In June 2020, West Coast LEAF made submissions to the budget consultations held by the government of BC Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. We urged the committee to keep front of mind the following fact: if we do not urgently scale up efforts to combat gender inequality, we will see long-term and major … Read more Submission to the BC Budget 2020 consultations
VANCOUVER, UNCEDED COAST SALISH HOMELANDS – Today, West Coast LEAF released a report card assessing the BC government’s recent progress on gender equality and human rights. While recognizing that BC has taken some steps in the right direction between December 2018 and early April 2020, the BC Gender Equality Report Card also finds that many of these … Read more Release: BC Gender Equality Report Card reveals areas of progress and areas of serious concern
The BC Gender Equality Report Card 2019/2020 assesses the BC government’s progress in advancing human rights and gender justice…
On May 27, we will launch our Gender Equality Report Card. We are excited to share this report assessing what the BC government has done—or failed to do—to advance gender justice and human rights between December 2018 and early April 2020. This year’s report builds on the work we have been doing over the last … Read more Meet the Report Card Partners
For survivors of sexual assault navigating the criminal legal system, the disclosure of private records and introduction of evidence about their sexual history can be a devastating intrusion. Concerns about this type of intrusion can also be a major barrier to reporting sexual assault or accessing counselling and other support services. In March 2020, as … Read more A toolkit for navigating section 276 and 278 Criminal Code matters as complainant counsel in criminal proceedings
VANCOUVER – Today, West Coast LEAF launched a toolkit for navigating the admissibility of evidence of a survivor’s sexual activity and the production of third-party records in criminal proceedings. Designed for lawyers representing survivors, the toolkit addresses section 276 and 278 Criminal Code matters. It provides an overview of the evolution of this area of law, practical advice for advancing … Read more Release: Survivors of sexual assault will be supported by a new legal toolkit to protect against invasive disclosure of private records and sexual history
While settling into work-and-do-everything-else-from-home mode, I’m thinking about those who must leave their homes and brave uncertain and potentially hostile terrain to secure safety and freedom from violence. Refugees are among those hardest hit by global crises – COVID-19 is no exception. At the time I write this, the border between Canada and the United States … Read more Refugee Rights are Human Rights: The United States is no safe country for refugee survivors of gender-based violence
In January 2020, West Coast LEAF added our voice to the call by Sanctuary City Vancouver and many other groups to end the three-month waiting period to access health care for people entering or returning to Canada. Read our letter to the BC Ministry of Health Medical Services Commission. Submissions
This Saturday, March 21st, we will celebrate this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racism. At this moment, we nervously watch an openly racist leader to the South tries to hang onto power, white nationalist movements gain strength in Europe, and Indigenous people in Canada, regardless of whether or not they are actively supporting the Wet’suwet’en land defenders, are being … Read more Challenging racism in all its complex forms: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
“We need, each of us, to begin the awesome, difficult work of love; loving ourselves so that we become able to love others without fear so that we can become able enough to enlarge the circle of our trust and our common striving for a safe, sunny afternoon near to flowering trees and under a … Read more Eight Black writers to check out during Black History Month and beyond