Conway v. Her Majesty the Queen (1993)

Download factum:

This case was brought by Phillip Conway, a prisoner at Collins Bay penitentiary, who argued that female guards should not be conducting certain routine forms of surveillance. LEAF intervened to argue that while the Supreme Court of Canada must protect the privacy and dignity of inmates, it must, at the same time, protect the equality rights of women.

The court rules that the rights to equality and security of male inmates are not violated by searches by female guards, though it recognized that searches of female prisoners by male guards could be a violation because of women's historical experience of male violence.

This was an important ruling for women because it addressed the need for equal employment opportunities in male dominated workplaces.