The following information is taken from materials at www.criaw-icref.ca

Self-esteem (feeling good about yourself) is one of the cornerstones of taking care of your health. Another is having the resources to do it. If you don't care about yourself, you are unlikely to take care of your health. People with low self-esteem are more likely to do things that harm their health, like smoke, drink too much, abuse drugs, and so on. Low self-esteem also has implications for society, and has been identified as a major factor in crime and violence, teen pregnancy and poor school achievement.²³Self-esteem is often related to how you were treated as a child, as well as since then - by your family and by society.

In our society, the self-esteem of women and girls is eroded by conflicting and unrealistic expectations about how we're supposed to look, pressure to be perfect wives and mothers, and at the same time give 100% to our kids and 100% to paid work.²⁴ Particularly at risk are women and girls who experience racism and other forms of hatred, poverty, and structural barriers. Babies are not born with low self-esteem - they are made to feel unworthy, sick, different, defective, bad, stupid, ugly, by the world around them. Some men also suffer from low self-esteem, and this can turn into cruelty and violence.²⁵

Like all health issues, self-esteem is not only an individual issue, but an issue for all of society. It requires not only individual action to recover from the experiences that made us not accept ourselves, but to join with others to change society so that no one is made to feel less than what they are.

Aboriginal women and girls...

Aboriginal women face much greater rates of heart disease, cancer, suicide, diabetes, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS than other women in Canada.⁶⁹ Racism, higher rates of poverty, loss of self-determination, and the residential school experience combine to affect every aspect of health. From the 1800s to the early 1980s, Aboriginal kids were often forcibly separated from their families and sent to residential schools where many were physically and sexually abused, and beaten for speaking their own language or practicing their spiritual traditions. This resulted in generations who were taught to hate themselves, and who did not learn parenting skills from their own parents, or whose parents were also damaged from the system.⁷⁰ The effects of loss of control over your political, legal, linguistic, religious, family, and economic systems cannot be underestimated. A recent study showed that Aboriginal teen suicides were highest in communities with little control over their own management, and lowest in communities with self-government.⁷¹ Many Aboriginal communities are in the process of healing and retaking control of their destinies. Aboriginal women will not have the same access to health and health care until these issues are resolved.

The following information is taken from materials found at www.tmag.ca/powercamp/why.html

Issues Facing Girls: Focus Group Findings (focus groups held with young women across Canada)

- Girls experience a continuum of violence, ranging from sexual harassment to rape. Societal acceptance of violence was identified as a major issue. Violence has become normalized. Self-esteem, self-image, and peer pressue are significant issues of concern to girls. Self-harm (suicide, eating disorders, etc.) and the internalization of stereotypes and negative images of girls, have created a "girl-poisoning environment." Depression in girls is a symptom of this environment, as is girl-on-girl violence. Girls talked about having to "watch their backs" and living in a "war zone."

- Media images were identified across the country as impacting on girls' sense of self-esteem, body-image, and gender expectations. Focus group participants recommended that efforts be encouraged to challenge these images through media literacy, advocacy, the availability of positive role models and mentors, and through artistic expression.

- Poverty and substance abuse were other factors identified by focus group participants as contributing to a negative environment for girls. Growing up in poverty reduces the life-chances for girls, as does substance abuse (by themselves, or by parents/guardians). Poverty was also cited as contributing to the sexual exploitation of girls. Focus group participants identified education about violence as an urgent need. Girls need to be taught how to define their experiences of violence, where to seek support and assistance, and how to deal with the impact of such violence. Issues of power and control, both in relationships and on a systemic level, greatly affect the lives of girls. The misuse of power by others, and the powerlessness experienced by girls, were identified as key issues.

- Sexuality and sexual orientation were identified as signficant issues for girls, as was teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. The vulnerability of girls to coercive sexual relationships and the sexual exploitation of marginalized and street-involved girls was also highlighted.

- Girls are unaware of their rights. Educaiton regarding human rights would provide a ncessary corrective to this situation.

- Girls are confronted with a double-bind message concerning sexual abuse/assault. On the one hand, they are encouraged to disclose such abuse, and on the other hand, they are threatened with realiation if they choose to do so. Peer pressure is one mechanism by which girls are silenced. The other is the dismissive attitudes they encounter when disclosing abuse to family and others.

- Girls overwhelmingly identified the need for "safe" and girl-specific spaces in schools, shelters, and services. Such spaces were viewed as being critical for reasons of safety, positive development of self, and identify formation.