• Women's Health Online
  
• BC Ministry of Women's Equality
  Internet Initiative
  
  Part One
  Part Two

When I started putting together a page of links to women's online resources, I had no idea how quickly it would grow!

There is so much information out there for women, and I soon had to start separating the links by category. One of the categories which most surprised me is the collection of women's health links. It is difficult for many women to tap into women-specific health resources IRL (In Real Life), which makes the proliferation of online women's health sites even more necessary and interesting. Some of the information is geared towards a particular geographical community, but many of the sites have content which is useful to all women.

Here is a sample of the many women's health sites on the Net:

Addictions

Women For Sobriety Home Page

Abortion, Birth Control, and Reproductive Rights

Abortion Clinics OnLine

AnnRose's Ultimate Birth Control Links Page "Lots o links from around the web about birth control. Presented in a fun yet educational manner. Come be ultimately responsible."

Crisis Pregnancy Centre of Winnipeg

NARAL Online "The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League is pleased to announce the launch of its World Wide Web site, NARAL Online. Created with the assistance of New Media Publishing, this important new site contains the most comprehensive array of information on all aspects of abortion and reproductive health on the Internet. Among the exciting features are more than 200 links to a rich variety of related Internet resources."

Midwifery, Pregnancy, Motherhood

Midwifery "This site contains useful information such as: how to find nurse-midwives, education and certification, safety of nurse-midwives, questions to ask your doctor or midwife, how to choose a hospital or birth center and many more."

Midwifery Today Index

The Breastfeeding Page

Hygeia... An Online Journal for Pregnancy and Neonatal Loss "Hygeia is devoted to the subject matter of grieving and loss as it pertains to pregnancy loss, genetic complications, miscarriage, neonatal loss and other life-threatening illnesses. It is intended to be an interactive on-line journal with an approach to healing via three avenues: The Mind through education and information. The Spirit through the emotions of poetry. Communication by the sharing of feelings and experiences. "Hygeia" was the Greek mythological goddess of Health, daughter of Aesculapius the god of Medicine and Healing and sister of Panacea. I have intended Hygeia to be an interactive on-line journal with an approach to "healing" through the avenues of the Mind and the Spirit. "

Motherhood Adjustment Services  "An online resource for information and support with postpartum depression and other pre and postnatal adjustment disorders"

Menopause

A Friend Indeed Publications "Provides information about the pioneering menopause newsletter, A Friend Indeed. Since 1984, it has provided information, support, and a forum for the exchange of women's experiences, under the guidance of its founder and editor, Janine O'Leary Cobb."

Power Surge "Power Surge is Dearest's online support group for and about women in menopause. Live chats twice-weekly, Newsletters, Active database, physician/guest speakers."

HIV

Women and HIV Infection

The City of Refuge Community Church "In addition to housing the Ark of Refuge HIV/AIDS program for women, African Americans and other high risk populations, this progressive San Francisco church joyfully welcomes individuals of every race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status in pursuing personal redemption through spiritual healing and social ministries"

Abuse, Self-Defense, Recovery

Women Defending Ourselves

The Assaulted Women's Helpline and Guides includes "A 24 hour telephone service which provides crisis counseling, information and referrals for assaulted women in the Metropolitan Toronto area. (416) 863-0511"

Transformations!

Breast Cancer

The Amazon:Alternative Therapies For Breast Cancer "We've got book reviews, what alternative therapies women are trying, a chat area where women can feel comfortable talking about any aspect of the disease and some other stuff. All related to alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation. I called it The Amazon because after I had a mastectomy another woman pulled up her shirt (in public!) to show me her mastectomy scar and yelled "Welcome to the Amazon!" I got a charge out of it! A powerful warrior symbol instead of the "cancer victim" mentality. And cancer is all about attitudes."

ButterFly Image "BFI represents the "Beautiful Feminine Image" we believe every women can feel about herself after a mastectomy."

Breast Cancer Information

Other Sites

The Canadian Women's Health Network HomePage

Endometriosis Association

The FGM Research Home Page

Museum of Menstruation

Women's Health Interactive (TM)"Women's Health Interactive (TM) provides dynamic health resources in a learning environment that supports empowerment over women's health concerns: heart disease, osteoporosis, menopause, breast cancer, depression."

Atlanta Reproductive Health Centre

Your Body Matters "Tampax.com features a section called `Your Body Matters' that offers important information to all women on subjects related to menstrual health. Available at this site is information on Vaginal Discharge, PMS, Menstrual Pain, tampons and even info on how to talk to your daughter about puberty."

Women's Health WWW Sites

These are only a few of the great women's health sites accessible on the Net. Many of these sites have their own links to other resources, and the wealth of information available is wonderful!

DENISE ØSTED

fullmoon@cyberspc.mb.ca

http://www.cyberspc.mb.ca/~fullmoon/w-health.html

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Spring of 1996 brought news of a new internet-focused initiative by the British Columbia Ministry of Women's Equality. The mandate set out earlier by the 1995 Electronic Highway Accord (BC's official policy on the "Information Highway") had already promised to empower individuals and communities by ensuring access and had stated as one of its outcomes the "support of development of increased computer literacy, comfort and information skills, particularly for those groups that for a variety of reasons require assistance."

The MWEQ acted on that mandate by announcing $500,000 of government funding to be made available to nonprofit associations that represent women; aboriginal peoples; people with disabilities; immigrant and visible minorities to provide these populations internet training and access.

In June of 1996 a group of women, comprised of independent contractors from the internet industry, members of the Canadian Women's Internet Association, others with backgrounds in writing, editing, graphics design and desk-top publishing, organized to enter into the bidding for the government contract to develop the training tools and web sites associated with the initiative.

Imagine the excitement when the contract was won! I cannot offer a strategic formula for the achievement of similar opportunities.. We acknowledge that our good fortune rested on the backs of hard work by innumerable women who went before.

The project team, in its composition, also reflected the groups the initiative plans to reach. Who better to do the work? A variety of women, with a wide array of skill sets were contracted for the project; the intention was to share the work amongst many capable women.

The initiative, begun in mid-August, and still underway as I write, is proceeding in stages. First, the development of the off-line interactive tools to train the groups:

• the first tool is intended to familiarize the individual with internet access;

• and the second instructs on "how to do " web design. This should prove useful for those groups intending to put their particular group's information on the web.

• Further, four "home pages" for the four identified groups were contracted for development.

Phase Two of this initiative was the distribution of grants up to $2500 to each qualifying organization wanting to access the internet and train people in their communities.

One of my roles in this project was to gain input from members of each of the identified communities as to the content they wished to see on their Web sites. From the statements of women from resource centres and organizations around BC one specific message rings very clearly:

 "Learning how to use this technology is vital for our economic health!"

Women in all regions around the province are longing to become players in the development of regional economic strategies. Women are vital to the healthy economy of any community. Traditional jobs are dying. Traditional workplaces are being re-engineered. Rural economies based on forestry and fishing are under siege. Even communities that seem to be in line for a financial injection hold a population that may not derive any great benefit.

Carolyn Martin, of the Nisga'a Women's Association states: "Growth opportunities for women are also limited because primarily it is a male dominated society. Presently the overall economic conditions in the region are very bleak to the least. There is not immediate potential for significant improvement even with the signing of the treaty."

Creative leadership is needed and seems to be springing up from "grassroots innovators"(1) in pockets of the province where familiarity with the electronic way is now well established.

At least one community exemplifies that movement and is quickly gaining a reputation with women in BC as a "happenin' wired kind of place". An article on the efforts of the Sunshine Coast Women of BC is included in this edition of Women'space. Their success is encouraging. There are hopefully others whose initiatives are as yet unsung. We encourage women to make them known. We are in need of their inspiration.

Access and training are empowering. But more than that: they are imperative to our economic survival!

1. "Joint Venture [in "Lessons for Regional Rejuvenation"] has learned that it is necessary to connect grassroots innovators with top-level leaders to produce real breakthroughs in community problem solving." P.22

Recommended Reading:

Jeremy Rifkin The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era The Putnam Publishing Group, New York, N.Y., 1996

The Joint Venture Way: Lessons for Regional Rejuvenation, Silicon Valley Network, Inc. This publication may be obtained free of charge by a request to email address: jvsoffice@aol.com or visit

JUDY MICHAUD can be reached at
webwrite@grannyg.bc.ca   or   http://www.grannyg.bc.ca

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Part One Autumn 1996
Part Two Autumn 1996