Call for submissions - “Trauma: Who Cares?”

Time for the third instalment in our series. Women Who Care was about health care and women’s experiences as the providers and recipients of health care. Much Madness, Divinest Sense was about women and mental health. Both books were a great success. In the wake of women bravely speaking out in public spheres about sexual violence, and with the emotional outpouring of the #metoo movement, it is now time to talk about trauma and women’s health. So how are we going to get women to talk about this? By gathering Canadian women’s stories and publishing the next collaborative book, of course! Call for submissions: Trauma: Who Cares? Canadian Women Speak Out The assertion, “Me too,” is an act of courage. Experiences of childhood and adult sexual, physical and emotional trauma are common across generations of Canadians, irrespective of race, gender, social class. In Judy Rebick’s new book, Heroes in My Head, she writes, “Childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a family member is much more widespread than we are led to believe.” Who dares to speak out about their experiences? How are Canadian health care providers and institutions equipped to respond? The resounding response is, “We don’t do trauma.” How many little girls have been dismissed or silenced or told to "get over it" when they approach others to report sexual offenses perpetrated by brothers, fathers, uncles? How many women with histories of abuse have been stigmatized or labelled with personality disorders, rather than provided with therapy and legal assistance? This is a call for women to share their stories about the institutionalized barriers and inequalities to accessing care for trauma, our biases and blind spots, our challenges as the providers and recipients of trauma-informed health care. Please note that this is NOT a forum to disclose personal information in an effort to ask for help, to seek medical or legal assistance or to disclose information about others. We are looking for poetry, prose, essays, materials that can be printed in as a compilation about care for trauma in Canada. Please submit your stories to traumawhocares@gmail.com Submissions will be accepted from April 12, 2018 until July 31, 2018.