Access to justice

Access to justice is a human right that includes accessible legal information, access to legal advice and representation, and access to the court. This table discussion will focus on how we can work to ensure that all women in BC can access justice.

Alison Brewin has worked in non-profit management, women’s services and community development. She currently serves West Coast LEAF as executive director. She is the author of reports such as Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal Services in BC.

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Climate change and food security

Women comprise the majority of the world’s small-scale farmers and produce most of the world’s food, but climate change has made farming all the more difficult. This table will discuss some of the challenges women face and opportunities to deal with climate change and food security.

Miriam Palacios is the public engagement, advocacy and campaign officer for Oxfam Canada BC/Yukon Region. In 2006 Miriam was co-founder of the We Can End All Violence against Women campaign in BC.

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Economy

The global financial crisis and its aftermath revealed that our current economic system is working to the privilege of some without meeting the needs of others. This table will explore sustainable economic growth and how to make the economy work for women.

Iglika Ivanova is an economist and public interest researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in BC. She researches and writes on issues of government finance, taxation and privatization and how they relate to the accessibility and quality of public services in BC.

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Education

774 million people in the world are illiterate and nearly 2 in every 3 are women. In BC, single women living on welfare are not able to enroll in educational programs that would provide them with job skills and a living wage. This table will discuss why literacy is a vital tool for overcoming obstacles to equality and empowerment.

Megan Haggerty from Canadian Global Campaign for Education. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Comparative International and Development Education. She has worked as a teacher training for early childhood care with the World Bank and on the role of civil society within the governance of education systems in Africa.

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Femicide

Individual murders of women, including female infanticide, as well as mass killings are the gruesome daily reality of women’s lives worldwide. Recognizing that femicide is a systemic violation of women’s rights rooted in patriarchy, at this table we will discuss and share the strategies for response and resistance to this problem.

Semhal Getachew is with We Can and is a lawyer and pioneer in the field of femicide research and advocacy in Ethiopia. She worked for the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, the leading NGO in Ethiopia involved in legal reform and advocacy, legal aid public education and operator of one of only a few shelters for Ethiopia’s 40 million women.

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Healthcare

This workshop will discuss health care for women and girls as described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and other relevant agreements to meet the health needs of girls and women of all ages.

Colleen Fuller formed PharmaWatch and works with others on monitoring prescription drugs and works to improve the system of reporting on drug safety. In 1998 Colleen published a book Caring for Profit: How Corporations Are Taking Over Canada’s Health Care System.

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Housing

This table will explore the challenges immigrant and refugee women face with regard to housing and discuss how to achieve equal distribution of housing across gender, ethnicity and race.

Anna Foschi is the Volunteer Coordinator for VLM Multicultural Family Support Services Society, a non-profit agency providing culturally sensitive services to immigrant, visible minority, refugee, non-status women and their families who are experiencing abuse in the home. Katya Verzilova is a third year UBC social work student who is doing a practicum at the VLM and has extensive experience working with children and seniors in Uzbekistan and Italy.

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Indigenous people

Aboriginal people face social marginalization and criminalization, and employment, educational and legalized discrimination. Today, Indigenous men’s and women’s groups, youth, adults and elders are finding their voices and taking a stand, and fighting for self-determination, recognition, justice and equality but Canada must also do its part.

Kat Norris is Coast Salish, Lyackson First Nation and Nez Perce and founder of Indigenous Action Movement and survivor of the Kuper Island Residential School. Kat joined the American Indian Movement at 20 years of age, supporting the fight against Leonard Peltier’s extradition.

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Labour rights

How are women’s rights advanced through the labour movement? Do unionized women have a better standard of living and healthier retirement prospects? This discussion will touch on the importance of fair organizing legislation that ensures women have access to unionization and the protections this affords women.

Holly Page is from BC Government & Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU). She is a longtime union activist, organizer, and social justice campaign strategist. She is currently the BCGEU Equity and Human Rights Officer and Aboriginal Liaison responsible for building equity networks within the union.

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Leadership & decision making

What are the special skills and insights women bring to leadership positions, whether it is in the labour movement, the community or the political arena? Why don’t more women get involved? This discussion will focus on the difference women make in leadership positions and why women’s voices are so important.

Lynn Bueckert is the executive director of the BC Federation of Labour, the Labour Vice-President of the BC NDP, and on the board of directors of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Kaitlin Pelletier is the co-director of Check Your Head, on the steering committee of the BC Health Coalition, and on the Women’s Advisory Committee for the City of Vancouver.

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Media

The speakers will address the issue of women’s voice in the media, focusing on how far women have come in terms of their access to the media and the challenges they are facing.

Lianne Paynne is dedicated to working with projects and organizations with a social and cultural mandate. April Smith is a social media maker and community advocate working as Project Coordinator for W2’s Fearless City Mobile program. Eileen Gillette researches accessibility, the digital divide, and information policy.

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Peace, women and militarism

Patriarchy is the root of militarism and therefore women need to consider peace initiatives in order to ensure human rights and gender equity. Militarism also means that money for health, education and social programs for women is redirected to the armed forces.

Marianne Neill is president of the Burnaby Teachers Association. She has been a member of the BCTF social justice committee. In recent years, she has been working to raise awareness about military recruiting in schools and the domestic military campaign.

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Poverty & income

70% of the world’s poor are women. Disparities in income between men and women continue to exist in Canada, with a disproportionate number of women living in poverty. Women living in developing countries face horrendous difficulties feeding themselves and their children.

Andrina Perry is the administrative coordinator at First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition. She focused on Women’s Studies and Sociology at Simon Fraser University and is a member of the City of Vancouver’s Women’s Advisory Council.

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Violence against Women

Globally, at least one in three women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. According to Stats Canada, almost 75 women are murdered by their partner each year. At every level of our society in all corners of the globe there is an overwhelmingly lack of response to violence against women.

Angela Marie MacDougall is the executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services. For over 20 years she has provided counseling and supervision to women and has developed and facilitated training in the private and non profit-sectors.

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Women in solidarity

National borders and differences are becoming much less significant as women’s movements utilize new ways of communicating, sharing and supporting each other. At this table, we will discuss some of the successes and challenges to solidarity among women everywhere.

Anastasia Gaisenok has been actively involved with the We Can End All Violence against Women campaign for the last three years, both provincially and internationally. She has a BA in Anthropology and is currently doing her MA in International Studies at SFU focusing on gender and development.