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Home / Cases and Law Reform / Issue Areas
Management team meeting in the boardroom. The team are sat round the conference table looking through at the companies performance figures for the month, a senior member of staff, possibly the business owner or director is sat smiling to camera as the meeting continues behind her.

ISsue Area

Identity-Based Oppression

Women and individuals facing gender-based discrimination have unique lived experiences based on their different intersecting identities, as Kimberlé Crenshaw explains in her work on intersectionality. For example, Indigenous women live in poverty at rates disproportionate to their share of the Canadian population. Women with disabilities face disproportionate levels of sexual violence. Immigrant women, and particularly immigrant women of colour, are disproportionately employed in part-time and precarious positions. LEAF brings an intersectional lens to our advocacy to ensure that courts, law-makers, and members of the public understand and respond to these unique experiences. 

In court, LEAF has argued against discrimination based on sex, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, receipt of social assistance, and immigration status. We have pushed for greater access to justice for sexual assault complainants labelled with intellectual disabilities, urged the court to take steps to address the over-incarceration of Indigenous women, and emphasized the racialization and feminization of poverty in arguing against discriminatory income assistance requirements.  LEAF’s work will continue to fight against not only sexism and gender-based discrimination – we will continue to challenge racism, colonialism, ableism, heterosexism, transphobia, and classism in our litigation, law reform, and education efforts. 

Related Cases & Law Reform

Cases

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Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. Canada (Attorney General)

This case is about the constitutionality of Criminal Code sex work provisions. LEAF intervened before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Facts...

Hak v. Attorney General of Quebec

This case is about discrimination against women who wear religious symbols. LEAF, in partnership with the Fédération des Femmes du...

R. v. Slatter (2020)

This case concerned access to justice for women labelled with intellectual disabilities. LEAF, in partnership with the DisAbled Women’s Network...

Canada (Human Rights Commission) v. Canada (A.G.) (2018)

This case concerned sex discrimination in the Indian Act.   LEAF, in partnership with the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), appealed...
See More

Submissions

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BLAC, CAEFS, and LEAF Submission on Bill C-5
LEAF and The Citizen Lab Joint Submission on Toronto Police Use of AI Policy
See More

News

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LEAF and the FFQ to argue at Québec Court of Appeal that Bill 21 violates the constitutional right to gender equality
Rights groups to argue in Supreme Court case that survivors of gender-based violence and their equality rights claims cannot be ignored by the courts 
See More
Cases and Law Reform
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    Related Workshop/Training/Webinar

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    Beyond the basic: The opportunities and risks of a basic income
    This webinar explored what a basic income means for economic gender equality.

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    Beyond Complacency: Challenges (and Opportunities) for Reproductive Justice in Canada
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    National Office
    180 Dundas Street West, Suite 1420
    Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8
    [email protected]
    Phone: 416.595.7170
    Toll-free: 1.888.824.5323
    Facsimile: 416.595.7191

    Charitable Registration Number: 10821 9916 RR0001

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