Backgrounder - Government of Canada invests in projects to improve gender equality in the justice system

Women and Gender Equality Canada’s Women’s Program

One of the ways Women and Gender Equality Canada advances gender equality in Canada is by providing funding to eligible organizations through the Women’s Program. Projects are selected via calls for proposals on specific themes, as well as through a continuous intake process that allows the Women’s Program to address emerging issues as they arise.                                                  

The Women’s Program funds projects that address systemic barriers to women’s equality in three priority areas: ending violence against women and girls; improving the economic security and prosperity of women and girls; and encouraging women and girls in leadership roles.

National Projects

Today’s announcement profiled two new national projects to advance gender equality in the justice system:

National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL)

Project title: Rebuilding Feminist Law Reform Capacity: Substantive Equality in the Law Making Process

Funding amount: $984,000

NAWL is working to increase the meaningful participation of women in the law-making process. It will be developing a national law reform network that will foster collaboration between feminist law students, legal academics, lawyers, and women’s organizations to achieve greater gender equality in the justice system. Solutions developed from this project will be shared with relevant decision-makers, including government and other law-making bodies, to inform change and achieve equality in the law-making process.

NAWL is an incorporated not-for-profit feminist organization that promotes the equality rights of women in Canada through legal education, research, and law reform advocacy. It works on its own and in collaboration with other women’s equality-seeking organizations to impact public policy on a wide range of issues, including pay equity, women’s human rights, immigration, and reproductive rights.

Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)

Project title: Strategic Litigation for Women’s Equality: The Path Forward

Funding amount: $880,000

LEAF will develop a modern, intersectional, and feminist strategic litigation plan that will enable feminists and gender equality advocates to address systemic barriers to gender equality and eliminate gender discrimination. LEAF will review the effectiveness of its own litigation efforts over the last 30 years and consult key stakeholders and feminist groups to identify key intersectional issues that can and should be addressed through strategic feminist litigation.

LEAF works to ensure Canadian courts provide the equality rights guaranteed to women and girls by Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Its strength comes from a small staff team in Toronto, member branches in several provinces, scores of active volunteers who serve on committees, a national board and West Coast LEAF in British Columbia.

Today’s announcement also highlighted investments in two projects currently underway in the legal sector:

METRAC: Action on Violence, Women’s Centre For Social Justice (WomenatthecentrE), and Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)

Project title: Empowering Women for Community Action

Funding amount: $736,000

The work undertaken by these organizations is designed to strengthen the justice system’s response to women survivors of sexual violence in Ontario through the development of an improved justice framework. Working with key partners, it engages women, enhances collaboration among multiple sectors and stakeholders, and draws on a court watch program to inform the development of a model that could be tested in Ontario communities. The framework allows for a coordinated response to achieving justice for survivors, and aspires to augment the number of women accessing the justice system; increasing offender accountability; and, improving conditions for women who choose to report assault. The results of the proposed testing will be shared with decision-makers with the goal of making systemic changes to the justice system for sexual assault survivors.

METRAC works with individuals, communities and institutions to change ideas, actions and policies with the goal of ending gender-based violence. Delivering relevant and boundary-breaking services and programs, it focuses on education and prevention, using innovative tools to build safety, justice and equity.

WomenatthecentrE is a members-based organization that works to eradicate violence against women, through personal, political and social action. As the only non-profit organization created by survivors for survivors, it uses its shared experiences to engage in public education, help change public perceptions and policy, and bring about systemic change.

LEAF works to ensure Canadian courts provide the equality rights guaranteed to women and girls by Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Its strength comes from a small staff team in Toronto, member branches in several provinces, scores of active volunteers who serve on committees, a national board and West Coast LEAF in British Columbia.

West Coast LEAF and YWCA Metro Vancouver

Project title: Dismantling the Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault

Funding amount: $284,000

West Coast LEAF and YWCA Metro Vancouver are working to eliminate barriers in the justice system that impede how women report sexual assaults in Vancouver. Specifically, they will work with key stakeholders in the justice system to increase understanding of the intersecting vulnerabilities of women to sexual violence while generating systemic changes by implementing new practices and policies. In collaboration with women, community, and institutional partners, an action plan will be developed and implemented. The action plan will seek to break down stereotypes and implement policies intended to foster an environment where women who have experienced sexual assault are better supported by the justice system.

West Coast LEAF is the first and only organization in British Columbia dedicated to using the law as a strategy to work towards an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination. Since its founding in 1985, it has helped bring about some of Canada’s most important feminist victories for reproductive rights, workplace standards, fairness in family law, legal protections from sexual harassment, and more.

Since its inception in 1897, YWCA Metro Vancouver has worked tirelessly to achieve women’s equality. Today, it is one of Metro Vancouver’s largest and most diversified non-profit organizations. Its holistic, integrated programs and services help lift women and families out of poverty, provide the best start for children, and create new opportunities for education, employment and leadership.