships Team), has begun to meet for the 2022-23 school year.
We’ve had discussions about issues in member schools — Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School and Waterdown District High School — and about ideas to address them.
But while our youth tackle gender-based violence and promote healthy relationships in their schools, our parents, mentors and political leaders also need to take action. It is important for us to listen to our youth who are the future change-makers and who see these issues happening.
Some topics that are important to our student teams include:
- “Teaching respect for people’s gender identity, pronouns, etc.”
Calling people by the correct pronouns is important because it validates a person’s identity and creates a more accepting community.
- Recognizing “that gender-based violence does not look a certain way, but it can present itself in different forms.” It is important so people “can recognize patterns in others’ behaviour and help anyone who needs it.”
By talking about healthy relationships and consent without stigma, we can normalize these topics and ensure students don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed talking about it, calling it out, or intervening.
- Teaching “how using slurs impacts marginalized communities, mental health and self-care, peer relationships, etc.”
By being inclusive in our discussions, and open to listening, we can work to understand different perspectives and build more respect between peers.
Everyone in our school environment deserves to feel safe and welcome, no matter their gender or sexual identity. By promoting healthy relationships, we can help build that environment, but we need to have widespread discussions on these topics — youth to youth, youth to adult, adult to adult — to make a lasting change.
As a parent, you can learn more about HEART and the topics we discuss at parent.healthyouthnetwork.ca.
Mackenzie Boers is the Ally Program co-ordinator for Healthy Youth Network. She can be reached at mackenzie@healthyouthnetwork.ca.
