I've had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. Not many people make it through drug & alcohol abuse, r**e, eating disorders, depression, and addiction, and come out the other side ready for world domination. But I'm not alone in having suffered.The crisis affecting the development of our society’s young girls is not only terrifying but escalating at an incredible pace. And WE need to make a chan
ge. The statistics speak for themselves:
1 in 5 teenage girls will experience depression before they reach adulthood
7 in 10 girls believe that they are not good enough or don’t measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members. Over 70 percent of girls age 14 to 17 avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school, when they feel bad about their looks. Eating disorders are the 3rd most common chronic illness in young females. Self harm hospital admissions have grown by over 68% in the last ten years, with teenage girls fifty percent more likely to self harm than teenage boys. The incidence of eating disorders has DOUBLED in the last ten years.
75 percent of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activities like cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered eating. The transition between adolescence and adulthood, is fraught with danger. Schools don't cover the issues in their curriculum, often teens can't talk to their parents, and the medical profession don't have the tools to help. There is literally nowhere for these young women to turn. Except their peers who are struggling to make sense of this for themselves. So, while our societal problems grow at an alarming rate, the resources to support them have not kept pace; don't provide appropriate support; or aren't being used by girls themselves.
60% of young girls have never told their parents they had been bullied online or at school.
3 in 4 young people don’t know where to turn to talk about self-harm. A third of parents would not seek professional help if their child was self-harming. Almost half GPs feel that they don’t understand young people who self-harm and their motivations.
2 in 3 teachers don’t know what to say to young people who self-harm. And the resources that do exist, are dealing with those young women who have spoken out or have been so damaged by their experience that society sees their need for help. There are resources for s*xually-abused girls, for girls with drug problems, for girls with alcohol problems, girls suffering the psychological impact of bullying. But they are all dealing in cure. A lengthy, costly and emotionally charged process. And only cure for those that come forward, or are nominated. This project is for those girls suffering in silence, those grils with nowhere, or no-one tgo turn to. it's about prevention and awareness. Before it happens - not after...
The cost of dealing with JUST the medical side of self harm alone, is now at incredible levels. The medical intervention cost alone, is estimated at $65,000,000 A YEAR in Australia! in the UK it's $150,000,000 A YEAR! in the USA the full cost - medical, psychological, and support costs of self harm are a staggering $8 billion EVERY YEAR. The future of care is prevention. I understand now how much pain I endured growing up. And my team and I want to use our stories, skills and experiences, so that we can keep others from falling into these traps. Alongside a team of brilliant, passionate, professional women, we have designed a road map for teenage girls to follow to keep them safe. All of the areas covered in kamp, are vital to ensuring a young woman can find self love and acceptance, and avoid self harm. At its simplest. Kamp Konfidence provides a two day and two night residential workshop, staffed by highly experienced practitioners to equip young Australian women with the tools, guidance and support they need to learn new ways to cope with the pressures and circumstances they face. And create the chance to focus on their potential free of self-doubt, negative introspection and limiting beliefs. Kamp Konfidence is a revolutionary 2day/2night wellness exploration for teenage girls aged 14-17, based on a preventative approach to dealing with the huge pressures young women face today. They will learn critical tools and skills that will help them to understand how to love themselves unconditionally, and find real happiness. Teens often don't want to hear messages of direction from their parents, and don't have access to proper role models and mentors to look to for advice when needed. In our experience, we find that teens relate best to those that have actually walked the walk, and not just talked the talk. In the 2day/2night kamp, the girls will be at a max capacity of 24. This is to ensure opportunity for open and honest sharing. Kamp Konfidence will offer ongoing support and teach education, life skills, hobbies and more. This also gives women in the local community an opportunity to share their passion and give back. The main components covered in Kamp Konfidence:
*Body Acceptance- the intervention program "The Body Project", is dissonance based, and comes from over 10+ years of proven research by Dr Eric Stice, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin. We explore advertising and the role and impact of mass media. How the media creates and feeds a constant cycle of perpetual not-enough-ness, and consumerism to find joy. Trying to fill a void that will never stay full. We become needy and greedy instead of grateful. In this module we provide the tools to understand the messages around us, and how to create a positive self image.
*Nutrition- the basics! Did you know, for example, that in order to lose fat, you have to eat it? So maybe those fat free diets weren't so smart after all! Why couldn't someone teach us that 'diet' soda contains loads of nasty stuff that potentially causes us to go blind, develop brain cancer, and not lose weight? That 99% fat free foods can often had the fat replaced by sugar, that TURNS INTO FAT AFTER YOU EAT THEM? It doesn't matter if you're a vegetarian, or eat like a cavewoman, we'll demonstrate that there's no wrong way to eat healthy. But that there are some key basic things to do right...
*Fitness - We teach the K.I.S.S. approach to fitness: Keep It Simple Silly! "working out" doesn't need to be some complicated gym regimen. We go from hula hooping, to using our own body weight as a workout in this segment. We take a trip down memory lane, and go back to what it was like to play when we were young. Make it fun, make it fast, make it effective, and make it stick for life! Start small and grow big. We value physical strength and power.
*Self Defence - awareness and prevention. There is no way a young woman is going to learn any tactical self defense program during a few hours on a weekend. Aside from a few instinctive basics, our primary teaching is that The BEST form of self defence, is prevention! We explore how to become a 'hard target' by removing the belief that women are the weaker s*x. We learn how to walk with our head and chest high, and how to make eye contact. How to exude Konfidence.
*Meditation - There are many different approaches to quietening the voices or the noise in our minds, and bringing in stillness. This module focuses on how the human condition is to live anywhere BUT the present. We look at how often we get stuck in the past, continually beating ourselves up for mistakes, and not learning and moving on. Conversely we look to the future as a form of happiness: "I'll be happy when I loose 10kilos or pounds". We teach some basics of meditation as a route to calmness and stillness of being.
*The Art of Journaling - know thyself! We believe in the power of reflection. Often we get so caught up with external things like social media and our friends dramas, that we don't spend any quality time learning what we stand for. Because after all, if we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything. Konfident people know who they are and are proud of what they've achieved. It is here we take our dreams out of the sky and turn them into achievable goals by writing them down on paper.
*Negative Self Beliefs - we are our own worst enemy - understanding the power of the human mind and how it works, is incredibly liberating. We provide the tools to not only help remove negative self beliefs, but to replace them with positive belief systems. Just this portion of kamp alone, will revolutionize the way the world works.
*Assertiveness - learning how to communicate effectively will take you far in life. We cover how to state our needs and wants clearly, without having any guilt or shame attached. How to avoid being a people pleaser, or using our s*xuality to get ahead, which often leads to compromising situations. We learn how to take responsibility for our own happiness, and not let other people's negativity affect us.
*Explore the creative side - Free of ego, we go back to the early days when we used to dance and play without caring what others were thinking about us. Through HipHop and Art workshops, to organizing and presenting advertising campaigns, we live boldly and have a crack at whatever activity is laid in front of us. (please email [email protected] for more information on the kamp structure)
To say nothing in Australia exists like this for young girls is an understatement. Nothing exists AT ALL for young girls in Australia today. Kamp Konfidence will create a world full of konfident female leaders, and reduce the numbers of young girls succumbing along the way to issues caused by substance abuse, alcohol abuse, body image issues, s*xual abuse, negative peer pressure, and an inability to effectively communicate. Kamp Konfidence will make the world a better place for young women to develop, live, learn, work and enjoy themselves. Whilst we teach self reliance and independence through Kamp Konfidence, we also teach that it is OK to ask for help sometimes. The world is a much more inhabitable, joyful place when we are helping each other along the way. But we don't expect handouts, nor think we need a man to change a tire! That's why we are here - with your help, we can achieve our goals a lot quicker, and reach the critical mass of young women who are in desperate need of our help. The Impact
In order for women to gain equality to our male counterparts, we must first treat each other equally. This can not happen until we are happy and content within ourselves, and not seeing each other as competition. Once this is achieved, we can understand that we are all in this together. We can't expect to be at our best, when we are too busy fearing we look our worst. Close your eyes, and imagine a world where all women were treated equal. Where women didn't feel like they had to dress or act a certain way to be successful. Where women embraced strength, and weren't afraid to workout and get strong. Where women could reach their full potential because their energy wasn't being wasted on obsessing on how they looked. Where women weren't victims of s*xual, drug and alcohol abuse, and completely loved themselves unconditionally....
A world full of Konfidence. Konfidence Pledge
overview:
When women are divided and made to feel inferior, less than, and not good enough, we are shut off from reaching our full potential. When faced with feelings of separation and isolation, we turn to consumerism, addictions, judgement, and fear. Attempting to fill a void that will never stay full. We must unite and help our fellow females stand strong. No matter what religion, race, weight, skills, or lack there of, acceptance of each other as individuals, will collectively help us achieve our ultimate goal; Equality. pledge:
I, _______________, solemnly swear, to the best of my ability, to refrain from talking negatively about myself, as well as other females. I am an equal amongst my peers, and do not see myself as better than, nor less than. Through this pledge of non-judgement, I understand and embrace that I am positively impacting the world, and furthering the global revolution of body acceptance. If you are a man, tell the woman standing next to you that she's beautiful, regardless of shape or size. If we focus our energy on love, and what we can pack into the stream of life, instead of fearing what others might be judging us for, we are much more useful and open to experiencing joy and freedom. We are much more open to enjoying the journey. Because after all, life is about the journey, not the destination.
