We are proud of our work this year. Here are 5 highlights:
Showing up for trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse communities
Last year, we updated our mandate to be more gender inclusive. This year, attacks on the Charter rights of trans kids across different provinces, and a sharp rise in anti-trans violence and hate, led us to quickly put our words into action.
As part of that work, LEAF was recently granted intervention status in UR Pride Centre v. Saskatchewan, a legal challenge to a policy that discriminates against trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse students. Unfortunately, the Saskatchewan government invoked the notwithstanding clause to make sure their discriminatory policy became law and to stop the legal challenge in its tracks. Despite this, UR Pride isn’t giving up, and LEAF will work alongside community allies to fight for the rights of trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse youth.
Making reproductive justice a reality across Canada
LEAF’s Reproductive Justice Project focuses on advancing reproductive justice in Canada through law reform advocacy at the provincial/ territorial level. In Ontario, LEAF is pushing for the province to follow in BC’s footsteps with universal, no-cost contraception.
Expanding what safety, justice, and healing can look like for survivors
We’ve seen a trend of federal lawmakers looking to expand and bolster the criminal legal system as the default response to sexual and gender-based violence. This system has long been the default in Canada, yet the gender-based violence crisis shows no signs of slowing down.
The government must re-examine how to best protect survivors of gender-based violence, especially Black, Indigenous, and racialized survivors who are already disproportionately surveilled, targeted, and punished by law enforcement. This year, LEAF cautioned Parliamentarians against further limiting bail access and made it clear that criminalizing coercive control will not facilitate tangible access to justice or safety.
It’s time to centre prevention, healing, agency, and justice for all survivors. LEAF successfully advocated for survivors in sexual assault cases to have a choice in whether a publication ban is imposed on their identity. In October, we launched the Avenues to Justice Project, which looks at restorative and transformative justice as effective responses to sexual violence.
Ensuring regulations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre human rights
AI has been lauded as innovative and beneficial for the public, but looking at AI from an equity lens reveals many harms. In a new bill aiming to regulate AI, the federal government has thus far failed to mitigate harms. LEAF has been vocal in demanding changes to the proposed AI regulations that put human rights first.
Examining accountability for gender-based violence
Canada has an epidemic of gender-based violence. We know a lot about what we need to do to end the epidemic. We also have a new National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence that lays out how to achieve a Canada without gender-based violence. Now we need a way to hold governments accountable for making this plan a reality. We’ve initiated the Accountability Project to examine how to do that effectively.
With your help, in 2024 we will continue to stand up for women, girls, trans, and non-binary people and their rights.
