Feminists call for the protection of Human Rights and an end to women's poverty

• "nothing to report," the latest submission from the BC CEDAW Group to the United Nations, January 2010
• Stephen Lewis pleads for a feminist reform of the UN
  "This audience will surely agree that it's impossible to discuss sexual violence without the recognition that it's rooted in gender inequality...There’s everything at stake here. Not only would a women’s agency transform the lives of women worldwide, but it would also transform the United Nations...The one thing that hasn’t been tried, and that just might save the UN, is gender equality … having women at the levers of power..."
  Stephen Lewis delivered the inaugural Julia Taft Lecture, hosted by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children in New York in December, 2008.
  Read the entire speech at Aids-freeworld.org
• UN Asks Canada to Report Back on Poverty and Murdered Aboriginal Women
  November 24, 2008
  
• Submission by FAFIA to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Women's Inequality in Canada
  September 2008
  
• UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women
  CEDAW November 7, 2008
  
• Press Release from the BC CEDAW Group
  October 20, 2008
  
• Submission of the BC CEDAW Group to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
  September 2008
• World March of Women - World Demands
  Against poverty - for sharing of wealth
  Against violence against women - for the respect of women's physical and mental integrity
• BC CEDAW submission to the UN
  January 23, 2003
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women disapproves of Canadian performance
  CEDAW Draft Report, January 31 2003
• Public Forum on Ending Women's Poverty
  January 16, 2004
  

  BC CEDAW Group appeal to Government

• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Gordon Campbell
  Premier, Province of British Columbia, April 9 2003
• Gordon Campbell's reply to the BC CEDAW group appeal
  April 30 2003
• BC CEDAW Group reply to Campbell's reply dated May 22 2003
  May 22 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Jean Chretien
  Prime Minister, April 30 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Robert Daniel Nault
  Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, April 30 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Jean Augustine
  Secretary of State for the Status of Women, April 30 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Geoff Plant
  Attorney-General, Minister Responsible for Human Rights, April 9 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to the MLA
  April 9 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Lynn Stephens
  Minister of State for Women's Equality, April 9 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to Mr. Jacques Rogge
  President, International Olympic Committee, April 9 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable Colin Hansen
  Minister of Health Services, April 9 2003
• BC CEDAW Group appeal to The Honourable George Abbott
  Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, April 9 2003

  ---

• Vancouver City Council condemns the failure of the British Columbia government to observe its international human
  rights obligations towards women and girls
  
• Social program cuts hurt women
  The Province, March 11 2003
• Women's Forum
  March 12, 7-9 PM, Vancouver Public Library
  Come and hear what the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has to say about the BC Government
• Canada failing its women, U.N. says
  by Valerie Lawton, Toronto Star, March 6, 2003
• B.C. Singled Out for Criticism by U.N. Committee
  BC CEDAW Press Release, March 4 2003
• Women's equality moving backwards in BC
  BC CEDAW Press Release January 17 2003
• Canada's 5th report to UN on CEDAW
  
• Gosselin v. Québec…
  an important case for the future of social assistance
• Human rights plunge into the past
  by Shelagh Day, April 2002

Abolition of Prostitution

By VRRWS

• Most women don't want to decriminalize prostitution.
  by Daisy Kler (Special to the Vancouver Sun, July 2, 2010)
  >> Read the full article
  >> Read the article that Daisy Kler is responding to
• Canada Without Poverty website features a post by a Rape Relief collective member on the connection between prostitution and poverty. June 2010
• Resource List on Abolition: A Response to Prostitution as Violence Against Women. July 2008
• Feminist Definition of Abolition by Vancouver Rape Relief
• Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter Flesh Mapping: Vancouver markets pacific markets Project
  Starting from our position that prostitution is neither necessary nor desired by women and represents at best the “constrained choices” of women, we explore the links between the local demand of men for prostitution and the global traffic in girls and women.
• Abolishing Prostitution Through Economic, Physical and Political Security for Women by Lee Lakeman for her book entitled "Public Policy for Women: The State, Income Security and Labor Market Issues
• Should Prostitution be Legalized Before the 2010 Olympics?
  Public Forum, March 11th, 2008
• Panel Presentation on Prostitution
  Panel hosted by Daisy Kler and the VRRWS, November 3rd, 2007
• Ending Prostitution Public Forum hosted by VRRWS, October 10, 2003
• Reject red light districts as a solution to violence against women presentation by Suzanne Jay at the Raging Women's Conference, Vancouver, BC March 1, 2003
• Prostitution is not a new issue to Vancouver or to the women of Vancouver Rape Relief and Women' s Shelter. In the early and mid 1980's changes in law and attitude resulted in serious and dangerous changes for women. At the time Vancouver Rape Relief tried to contribute to the public discussion about prostitution.
  See a pdf of the front page of The Rape Relief Files or read some of the articles published in the Rape Relief Files 1986 & Rape Relief Files 1985

By Allies

• Emancipation Now. One Victim of Sex Slavery is One Victim Too Many. Over one hundred and fifty community leaders, academics and parliamentarians gathered at Simon Fraser University's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue on March 26th, 2009
  http://www.emancipationnow.com/founding-plenary.html
• A Critical Explanation of the New Legal Challenges to Canada's Prostitution Laws. Janine Benedet, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, U.B.C. and Thea Hoogstraten, U.B.C. law student. June 2008
• Prostitution Violating the Rights of Poor Women
  by Shelagh Day, June 2008
• This status report shows the history, funding and future plans of John School in Vancouver at a recent City of Vancouver Board Meeting - April 2008
  http://vancouver.ca/police/policeboard/agenda/2008/080416.pdf
• Workless Party Public Forum asks "Should Prostitution be Legalized Before the 2010 Olympics"? March 11, 2008
  View videos of the forum speakers on Working TV
• BC Teachers Federation annual general meeting social justice lunch topic: prostitution
  A Panel Presentation on Prostitution November, 2007
• Prostitution of Indigenous Women: Sex Inequality and the Colonization of Canada's First Nations Women
  Melissa Farley, Ph.D & Jacqueline Lynne
• Pornography and Prostitution and Canada: The Dangers Ahead
  Janine Benedet, LL.B., LL.M, S.J.D.
• Rejecting the Decriminalization of Prostitution in Canada
  Mercuda on commie sutra website
• Turning Outrage Into Action to Address Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in Canada: A Report from the Standing Committee on the Status of Women
  February 2007
• The Secretary-General’s in-depth study on all forms of violence against women - October 2006. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/SGstudyvaw.htm#expert
• What happens when prostitution becomes work?
  An update on legalization of prostitution in Australia by Mary Sullivan 2005
• Globalization and the Sex Trade: Trafficking and the Commodification of Women and Children - Richard Poulin
  http://sisyphe.org/article.php3?id_article=965
• CATW Resource Library - http://www.catwinternational.org/resources.php
• 10 Reasons for Not Legalizing Prostitution
  by Janice G. Raymond
  Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW), March 25, 2003
• Sweden Treating Prostitution as Violence Against Women
  By Marie De Santis
  Fact Sheet from the Swedish Ministry of Industry, Communications and Employment 2003
  Fact Sheet from the Swedish Ministry of Industry, Communications and Employment 2004
  In Sweden, prostitution is regarded as a part of men's violence against women and children. It is officially recognised that prostitution is a form of exploitation of women and children and is a significant social problem entailing serious injury to both individuals and society. For a long time now, the Swedish Government has been giving priority to the fight against prostitution and the trafficking of human beings for sexual purposes. Furthermore, these efforts play an important part in Swedish aspirations to achieve equality between women and men, both at national and international level. Equal opportunities cannot be achieved as long as women and children are bought, sold and exploited through prostitution.
• The Annotated Guide to the Complete UN Trafficking Protocol
  Included in this guide are the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime; the Interpretative Notes to the Trafficking Protocol.
• Palermo Protocol - United Nations agreement to prevent trafficking of persons
  Signed by Canada on December 14, 2000
• Pornography Happens to Women, by Andrea Dworkin, 1993, 1994 (from No Status Quo at http://nostatusquo.com)
• Prostitution and Male Supremacy, by Andrea Dworkin, 1993, 1994 (from No Status Quo at http://nostatusquo.com)

In the News

• Don't let sex slavery turn South Africa into a pimp state, by Madlala-Routledge. Madlala-Routledge is head of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - South Africa and its Embrace Dignity Campaign
• Interview with a Porn Scholar on the Tiger Woods Sex Scancal, by Jackson Katz, April 8, 2010 (from the Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
• Healthcare Union launches a campaign to protect healthcare workers against performing sexual requests from patients
• Bulgarian officials say legalizing prostitution could spur human trafficking
  International Herald Tribune, October 9 2007
• Bulgaria moves away from legalizing prostitution
  Nicholas Kulish, International Herald Tribune, October 5 2007
• It's not just on the streets that the tide of prostitution must be turned back
  Katharine Viner, The Guardian, January 21, 2006
• Move to legalize prostitution in Bangkok opposed
  Borneo Bulletin, November 28, 2003
• Vancouver council OK's residential sex trade
  Council eases limits on home businesses
  by Rod Mickleburgh, Globe and Mail, September 12 2003
• Minutes of city council minutes September 10, 2003
• Poverty leads to sex slavery/ Women & children protest
  by Sun Media, October 5 2002
• Council retreats on home-based escort zone
  Angry public feared prostitution in residential areas
  by Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun, October 2003
• City moves to make prostitution safer
  September 11, 2003
• MP's vow to reform sex-trade laws -
  Libby Davies motion spurs call for action
  by Peter O'Neil & Gwendolyn Richards, Vancouver Sun, February 8, 2002
• Motion proposed by MP Libby Davies
  and passed by House of Commons on February 7, 2003
• Hiring women, child prostitutes now a crime
  The government of the Philippines has enacted a law that criminalizes the men who buy women and children as prostitutes.
  by Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star, May 27 2003
• Sex slave evidence covered-up
  by Elisabeth Wynhausen, Michael McKinnon and Natalie O'Brien
  The Australian, May 15 2003
• The Anti-trafficking Bill that the Philippine government passed
  House Bill No.4432
• For the first time feminists took to the streets to say No
  to the system of prostitution
  Paris, December 10 2002
• International gathering denounces the promotion to legalize prostitution
  Press Statement Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's shelter May 29, 2008

Police Accountability to Prostituted Women

• Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres calls for inquiry into systemic sex abuse involving judge and RCMP in Prince George
  Globe and Mail, May 23, 2005

Police Accountability to Raped and Battered Women

Women missing from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

• Domestic Violence Survivor Brings Case to International Tribunal
  Rain and Thunder Issue #38 Spring Equinox 2008 p5
• Police Accountability Rally
  speech by Cristina, VRRWS, June 6 2003
• Missing Women CD in memory of Angela Rebecca Jardine
  One of many missing women from downtown Vancouver, B.C. with partial revenue to support Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter
• Privatized justice no justice for women
  Herizons Magazine, Summer 2002
• VRRWS in Solidarity with Native Women
  on Call for Inquiry into Missing Women
  Press Release, Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter, April 12, 2002
• Statement on the police investigation of 50 women missing from Vancouver’s downtown eastside
  Statement by Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter, February 8, 2002
• Statement by the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre
  February 8, 2002
• Statement by Aboriginal Women's Action Network
  February 8, 2002
• Speech by Daisy Kler
  On the 10th annual memorial of the missing and murdered women of the Downtown Eastside, February 14, 2001
• Unity Statement of the Women's Groups presenting to The Oppal Commission inquiring into Policing in British Columbia May 4th 1993
• Rape Relief Files, Prostitution Herstory 1986

Bonnie Mooney's Civil Suit (Battered Woman)

• Women Continue Their Struggle for Equal Protection under the Law
  press release in response to the BC Supreme Court of Appeal decision July 22, 2004
• BC Supreme Court of Appeals: Judgment
• When known Stalkers kill, Should Police Pay?
  The Tyee, March 4 2004
• CBC's "The Docket"
  to consider the Bonnie Mooney Case for more information, January 2004
• Police stand spurred crime, court told RCMP intervention could have stopped estranged husband's shooting rampage, B.C. woman says
  Globe and Mail, November 21 2003
• Vancouver Rape Relief's Factum regarding Bonnie Mooney's lawsuit
  This is part of what we presented to the judges reviewing the case
• Feminist Rape Crisis Centre to intervene in woman’s civil suit against RCMP and government
  VRRWS, November 19, 2003
• Domestic violence victim loses suit against RCMP
  National Post, June 6, 2001
• Battered woman can't sue over ex-husband's deadly rampage
  Vancouver Sun, June 6, 2001
• Stalking ruling denounced by women's groups
  CBC Web post June 6 2001. You can view CBC's broadcast of the Bonnie Mooney story at the CBC website (please note: enter 'bonnie mooney' in the CBC search box to view the broadcast)
• Press Release - Bonnie Mooney's Civil Suit
  Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter, March 1, 2001
• Press Release - Bonnie Mooney's Civil Suit
  Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres, March 1, 2001
• Press Release - Bonnie Mooney's Civil Suit
  National Action Committee on the Status of Women, March 1, 2001
• RCMP sued for man's shooting rampage
  National Post, March 3, 2001
• Abused wife wants cops to pay
  The Province, February 20, 2001
• Victim hopes lawsuit will help put an end to long nightmare
  The Province, February 20, 2001
• Maria Teresa Macias vs. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Ihde
  Million dollar settlement June 18, 2002
• The murder of Maria Teresa Macias
  link to Purple Berets' website

Kerrisdale women fight back against rape

• Fighting back against rape
  The Province, April 10, 2001
• Kerrisdale women rally against rapist
  The Province, April 8, 2001
• Sex assaults spur rally
  The Vancouver Courier, April 2001
• Women Without Fear, Protecting Each Other
  Pamphlet distributed during the Kerrisdale rally, April 2001
• Would-be Rapist Posters
• Press Release - Supreme Courts dismisses Tyhurst appeal
  VRRWS, January 22, 2004
• Transformative Justice
  by Karlene Faith
• Why "Law and Order" Cannot End Violence Against Women;
  and Why the Development of Women's (Social, Economic and Political and Civil) Rights Might by Lee Lakeman, October 2000
• Changing Scenarios on rape
  Globe & Mail, Nov 22, 1997
• Press Release - Jane Doe case against the Toronto police force
  Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter, July 3, 1998
• Women's Submission to the Oppal Commission
  Inquiring into Policing in British Columbia
• Rape Relief's Submission to the Oppal Commission
  Inquiring into Policing in British Columbia

Asian Women Stand Together to Speak Out Against Violence

• Against Attacks Targeted at Asian Women near 29th Avenue Skytrain Stn.
  Poster of event on June 27 2007
• South Asian Women Fight Back
  Poster of rally on April 5 2007
• Suzanne Jay, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter
  November 7 2002
• Rita Wong Statement
  November 7 2002
• Sook C. Kong's Press Statement
  November 7 2002
• Rape Crisis Workers Take Action to Respond to Stanley Park Beating
  May 29 - June 1 2002
• Attack on Stanley Park jogger sends shiver around the world
  Province Newspaper, May 31, 2002
• Letters — Vancouver Sun Women have a right to be safe
  June 1, 2002
• Bake, yard sale raises $1,000 for woman attacked in park
  Province Newspaper Sunday June 9, 2002

Feminism in the Transition House

• Fazeela Jiwa: Honour killings? Domestic violence? Call it what it is: male violence against women
  Collective Member Fazeela Jiwa's article in the Georgia Strait.com

• Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy
  Death Does Not Become Her: Pre-Mortem Initiatives
  A series of speaks held during Prevention of Violence against Women Week, April 18th to 25th, 2010
  >> View the event poster
  Five articles generated from the discussion:
  Death Does Not Become Her: Pre-Mortem Initiatives; The Urban Women's Anti-violence Strategy launches a week of events
  Death Does Not Become Her: The First Night
  The Second Night: How can men be involved in the women’s anti-violence movement?
  The Third Night: The grid of forces that sustain violence against women.
  The Fourth Night: When Battered Women Are Arrested.
  Death Does Not Become Her: The Final Event
• Political Assumptions of Feminist Therapy
  from Rape Relief Files
• Lest we Forget, Sherry Heron and Anna Adams
  The Tyee, August 15, 2005
• Murder inspired Vigil
  Mission City Record, June 19 2003
• Transition house workers protest in Penticton
  The Okanagan newspaper, May 31 2003
• The result of following hospital and police procedure is that
  Sherry Heron is dead
  Press Release, CASAC, May 28 2003
• Transition House Workers Demonstrate to Demand Women's Right to Police Protection
  Press Release, B.C./Yukon Society of Transition Houses, May 30 2003
• Gutting of BC Attorney General's Wife Assault Policy
  Will Cost Women's Lives
  Press Release, Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter, May 27 2003
• Canadians were outraged in August 2001 when Kimberly Rogers died
  destitute, alone and eight months pregnant, while under house arrest for welfare fraud.
• Vancouver Rape Relief And Women's Shelter organizes rally to protest cuts to legal aid, welfare and feminist advocacy centers
  
• Ontario rise in spousal murders sign of things to come in B.C.: activists
  by Sandra Thomas - Vancouver Courier Newspaper, October 16, 2002
• When Husbands Attack
  by Graeme Smith - Globe and Mail, October 5, 2002
• We Won't Allow Women to Die
  leaflet on women's advocacy centres, Legal Aid and Welfare - October 4, 2002 Click Here - for PDF version of leaflet
• Wife Murders Will Increase as a Result of Government Cuts
  Press Release, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, October 4, 2002
• Warning to Women of British Columbia!
  Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH)
• Spousal Homicide Increase Bucks Trend
  September 26, 2002
• B.C. murder rate falls to lowest level in 40 years
  by Janice Tibbetts and
  Lori Culbert, The Vancouver Sun, September 26, 2002
• Homicides
  The Daily - Statistics Canada's official release bulletin,
  September 25, 2002
• Bulletin: Rape Crisis Centre NOT Closing
  September 12, 2002
• Feminists Warn Against Attorney General’s Proposed Abandonment of BC Women to Violent Spouses
  June 4, 2002
• Women Trapped with Abusive Partners
  EWA Newsletter V.7 #1 - Winter 1996
• The Impact of Cuts on Abused Women and Shelters for Women
  by Eileen Morrow, 1996
• Women's Shelter Prepares for Cuts
  by Sandra Thomas, Vancouver Courier, March 27 2002
• Feminism in the Transition House
  by Pauline Funston, October 2000
• Working with Refugee Women
  by Alice Lee, October 2000
• Children of divorce need our protection
  by Michelle Landsberg, July 27 2003
• Ignore the spin: that divorce settlement was unfair
  by Michelle Landsberg, May 27 2001
• More on the Despicable Eminem
  Letter published in Said It Magazine, Feminist News Culture and Politics, May 2001
• Plight of 'incorrigible' women demands justice
  by Michele Landsberg, Sunday Star May 6 2001
• Conciousness-Raising: A Radical Weapon
  by Sarachild, Kathie. Feminist Revolution 1978
• How to start your own consciousness-raising group
  by The Chicago Women's Liberation Union, 1971

The Rebuilding of a Left-wing Political Movement

• Fazeela Jiwa of VRRWS speaks at the Better BC Rally held on April 10th, 2010
  
  

  7 - Fazeela Jiwa, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, Better BC rally from working TV on Vimeo.

• The Free Trade Area of the Americas:It's not about trade
  by Murray Dobbin, Vancouver Sun, April 19 2001
• January 13, 2001 meeting to Rebuild the Left in Vancouver
  January 13 2001
• Statements to the Left 1982-1986, why the independent women's movement
  Lee Lakeman, 1986
• Feminist Action Against the FTAA
  (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas - link to website)

Rape Shield Law Upheld

• LEAF Press Release
  October 10 2000
• Supreme Court upholds rape-shield law
  Globe & Mail, October 13 2000
• The Criminal Code on "Evidence of complaint's sexual activity"

Native and Aboriginal Women in Canada

• Aboriginal Women's Action Network Releases Report on Bill C-31
  by Audrey Huntley
• Native and Aboriginal Women Call on Women's Movement Support
  NAC 1998

Feminists Protect the Idea of a Women-Only Space

Supreme Court of Canada declines to hear an appeal from the decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal

• Press Release: Women’s equality groups protected by Supreme Court of Canada ruling
  February 1, 2007, VRRWS
• Sustaining resistance to male violence: Attacks on women's organizing and Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter
  Canadian Woman Studies

BC Court of Appeal upholds rights of equality seeking groups to determine their own membership

• Chronology of events in Nixon vs Vancouver Rape Relief Society
• Summary of decision
  December 8, 2005
• Court of Appeal: reasons for Judgment
  December 7, 2005
• Rights of Equality-seeking organizations protected
  Vancouver Rape Relief has right to determine membership

  BC Supreme Court Overrules BC Human Rights Tribunal - December 2003

• BC Supreme Court overrules BC Human Rights Tribunal
  Women-Only Rape Crisis Centre and Transition House Did Not Discriminate Against Male-To-Female Transsexual
  December 22 2003
• BC Supreme Court: Reasons for Judgment
• Lawyer for Male-to-Female Transsexual Complainant Asserts that Women Share Nothing in Common With Each Other
  Press Release, August 22 2003
• Summary of Issues at Tribunal and Under Review
  August 18 2003
• Argument of Petitioner
  July 1 2003
• Vancouver Rape Relief Seeks BC Supreme Court Appeal of Human Rights Decision in Women-Only Case
  Press Release, June 24 2002
• Petition to BC Supreme Court for Judicial Review
• Transcripts of Excerpts from Proceedings
  (December 11 2000-January 31 2001)

BC Human Rights Tribunal Decision Released on January 18 2002

• Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter
  expresses serious concern about Human Rights Tribunal Decision
  January 18 2002
• Chronology of events leading to British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal in Nixon vs Vancouver Rape Relief Society
  January 2002
• Summary of Issues and Vancouver Rape Relief's Position – Nixon vs. Vancouver Rape Relief Society: Pending before the BC Human Rights Tribunal
  January 2002
• Summary of Human Rights Tribunal Decision in
  Nixon vs Rape Relief Society
  January 18, 2002
• BC Human Rights Tribunal – 2002 Decisions
  Link to website

BC Human Rights Tribunal
December 11 2000 to February 21 2001

• Summary of Legal Argument Part I
  presented by Christine Boyle, January 24-26, 2001
• Summary of Legal Argument Part 2
  presented by Victoria Gray, January 24-26, 2001
• Rape Relief's Summary of Key Evidence by Issue
  January 24-26, 2001
• Closing Arguments
  Human Rights Tribunal, Kimberly Nixon v. Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, January 24-26, 2001
• Opening of the respondent Vancouver Rape Relief Society
  British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, December 11, 2000

  Other Cases

• Brent E. Johnston argued that the battered women in a second stage shelter discriminated against him when they required him to respect boundaries in their home.  Johnson attacked the organizers who work for the shelter and who backed the residents to set those boundaries. The BC Human Rights Tribunal heard the case and decided against the shelter, awarding Brent E. Johnston $1,000 for his hurt feelings.
  Male caregiver wins sex discrimination case
  by Chris Johnson, Vancouver Sun, June 15, 2004
  BC Human Rights Tribunal decision #1
  BC Human Rights Tribunal Decision #2

Newspaper articles, essays, letters: April 2000-2005

• Presentation by Gwendoline Allison
  Presentation by Sarah Firestone
  Presentation by Lynda Gerty
  The legal firm of Bull, Housser & Tupper honours Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter for their anti-violence work, September 9, 2005
• Duelling Rights
  by Shannon Rupp, The Georgia Straight, February 3, 2005
• The Body Within: The Body Without
  by Jane Armstrong, The Australian, June 12 2004
• Sex Change Urged by Gender Bias
  by Sheila Jeffreys, April 19 2004
• Meanings of "Woman"
  - Resistance Based on Individual and Collective Identity
  by Christine Boyle, 5 minute audio excerpt from the CD of the presentation
• Building Bridges
  (transsexuals who identify as lesbians) by Jenny Roberts January 28 2002
• Transgender Activism: A Lesbian Feminist Perspective
  by Sheila Jeffreys from The Journal of Lesbian Studies, 1997
• Pantomime Dames
  by Germaine Greer from her book The Whole Woman, 1999
• Speak Out: A necessary exclusion
  by Chris Linneman March 11, 2002
• Transsexual wins rights ruling over rejection as rape counselor
  Vancouver Sun, January 19, 2002
• Letter of thanks to our supporters
  January 23, 2002 Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter Collective
• Sex, lies and feminism
  by Charlotte Croson, off our backs, June 2001
• Transsexual 'always a woman,' lawyer says
  Vancouver Sun, February 23, 2001 
• Rape Relief defends not hiring former man
  Vancouver Sun, February 22, 2001  
• B.C. rights case asks: What is a woman?
  National Post, February 22, 2001
• Transsexual B.C. woman says she knows the oppression of women
  Canadian Press, February 20, 2001
• Rape crisis centre in B.C. endures assault
  Toronto Star, December 23, 2000
• Women's groups have right to decide who belongs, feminist says
  Vancouver Sun, December 19, 2000
• Rebick defends rape centre's right to reject transsexual
  National Post, December 19,2000
• Should Transsexual Counsel Rape Victims?
  Edmonton Sun, December 17, 2000
• Who gets to be a woman?
  Globe and Mail, December 14, 2000
• Transsexual woman doesn't have experience to be rape counselor Vancouver Sun, December 13, 2000
• Transsexual tells tribunal discrimination led to thoughts of suicide
  National Post, December 12, 2000
• Woman felt humiliated by Rape Relief
  Vancouver Sun, December 12, 2000
• Fighting to do a woman's work
  Globe and Mail, December 9, 2000
• One Centre's Fight in Response to a Human Rights' Complaint
• The struggle for women-only space  
  Women's Organizations and B.C. Human Rights Code, by Virginia Woo, Jeanne d'Arc, Maria N.Penn and Clara
• "The Emperor's New Gender"
  by alix dobkin, originally published in off our backs magazine, April 2000
• Men in Ewes Clothing:
  The Stealth Politics of the Transgender Movement
  by Karla Mantilla, off our backs, April 2000
• Post-modernism Harms Women  
  by Margaret Deirdre O'Hartigan

99 Federal Steps

• 99 Steps to End Violence Against Women

BC Anti-Violence Workers Meeting, September 1999

• Recommendations for Change

Custody and Access

In August 2002 the Federal Minister of Justice, the Honourable Martin Cauchon announced that he intended to introduce changes to the Divorce Act and to abandon the concepts of custody and access. Feminists across the country have cautioned the Minister about the consequences of the proposed reforms to family law.

In part, the Minister has proposed to abandon the concepts of "custody and access" favour of the ill-defined concept "parental responsibilities". Currently, neither the Divorce Act or Bill C-22 name or address the gendered nature of inequality and does not assure or attempt to assure women equality at the time of divorce.

The Federal government has planned another consultation process on Bill C-22. These consultations are currently expected to take place in the fall/winter of 2003. Vancouver Rape Relief will post material as it becomes available from ourselves and our allies. You can also look here for links to other feminist resources on custody and access, the Divorce Act and Bill C-22.

• National Association of Women and the Law
  organizing materials and information about Bill C-22
• Ontario Women's Network on Custody and Access Brief
  to the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Family Law Committee on Custody, Access and Child Support
• Ontario Women's Justice Network
  Taking Action on Custody and Access in Your Community
• The Canadian Divorce Act
• Here is a very basic description of Canadian Divorce Law
• Federal Guidelines for Child Support
• Basic Information about Matrimonial property for Canada
  (Stuff you and your husband own together and how it should be shared if you separate or divorce)
• Basic Information about Matrimonial property for British Columbia
  (Stuff you and your husband own together and how it should be shared if you separate or divorce)
• British Columbia Family Relations Act
• A Custody & Access Alert!
  Calling all women who wish to be part of Provincial Custody & Access Discussions on Changes to the Divorce Act
• Myths and Realities of Custody and Access

Feminist Analysis of B.C. Ministry of Women's Equality
Lower Mainland Women's Groups meet with Premier Glen Clark

• Presentation by Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter

Drug Facilitated Rape

• GHB and women: we have some things to tell you
  by Krista, Jessica, Zahra, Leigha and Janet & Tamara
  for the Vancouver Rape Relief Collective, October 2002
• Women cautioned about rape drug
  But focus should be on men, activist says
  by Heather Scoffied, Globe & Mail, March 12, 2001
• How the Hype Tricks Women: A Rape Crisis Centre's View
  by Tamara Gorin, October 1998
• How the Hype Tricks Women: A Rape Crisis Centre View
  by Tamara Gorin, as published in Canadian Woman Studies, October 2000

Fight to Restore Legal Aid Funding

• Vancouver lawyer speaks to rally on legal aid cuts
  February 11, 2002
• CBA Condemns B.C. Decision to Slash Legal Aid
  link to The Information Service of the Canadian Bar Association website
• Helping battered women is justice, not discrimination
  by Michele Landsberg, Toronto Star May 12, 2001
• Canadian Federal Government
• B.C. Provincial Government
• Effects of Legal Aid Funding on B.C.

Bishop O'Connor Case - Outcome and Responses

• Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter News Release
• Vancouver Sun, June 18, 1998
• Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' News Release

DNA Databank

• Not in Our Name

Violence in the US

• Jaclyn Friedman: We Are All Polanski's Victims, and We All Deserve Justice
  "...rape isn't just a crime against one person... The act violates what should be one of our core values as a civilization: that every person of every gender and age has the right to bodily autonomy — to basic safety in our bodies. When that right is violated and the perpetrator goes unpunished, it makes all of us less safe..."
  >> Read the entire article
• A compilation of various articles on the recent violence in the US
  Including an interview with Noam Chomski and a letter you can send to our Prime Minister. Events of September 11 2001   

Feminists resist the call to war

• 2009: Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter received the YMCA’s Power of Peace award as a Local Peacemaker! In bestowing this award to Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, the YMCA recognises VRRWS' 36 years of fighting violence against women.
  
  Jacqueline Gullion accepting the YMCA Peacemaker Award on behalf of VRRWS

  >> View some of the YMCA Power of Peace Awards recommendation letters

• In Conversation with Laura Holland
  Interview by Mordecai Briemberg, April 2 2007
  The Canadian military is on the hunt for new recruits. They are setting bait for First Nations children as young as sixteen, and Laura Holland’s two sons wanted to sign-up.
• Call of Action! World March of Women International Committee
  July 2006
• Women speak for peace above the din of war
  by Michelle Landsberg, March 22 2003
• Why We Need Women's Actions and Feminist Voices for Peace
  by Starhawk
• Vancouver Women's Peace Action January 17, 2003
  Women walked in Vancouver to oppose war, bring attention to the deaths of children worldwide and to demand the government divert the money from military to social needs. View photos of this action.
• Vancouver, Feb. 15 Peace Rally
  (link to webcast on Working TV) Highlights from the Peace Rally in Vancouver on Saturday February 15, 2003, which drew over 35,000 to Stop the War on Iraq. It was part of a worldwide event that same day that drew over 50 million.
• Saying "no" to war
  Peace Rally in Vancouver, Jan 18, 2003, Working TV broadcast
• Vancouver Rape Relief is a signatory to:
  "Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation of
  Palestinian Territories" (PDF File)
• Ta'ayush movement
  Leena Dallasheh & Noa Nativ speak in Vancouver about the Ta'ayush movement and their goal of Peace & Equality between Palestinians & Jewish Israelis
• Canada-Palestine Support Network link to website
• A Post-Taliban Afghanistan Must Heed Women
  by Michelle Landsberg, October 7 2001
• Appeal of the World March of Women
  Montreal, October 5 2001
• Soaked in Censorship
  by Judy Rebick, October 2001
• The Women's Declaration Against War and
  Racism For Peace and Justice
  Canadian Women's March Committee, September 28 2001
• Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women
  Press Release, September 21 2001
• Ghosts and Echoes by Robin Morgan
  September 18 2001
• The people of Afghanistan have nothing to do with Osama and his accomplices
  by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
  September 14 2001
• War isn't a game after all
  by Naomi Klein, September 14 2001
• NYC Report
  by Robin Morgan, September 12, 2001
• PeaceWomen
  A project of the International Women's League for Peace and Freedom
  speak out on the tragedy of September 11 2001