Family Law Project
Family law and women’s equality
Family law is a gender equality issue. Gender-based violence and income disparities in relationships undermine equality rights. Family law can have clear benefits for women and others who face gender discrimination when courts recognize their needs and interests, and continued progress in this area of law has great potential to change many lives for the better.
We work with a broad range of community organizations, family law practitioners, and academics to address emerging issues in the area of family law and access to justice.
We work on family law issues in several areas, including:
- Providing education materials on family law, including an information booklet on separation agreements, a webinar on Charter equality values in family law, and two family law workshops for frontline service providers
- Writing reports, including Troubling Assessments: Custody and Access Reports and their Equality Implications for BC Women and Separation Agreements: Your Right to Fairness.
- Making submissions to policy makers.
- Access to justice advocacy in the context of family law. Read more.
- Intervening in cases that have important consequences for family law.
- Providing direct services through Rise Women’s Legal Centre (a full-service family law clinic for self-identified women founded jointly by West Coast LEAF and the Allard School of Law at UBC).
