The Forum

The War on Women

flfrobsonhall — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:13:37 +0000

A new catchphrase is making its way through the feminist media: “the war on women.” This label refers to the anti-women stances taken by Republican politicians this presidential primary season. As Judith Timson said in today’s Globe and Mail, “pelvic politics” are increasingly the focus of the political debate, despite there being real issues to discuss (unemployment, anyone?) In fact, some pundits suggest that all this lady talk is just a way to distract from the bigger issues and perhaps from the fact that these candidates have no dog-gone clue what to do about said bigger issues. Still, any feminist worth her salt will warn that the anti-contraception, anti-abortion, anti-sex talk should not be so easily dismissed. Rather, as Katrina vanden Heuvel argued compellingly in The Nation last week, 2012 must become the Year of the Woman. Featuring this pleasingly sarcastic barb, “Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell announced that the GOP will pursue legislation permitting any employer to deny contraception in their health insurance plans. He said, “The fact that the White House thinks this is about contraception is the whole problem. This is about freedom of religion.” Thank goodness Mitch is there to let women know when we are mistaking religious freedom for contraception,” vandel Heuvel’s article insists that there must be a groundswell of female activism and politics.

While all of this is happening in the US, Canadians should take heed. We must proactively defend women’s rights, including and perhaps most importantly reproductive rights, and we must do so through not only making a lot of noise, but through achieving decisive political victory. Now is the time to act and to organize.

Filed under: Feminism in the News Tagged: abortion, contraception, female political representation, republican, war on women

Dear Twitter Universe: Domestic Violence is Never Funny, Cute or Sexy

flfrobsonhall — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:29:01 +0000

With International Women’s Week coming up next month, we at the FLF are preparing ourselves for the inevitable “we don’t need feminism in the West” commentaries (we’re looking at you, Margaret Wente). With that kind of anti-feminist reaction to IWW in mind, we point to the notion that is “trending” on Twitter post-Grammy awards: that if a man is good looking and/or a celebrity, domestic violence is just part of the sexy fun of being with him. See this compilation of disturbing tweets for evidence, and also more commentary on this issue over at the Globe and Mail. The very idea that we still don’t take domestic violence seriously is reason enough for Western feminism to still exist. The tweets (and facebook status updates) linked to above are pretty upsetting. The fact that a number of women (and at least one man) think that domestic violence is nothing but a small price to pay to be with an attractive, (in some people’s opinion) talented man demonstrates that feminism still has a lot of work to do.

What are your thoughts on this? Are we making a mountain out of a twitter mole-hill? Or does this point to a more serious issue?

Filed under: Feminism in the News Tagged: domestic violence, feminism in the news, feminist issues

A Feminist Victory at the Supreme Court: Positive Judgment Released in R v D.A.I.

flfrobsonhall — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:44:51 +0000

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court released its judgment in R v D.A.I. LEAF and the DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN) jointly intervened in the case. In a majority ruling (the Court split 6 – 3 ), Justice McLachlin clarified that adults with mental disabilities need not demonstrate an abstract understanding of the obligation to tell the truth to meet the test for testimonial competence.

D.A.I. involves a 23-year old complainant with intellectual disabilities such that her mental age was between 3 and 6 years old. The Crown is alleging that the complainant’s step-father repeatedly sexually assaulted her over a period of four years. The Crown sought to call the complainant to testify, but the trial judge held on a voir dire that the complainant had failed to show that she understood the duty to speak the truth. In a separate voir dire, the trial judge also excluded out-of-court statements made by the complainant to the police and her teacher, holding that the statements were unreliable. Despite the existence of other evidence that raised serious suspicions about the accused’s conduct, the case collapsed and the accused was acquitted. The Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed the acquittal.

The majority decision is a feminist victory that ensures the equality rights of all women. As Joanna Birenbaum, Legal Director of LEAF, stated in a press release on the day of the decision, “In today’s Supreme Court of Canada decision, Chief Justice McLachlin writing for the majority described sexual assault as “an evil” and acknowledged that women with intellectual and other disabilities are targeted for this offence at alarming rates. The Court confirmed the importance of hearing the voices of women with mental disabilities in court. The Court acknowledged that the testimony of women with mental disabilities is essential to stopping sexual abuse and ensuring that sexual offenders are brought to justice.”

As an aside, the FLF seems to recall the Court splitting in the exact same way in R v J.A. Some interesting sexual assault jurisprudence trivia…

Filed under: Feminism in the News Tagged: DAWN, equality, LEAF, sexual assault, Supreme Court of Canada

Teaching and Learning About Sexual Assault: Lessons from a Game of “Rape Tag” in Minnesota

flfrobsonhall — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:43:37 +0000

A number of FLFers recently finished facilitating LEAF’s “No Means No” program at a local school. “No Means No” is a workshop series for grades 6 to 9 that teaches youth about their rights and responsibilities in the areas of consent and sexual assault, and includes workshoping concepts of power, violence, stereotypes and gender. Given that this workshop experience is fresh in our minds, this story from the Globe & Mail about Minnesota elementary students playing “Rape Tag” at recess is particularly poignant. The story tells us that “Rape Tag” is similar to freeze tag, except that the frozen player must be “humped” by another player in order to become unfrozen. Apparently, the name “Rape Tag” was used by the children themselves. Teachers realized what was happening and intervened, and the school sent letters home to parents about the incident. What is perhaps the most striking is the notion that some parents were angry at the school because the letters meant that they were “forced” to discuss rape with their children (grade 5 students). Given we offer No means No to grades 6 – 9, this is interesting.

When should we discussing issues of sexual assault with children? Obviously these kids knew the word, and understood enough about the concept to know that it involves “humping” another person. Are there age appropriate ways to broach this subject? Personally, I think it is probably a good idea to discuss inappropriate touching with children, to express that its a serious issue, and to brainstorm ideas about what a child can do if something happens to them, or if they hear about it happening to someone else. Perhaps these parents shouldn’t have been angry that they were “forced” to discuss rape with their children, but glad to have the opportunity to raise a serious and important issue with their children. There’s some feminist perspective on this over at Jezebel.

Thoughts?

Filed under: Feminism in the News Tagged: no means no, sexual assault

Corporate Diversity

flfrobsonhall — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:50:45 +0000

Those who attended the panel discussion last week on “Women in Corporate Law: Is the Gender Divide Fact or Fiction” (or those who missed it but are interested in the topic anyway) may be interested in this article by Prof. Aaron A. Dhir (Osgoode Hall): “Towards a Race and Gender-Conscious Conception of the Firm: Canadian Corporate Governance, Law and Diversity” (2010) 35 Queen’s L J 569. Prof. Dhir is currently writing a book on corporate governance and diversity, which we at the FLF plan on keeping an eye out for.

Join the discussion! Do you think corporate law is currently constituted as race and/or gender conscious? How does last week’s panel discussion fit into all of this? Do you have any news articles or readings to share with us on the topic? The FLF is always anxious to hear your thoughts!

Filed under: Feminist Legal Studies Tagged: gender, gender divide, race, women in corporate law

Trouble Brewing: Backbencher MPs bringing Abortion to the Fore

flfrobsonhall — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:59:03 +0000

The recent Tory assault on a woman’s right to choose continued this week. This Globe and Mail article details the intention of a Tory Backbencher, Stephen Woodworth, to bring a motion that would seek to have MPs debate whether a fetus is a human at conception, or at the moment a baby has fully emerged from the birth canal (as Canadian law currently holds): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/mps-have-duty-to-debate-rights-of-unborn-backbench-tory-argues/article2299369/

This is part of a series of moves by Tory Backbenchers to re-open the “abortion debate” and is distressing for anyone who believes in the need to protect a woman’s right to choose and to make her own decisions about her body and her life. Social conservatives have been steadily working to erode this right.

This is a contentious subject (for some – we at the FLF consider the matter closed. See R v Morgentaler (1988), and in particular, the strong concurring opinion by Justice Wilson). What are your thoughts? How should this political maneuvering be addressed by feminists and allies?

Filed under: Feminism in the News Tagged: abortion, feminism in the news, right to choose

“Women in Corporate Law: Is the Gender Divide Fact or Fiction?” Panel Discussion

flfrobsonhall — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:27:03 +0000

On Thursday January 26th from 12 – 1:30 in room 205, the Feminist Legal Forum and the Business Law Group will be hosting a panel discussion on “Women in Corporate Law: Is the Gender Divide Fact or Fiction?” This exciting panel discussion is sponsored by the Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law. The Desautels Centre will be providing lunch. Please RSVP to flf.robsonhall@gmail.com Space is limited.

This event will query the existence of a gender divide in corporate law. Today, more than half of law school grads are women, yet women remain starkly underrepresented in senior positions in law firms. Particularly in corporate law, there is an apparent thinning of the ranks when looking at women in private practice at the senior level. Yet, many women in corporate/commercial law have chosen alternative careers that see them occupying positions of even greater power. So is there a gender divide? If so, what impact does it have on the gender divide? What are we doing about it? What should we be doing about it?

The FLF and BLG have invited 4 guest speakers to join us as panel members. Eleanor Wiebe, Q.C. is a partner with Fillmore Riley LLP and has practiced commercial law for over 25 years. She was the second woman in Fillmore’s history to become a Fillmore partner. Margaret Redmond is the President and CEO of the Assiniobine Park Conservancy. Ms Redmond served as a Chief Strategic Officer at the Canadian Wheat Board as well as Executive Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary over an eleven year period. Linda Vincent is the Vice President of ICE Futures Canada Inc, which is is dedicated to providing a public marketplace for responsive price discovery and risk transfer of commodities with efficiency and integrity. She articled and practiced with TDS for six years before joining the Manitoba Securities Commission in 1992 as Assistant Counsel. Ms Vincent joined the Winnipeg Commodities Exchange (now ICE Futures) in 1998. Mary McGunigal has been a Crown Counsel with Civil Legal Services SOA of Manitoba Justice since 1999. She works in the area of corporate commercial law. Prior to joining the Manitoba government, she was associated with the firm of D’Arcy and Deacon LLP. These four panellists will be sharing their thoughts and experiences with us in a discussion moderated by Prof. John Pozios, Director of the Desautels Centre.

There is a lot to discuss on this topic. To get your thoughts flowing, check out some of the links below:

Survey Reveals Profile of Unhappy Worker: She’s Unmarried, 42, and a Lawyer or Doctor

Maureen Sabia: She means business

The 10 Worst Stereotypes about Powerful Women

LSUC Justicia Project and Justicia Project firm committment (Note: The Law Society of Manitoba is implementing the Justicia Project and it will be adapted for Manitoba based on the LSUC model, which is part of a national law societies initiative to implement the Justicia Project in other jurisdictions. Karen Clearwater and Brenlee Carrington are the two lawyers co-chairing the LSM Justicia implementation committee with the guidance of LSM deputy CEO Marilyn Billinkoff and the Equity Committee. They are in the very early stages at the moment.)

LSUC Extends Justicia Project

Glass Ceiling Still Exists

Why SuperMom is Leaving the Law Firm

Filed under: FLF Events Tagged: gender divide, roundtable discussion, women in corporate law

R v NS at the Supreme Court of Canada

flfrobsonhall — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:19:10 +0000

Now that exams are wrapping up, everyone has more time to enjoy the finer things in life… such as stimulating intellectual discussion on important, difficult issues! Hooray! Take for instance, the following: on December 8th, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the much-talked about R v NS case. Counsel for each side argued whether a complainant in a sexual assault case should be permitted to keep her face covered by niqab during testimony. Here’s a really great article from rabble.ca with two significant Robson Hall connections:law student Maria Kari authored the article, which features snippets of an interview with our very own Professor Karen Busby. It also includes a link to the factum submitted by LEAF, who had intervenor status at the hearing. Check it out! Great food for thought to accompany your turkey, latkes, 5 kilo box of mandarin oranges, etc.

Filed under: Feminism in the News, Feminist Legal Studies Tagged: equality, feminist news issues, food for thought, Karen Busby, LEAF, niqab

Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 23(2) online now!

flfrobsonhall — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:52:43 +0000

The Canadian Journal of Women and the Law is a peer-reviewed publication based here at Robson Hall, publishing a wide range of interdisciplinary articles on a wide range of topics (full disclosure: FLF communications director Eli Mitchell is also the student editor of the CJWL). The issue 23(2) is now available online, and features some very interesting subject matter, ranging from the potential criminalization of teenage sexting, to pedagogical reflections on student-teacher research in the BC polygamist community of Bountiful.

CJWL Publisher U of T Press has passed on some additional info for anyone interested in learning more:

**********************

Canadian Journal of Women and the Law Volume 23, Number 2, 2011 is now available online.

Founded in 1985, the same year as the equality guarantee of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force, theCanadian Journal of Women and the Law has been publishing ground-breaking, multi-disciplinary scholarship on the impact of law on women’s social, economic and legal status for twenty-five years.

CJWL Online includes an archive of current and previously published articles going back to 2009.

Subscribers to CJWL Online enjoy:

Enhanced features not available in the print version - supplementary information, colour photos, videos, audio files, etc. encouraging further exploration and research.

Early access to the latest issues - Did you know that most online issues are available to subscribers up to two weeks in advance of the print version? Sign up for e-mail alerts and you will know as soon as the latest issue is ready for you to read.

Everything you need at your fingertips - search through current and archived issues from the comfort of your office chair not by digging through book shelves or storage boxes. The easy to use search function allows you to organize results by article summaries, abstracts or citations and bookmark, export, or print a specific page, chapter or article.

For more information about the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law or for submissions information, please contact:

Canadian Journal of Women and the Law
University of Toronto Press – Journals Division
5201 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON Canada M3H 5T8
Tel: (416)667-7810 Fax: (416)667-7881
Email: journals@utpress.utoronto.ca

Website: www.utpjournals.com

Filed under: Uncategorized

Sexual Harassment in the RCMP, continued…

flfrobsonhall — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:39:39 +0000

Check out this super-interesting episode of CBC TV’s The Fifth Estate that chronicles their investigation of sexual harassment in the RCMP.

Special thanks to Raelynn for the heads up!

Filed under: Feminism in the News, Forum Guest Posts Tagged: food for thought, sexism, sexual harassment