From The Editor's Desk: Thursday, June 4, 2020

“You’re a stupid bitch and I’d be glad to see you die.”

Pretty rough, isn’t it? No, isn’t a line from a movie, or text from a book. It is an example of what I witness around me when it comes to our young women. 

Yes, it happens amongst all our young people. As I have two beautiful girls, I will speak from my experience as a parent of two ladies. 

These two women, are flesh of my flesh, as much a part of me as my arm or my leg. I am connected to them, a bond of a parent, a protector, and a provider.

These young women, like all young women are equally valuable. They have a vast array of strengths, talents and smarts, but they also have fears, doubts, anxiety, self-esteem concerns like so many of us.

They are growing into a world of immense challenges, uncertainty and life lessons. A world that is also littered with huge potential, great opportunities, room to grow and amazing experiences, if they only knew their true value as a person.

That is why I find it so staggering what is said between these young women. Does it come from a place of hurt, or pain, or fear? 

The world will try to knock you down enough without the extra help. We have programs to protect women from domestic violence, and programs to empower women. And yet, I see a constant lack of compassion and empathy for their ‘sisters’.

Maybe school is too easy? Maybe life doesn’t have enough misery, so we must heap more coals onto the downtrodden, the vulnerable and wounded souls? I would not have thought so.

Is there something we, as parents, or carers could do to ease this burden? 

As someone who has been an apprentice, an employee, an employer and a mentor to apprentices, my own thoughts are, we all have a diverse range of gifts and it takes opportunity, support, encouragement, and constructive feedback for some to discover their own worth.

There are limitless opportunities for these young people. The world is your oyster and you release this when the ambient noise stops. The ambient noise of doubts, fears and anxiety. Then life can take the place of just existing.