• What has happened for you so far that is positive or less positive?

Frances and I asked women if they felt anything positive had happened to them or to their program because of the research. Even though many women had just started their activities, they gave us a long list of incidents, ideas, and feelings hat they felt were already a direct consequence of their involvement in the project. Even women who had encountered significant resistance emphasized that they felt the process itself had been very interesting and, in some cases, "a learning experience!"

Many women experienced an ongoing sense of connection to other women across the country. For some, it was almost like carrying on conversations.

I often think of the Rabbittown project and Arviat - the women that I, talked to a lot. I wonder what they're doing. And I think, "Oh, well, they could do this, they could do that." This goes through my head. (Eileen Gorman, Pine Grove Correctional Centre)

For other women, the project provided a reassurance that they were not isolated with the problems they faced.

I think the most positive thing has been to know that we're not the only women trying to figure out how to discuss these potentially explosive issues - and that nobody has the answers. I keep thinking there must be some resource somewhere that will tell me how I talk to a group of men who think that it's okay for a man to slap his wife around. (Tannis Atkinson, Toronto ALFA Centre)

Tannis also said that participating in the project allowed her to become more honest about who she is, about being lesbian.

I've been here for six years. Most of the time I haven't been very open about my sexual orientation. And that has to do again with the fear of how people would react because I think if I'm open about who I am then people will think that I hate all men. You know, that whole stereotype. . . . I feel like there have been some ways in which I've been afraid to be honest and now I feel more conviction that maybe that will be a strength for me.

Although few women kept in touch between workshops, they knew that the other women were there. And when they did want to write or talk to someone, they had a small research budget that could cover some of the expense.

Many of the women felt a pressure to carry through on some of their personal, professional, and political ideas. Once they had a structure through which they could experiment and reflect, a forum in which to talk and write, they felt an obligation to become more proactive in their programs. Even with the restricted time and resources of most programs, they interpreted this pressure as positive. And, although at times the thoughts or observations might not be positive, women felt some relief in actually having the opportunity to name their experience and then do something to change it.