Wow wow wow! I am so grateful to be sitting here in this lovely BC hotel and to be able to write about my experiences at this lovely event I am attended right now.

It is FREDA’s National Day of Research 2012 and there is a plethora of amazing speakers, presentations, and wonderful people. The theme of the gathering is exploring the continuum of violence against women and girls. There is definitely a criminology component to all of it. So, I am definitely absorbing as much information as I can to take it back with me to use in my own schooling. Much of the presentations are related to Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Assault, Law, and Women’s Experiences.

This morning I had the opportunity to share my own experiences with a lovely group of women. If you would have asked me years ago, where do you think you will be 10 years from now? I don’t think I would have said, sharing my story of domestic and sexual violence, along with my experiences in the criminal justice system both as an offender and a victim, to a group of women who were so willing to listen and courageous enough to share their own experiences with me afterwards. Such an honor to be here…