Metadata

Adapted from the VWHC website

The Vancouver Women’s Health Collective began in 1971 as a place for women to share their experiences with the healthcare system and organize around the inadequacy of that system in recognizing and caring for their issues and needs.  Over time, the organization developed into a clinic to provide healthcare for women in a supportive setting, in addition to continuing as a centre for advocacy and change. The VWHC operated as a collective and aimed to empower women to take control over their own health through information, self-advocacy, and organizing.  

During the 1980s, the VWHC turned to providing information and resources for women and has been active in different ways around women’s health concerns and needs. One issue taken up by the VWHC was awareness about DES, a synthetic estrogen given to reduce the risk of miscarriage and which was later found to have serious health effects. The VWHC was also involved in actions against the makers of the IUD device known as the Dalkon Shield, which was found to cause serious harm to women using it.

The Vancouver Women’s Health Collective continues as a non-profit organization for those who self-identify as women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming, helping to foster health, wellness, and equity through feminist approaches.

Vancouver Women’s Health Collective Documents

	Title	Date	Region
	Natural Menopause Booklet	--	British Columbia
	Pap Tests Booklet – Vancouver Women’s Health Collective	1986	British Columbia