Perdita Felicien speaks about personal experience
Article and image by Bill Hornbostel
Olympic athlete Perdita Felicien headlined Cornerstone’s Six Annual International Women’s Day Luncheon on May 5, hosted by Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre.
Nancy Johnstone, Cornerstone’s Executive Director, says, “We had to postpone, because International Women’s Day usually happens in March. But due to the ongoing pandemic, we really wanted an in-person event; that really meant something to us.”
Felicien talked about what International Women’s Day means to her. “It’s really a day that women get to be front and centre,” she says. “It’s a day to celebrate what we bring to our communities and society at large.”
“It’s honestly just the day for us to all come together and acknowledge where we are now,” Felicien adds.
Felicien’s career has also included work as a journalist, a broadcaster, and she is also the author of the memoir, My Mother’s Daughter. “It chronicles my mother’s immigration story to Canada, which is pretty harrowing, the things that she went through,” she says. “It’s also our experience with homelessness and domestic violence. And sprinkled in there is my sports story, but it just weaves together, really, an intergenerational family story.”
Felicien’s experience with domestic abuse was the topic of her talk at the luncheon. “I was a child witness to domestic abuse,” she recalls. “There still is a stigma and shame around women and even children needing that kind of help.”
“Oftentimes, the people that support and give these women a chance in life, like my mother and I needed, they don’t come back and tell you, so you don’t necessarily always know what your impact means. But I’ve decided to speak openly about this so that women feel less alone, feel less isolated.”
“When you can give a name and a face to being a survivor of or witness to domestic abuse, and let somebody else feel like, ‘Oh, they’ve come through it, maybe there’s a chance for me,’” says Felicien.
“I’ve never talked about this before until the book came out a year ago, and I don’t talk about it as a speaker often, but I understand that it’s important, if I have a platform like i do, that I use it,” Felicien adds.
Local realtor Lindsey Edwards sponsored this year’s International Women’s Day Luncheon. “When the presenting sponsor opportunity came up, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to give back not just of my time but from a sponsorship perspective as well,” says Edwards.
“I jumped at the opportunity to give even more, and I realized the impact that this one day, that this one event, has on the community,” adds Edwards.
Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre is located at 40 Swayne Street in Cobourg. For more information, you may visit their website, cornerstonenorthumberland.ca, or follow them on Facebook (@CornerstoneFamilyViolencePreventionCentre), Twitter (@CornerstoneFVPC) and Instagram (@cornerstonefvpc).
Support for sufferers of domestic violence is available through Cornerstone Connect by texting 289-210-4774, or through the web portal at cornerstonenorthumberland.ca/connect, 7 days a week from 6pm to 6am. Cornerstone also has a twenty-four-hour support line for those needing support, 905-372-0746 or 1-800-263-3757. For emergencies, call 911.
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