Nov 20, 2012 | Indigenous Women, Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Reports
Learning from the Failures of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry
From the perspective of the hundreds of marginalized women who protested the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (“the Inquiry”) every morning for the first month of hearings, the Inquiry was an absolute failure. This perspective is shared by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Pivot Legal Society and West Coast LEAF, the human and democratic rights organizations that produced this report.
The Inquiry was set up to examine the problems arising from investigations of the disappearance and murder of dozens of women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (“DTES”), and particularly the investigation of serial murderer Robert William Pickton. Out of the failures of the Inquiry, which are well documented and understood in the affected communities, the hope of the authors is that a positive legacy can still be uncovered.
If nothing else, this Inquiry demonstrates what should not be done in conducting a public inquiry involving marginalized communities. It therefore functions as a useful lesson for similar inquiries in the future, no matter where they take place. This report does not focus on the nuances of B.C. provincial law, but instead on broad trends and procedural approaches that future commissioners of inquiry and their staff may usefully adapt to the particularities of their own jurisdictions.
If there were only one recommendation to come from this report, it would be that commissions of inquiry that intend to work with marginalized populations as witnesses, or inquiries that are called in response to the concerns of marginalized communities, must consult thoroughly at every stage with those communities and the organizations that work with those communities.
Consultation and Collaboration: Voices of the community excluded
The Inquiry excluded the voices of individuals and communities that it should have worked the hardest to include: Aboriginal women, sex workers, women who use drugs, and women living in poverty who were most affected by the Pickton murders and the resulting investigations, and who remain at extremely high risk for violence.
The Commission repeated the very mistakes that led to serial murderer Robert Pickton being able to operate with impunity in the first place – the voices of marginalized women were shoved aside while the “professional” opinions of police and government officials took centre stage. The focus of the Inquiry was directed away from systemic issues, targeting instead individual participants in the system who may not have fulfilled their job requirements as expected.
Please see the report on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
Nov 18, 2012 | Battered Women's Support Services, Media Advisory, Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Reports
New report critical of Missing Women Inquiry issued weeks before Inquiry’s deadline
Media Advisory, November 18, 2012
Vancouver- A new report on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (MWCI) will released on Monday morning by three leading BC human rights organizations just weeks before the Inquiry’s Commissioner delivers his final report to the Attorney General of BC at the end of this month.
What:
Release of report on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry by B.C.
Civil Liberties Association, Pivot Legal Society and West Coast LEAF
Where:
Carnegie Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street, Vancouver (Main and
Hastings)
When:
Monday November 19, 10:00 a.m.
Who:
Kasari Govender, Executive Director, West Coast LEAF
Katrina Pacey, Litigation Director, Pivot Legal Society
Lindsay Lyster, President, BCCLA
For more information, please contact:
Katrina Pacey, Litigation Director, Pivot Legal Society – (604) 729-7849
Kasari Govender, Executive Director, West Coast LEAF – (604) 339-0202
Lindsay Lyster, President, BCCLA – (604) 689-4457
Please see the new report on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
Oct 19, 2011 | Battered Women's Support Services, Reports
British Columbia Scores a "C-" for Women: West Coast LEAF CEDAW Report Card
For the second year in a row, British Columbia has scored an overall C- in women’s rights. The province is failing to meet its potential due to continued detrimental practices particularly affecting low income and marginalized women. The grade was awarded in the West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund’s third annual CEDAW Report Card, released yesterday.
West Coast LEAF CEDAW Report Card is released every year on the anniversary of the 1929 Persons Day victory that established many women as “persons” under the law and eligible for appointment to the Senate. The purpose of this report card is to grade the Government of British Columbia on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981.
CEDAW enshrines important protections for women in international human rights law. The UN CEDAW Committee is an international body of independent experts who are charged with monitoring state parties’ compliance and implementation of the Convention. Every four years, each country that has signed on to the Convention must report to the CEDAW Committee about how well it is measuring up to the CEDAW standards of women’s equality. Non-governmental organizations may also submit what are called “shadow reports”, expressing their views on that country’s CEDAW compliance.
Canada ratified CEDAW on December 10, 1981. In October and November of 2008, the CEDAW Committee considered the sixth and seventh reports from Canada, along with reports from local NGOs, and issued its observations on Canada’s compliance and implementation of the Convention. The BC CEDAW Group, a coalition of women’s organizations in BC including West Coast LEAF, produced a shadow report about the situation for women in BC. The Committee was very concerned about a number of issues concerning women’s rights in Canada, and singled out some issues of significance in BC especially. The Committee took the unusual step of requiring Canada to report back to the Committee in a year on its progress on two issues of
particular concern:
(1) establishing and monitoring minimum standards for the provision of funding to social assistance programs, and carrying out an impact assessment of social programs related to women’s rights; and
(2) examining the failure to investigate the cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, and to address those failures.
The Government of Canada submitted its response to these questions in February 2010, and the BC CEDAW Group submitted a shadow report entitled “Nothing to Report.” This Report Card measures how well BC is measuring up to some of the CEDAW obligations that fall within provincial jurisdiction, including these two areas of urgent concern to the Committee.
How BC is Measuring Up In Women’s Rights
Mar 20, 2011 | Reports
In the Fifty-fifth Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, it was agreed that although girls suffer severe gender discrimination and abuse, they remain “Crucial Constituents for Change”
Read more about this session’s conclusions, including the assertion that “more be done by States and communities to ensure stronger penalties for perpetrators and legal recourse for victims,” here.
Oct 18, 2010 | Battered Women's Support Services, Reports
October 18, 2010 – British Columbia has a C- average in women’s rights, according to the second annual West Coast LEAF CEDAW Report Card, released today. The report is being released on Persons Day, the 1929 victory that established many women as "persons" under the law and eligible for appointment to the Senate.
The Report Card uses statistics and reports to measure BC’s performance against the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Last year’s average was a "D". While there has been some improvement this year, West Coast LEAF is disappointed that the Province is still receiving failing grades in providing access to justice and social assistance to vulnerable women and families. Both the legal aid and social assistance systems in BC have been subject to budget and service cuts over the past year that impact women disproportionately.
The report covers important legal and social issues such as Women & Housing and Access to Childcare. Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls climbed from an F to a C, largely due to the long-awaited announcement of a public inquiry into the conduct of the "missing women investigations". However, in order to satisfy CEDAW requirements the Inquiry must address the systemic issues in these cases – whether it will do so remains to be seen.
Women & Health Care is a new subject this year and was graded C+. Health care provision in BC is overall positive, but doesn’t go far enough in addressing the needs of marginalized residents of BC, especially following cuts to spending and programs in recent years.
"It’s been 81 years since we celebrated an important milestone with Persons Day, yet we’re still struggling with the challenges of women’s equality in this province," says West Coast LEAF Legal Director Kasari Govender. "This year’s grades reflect some of the promises that have been made regarding improved services for women and families, but the fulfillment of women’s rights requires more than just words. Women leaving relationships require greater access to the courts, women with disabilities need better supports, and Aboriginal women and girls deserve to know that their safety is a priority in our justice system."
The report was compiled by West Coast LEAF with input from various community organizations.
Excerpts from the report:
* BC still has the highest overall rate of poverty in the country at 11.4%, as well as the highest rate of child poverty in Canada at 10.4%.
* A recent study by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities comparing 24 different Canadian cities placed Vancouver at the top of the list for cities with the largest gap between rich and poor, the highest percentage of working poor families, and the highest percentage of low income residents.
* The 2009 Cost of Eating in BC report produced by the Dietitians of Canada clearly demonstrates that more than 100% of the amount that social assistance recipients receive is required for adequate housing and food alone.
* In 2010, the BC Government failed to renew funding for the Highway of Tears Project, a project aimed at preventing further deaths and disappearances along this notorious stretch of BC highway.
* While the RCMP and many local police forces in BC have policies to determine who is the primary aggressor in spousal violence incidents, there are continued reports by women and their advocates of the police failing to implement this policy and therefore arresting both spouses, even where a woman is clearly the victim of her partner’s abuse.
* The government announced that full school-day kindergarten would be available for up to 50% of kindergarten students in 2010 and for every five-year old starting school in 2011. However, the Government has only pledged $129 million in annual funding by the time the program becomes fully operational, in spite of the finding of their own Early childhood Learning Agency, which estimates that annual operational costs will be in the range of $615 million.
