By Janelle Marie Baker The Canadian Government rejected the call for a National Inquiry into the estimated 582 missing Aboriginal women in Canada. How is this possible? I will begin with a story: I was working for a First Nation in Alberta and staying with a family on the reserve. My co-worker and I had…
by Sarah Allan Happy International Women’s Day! I wish that this day could be spent celebrating the successes and achievements of women around the world, but sadly, though its 2013 and we have come a long way, locally and globally the focus is still on the very real and seemingly ever-present issue of violence against women.…
Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University, via Sarah Allan The Court of Appeal for Ontario recently ruled that two elements of Canada’s prostitution laws cause harm to women (Canada Attorney General v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186: http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions_index/new_releases.htm). Specifically, the Court argues that the bawdy house provisions and the living off the avails provisions of the Criminal Code violate the…
by Sarah Allan Today, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its judgment in the matter of Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, which brought a constitutional challenge to the criminal laws that relate to prostitution. They struck down two of the three laws that were challenged, on the basis that they violated sex workers rights to take…
by Melanie Hadida I hate Rihanna. So much. Just ask any of my friends. If you’re ever out with me and we’re unlucky enough to have some background Rihanna music infiltrate our ears, I can guarantee you will have to sit through one of my anti-Rihanna rants. Which is why I wasn’t surprised to wake…
by Elamin Abdelmahmoud I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this matter, but I was stirred to comment (however briefly) about the Shafia murder trial. (As a trigger warning, I briefly discuss rape and domestic abuse in this note). I presume your basic knowledge of the case, as most mainstream media outlets…
by Sarah Allan Today is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This day of observance and action was created to call attention to crimes committed against sex workers all over the globe. While atrocities like the murders of dozens of survival sex workers from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) by Robert Pickton and the…
by Sarah Allan Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. If you have been so lucky as to have never experienced or witnessed violence against women in your own life, maybe some of the facts below will help you understand this pervasive problem. I hope they help to illustrate…
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