WSV members and allies took to the street to celebrate International Women's Day 2022 with a rally to raise awareness of the impact of gender self-id on women and girls. A courageous and brave collection of our members, allies, and supporters took to the street to celebrate International Women's Day with a rally to raise awareness of the impact to women and girls of the BC NDP Government's administrative change allowing anyone by simply filling out a form to self-identity as the opposite sex. Download our brochure on Gender Self-Declaration. International Women's Day Rally March 12, 2022

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur outlining concerns about women’s rights and policy impacts. Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls to the Human Rights Council on prostitution and violence against women and girls. January 2024 Submission by Women’s Space Vancouver, BC, Canada What we stand for: The protection of women's human rights The protection of women-only spaces The rejection of sex-role stereotypes The right to discuss and describe our bodies, our sexual lives, and our reproductive abilities The right to express ourselves without bullying and intimidation Democracy Canada, after a large feminist lobby, adopted a version of the Nordic Model in 2014. Women’s Space Vancouver supports this model and is opposed to the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution. The Canadian Parliament recognizes prostitution as an inherently harmful activity that harms women and girls, negatively impacts marginalized groups (especially racialized and Indigenous women and girls) and harms the communities in which it takes place. The Act, The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) received Royal Assent in 2014. Canada’s intent in adopting the Nordic Model was to reduce the demand for sex work. The Government stated through its Technical Paper, at the time: The majority of those who sell their own sexual services are women and girls. Marginalized groups, such as Aboriginal women and girls, are disproportionately represented. Prostitution reinforces gender inequalities in society at large by normalizing the treatment of primarily women’s bodies as commodities to be bought and sold. In this regard, prostitution harms everyone in society by sending the message that sexual acts can be bought by those with money and power. Prostitution allows men, who are primarily the purchasers of sexual services, paid access to female bodies, thereby demeaning and degrading the human dignity of all women and girls by entrenching a clearly gendered practice in Canadian society. Prostitution is an extremely dangerous activity that poses a risk of violence and psychological harm to those subjected to it, regardless of the venue or legal framework in which it takes place, both from purchasers of sexual services and from third parties.” The legal status of sex work is no longer ambiguous in Canada. The purchase of sex is prohibited. Sex work is no longer legal, but sellers of their own sexual services are immune from prosecution. Other prohibited activities, procuring, advertising, stopping traffic, and communicated for the purposes of sex work near a school, daycare centre, or playground. Also, an offence is receiving a material benefit from sex work. Sex workers are immune from prosecution for advertising their own sexual services. There is a growing call in Canada, to decriminalize or legalize prostitution, to recognize selling sexual services as work. This change would make legal, both the selling and buying of sexual services and make legal all transactions in support of the sex trade. A recent court case heard by the Ontario Supreme Court was brought by a coalition of sex workers challenging aspects of the PCPCA as unconstitutional. Justice Robert Goldstein, found that, in his view,” many of the harms complained of are simply the collateral consequence of prohibiting the purchase of sex by customers, or the collateral consequences of the other challenged offenses.” In the Judgment, he asks the question: Is The Purpose of PCEPA Pressing and Substantial? Judge Goldstein in the Findings of Fact regarding prostitution in Canada, is convinced that the purpose of PCEPA is indeed “pressing and substantial.” Below is taken directly from Judge Goldstein’s judgment: [482] Moreover, some of the key findings of fact in these reasons support that the objective is pressing and substantial (I repeat and condense some of my earlier findings of fact): Significant numbers of sex workers come from marginalized and racialized groups.Indigenous women and girls make up a disproportionate number of those involved in the sex trade.Large numbers of sex workers are coerced or trafficked into the sex trade. Many, of those who are coerced and trafficked are themselves women and girls from marginalized groups. There is a very strong link between sex work and human trafficking.Violence and the threat of violence are present in the everyday lives of many sex workers. Sex workers have not been displaced to more isolated and dangerous areas as a result of the communications and stopping traffic offences. The Special Rapporteur asks in Question 9, How effective have legislative frameworks and policies been in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in prostitution? Judge Goldstein in the Ontario Supreme Court Judgment notes several salutary effects of PCEPA since 2014: “With respect, I have found in my analysis of the evidence that the Attorneys General have established at least some salutary effects since the enactment of PCEPA. The number of women charged with communications or stopping traffic offences since the enactment of PCEPA has declined sharply. The number was already declining significantly prior to PCEPA, but the number has continued to fall. Prior to PCEPA, the number of women charged with communications or stopping traffic offences resulted in a majority being found guilty and many being sentenced to jail terms. In the five-year period after PCEPA only two women in Canada were found guilty and neither were sentenced to jail. Over the same period, the number of men charged with the purchasing offence has increased. While correlation is not causation, these results were an objective of the immunity provisions, as well as the narrow targeting of the new communications and stopping traffic offences. Another salutary effect is that the number of homicides of sex workers has also declined. Again, it is unclear if there is a causal effect with PCEPA, or with better policing, or commensurate with a drop in the homicide rate generally, but it is real. What is also striking is that in the five years prior to PCEPA the perpetrator of a homicide against a sex worker was identified as being in a criminal relationship with the victim in 43% of those cases (a client, drug dealer or client, or gang member); in the five years after PCEPA this number was 29%. The number of Indigenous homicide victims among sex workers also declined: from 20 of 54 sex workers in the five years prior to PCEPA, to 7 of 35 sex workers in the five years after. Of course, even one homicide is one homicide too many. As well the statistical significance has limits, given the small numbers. Nonetheless, the numbers are real. Certainly there is no evidence that homicides of sex workers have increased. Finally, as I have emphasized in these reasons, when the offences are properly interpreted, sex workers are able to take measures to enhance safety without fear of prosecution.” Ontario Superior Court Ruling https://rapereliefshelter.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CAFSWLR-v.-Attorney-General-Reasons-for-Judgment-CV-21-659594-signed-2.pdf Women’s Space Vancouver believes that the salutary effects of Canada’s Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. would increase with a serious and dedicated intention by all levels of government to end prostitution in Canada. The following are some of the measures that would contribute to achieving that goal: Ensure the funding and supports are in place across Canada to help women exit prostitution. Most women who enter prostitution do so under conditions of poverty, incest and other forms of sexual assault and racism. In Canada, women of colour and Indigenous women are vastly overrepresented in prostitution. (One third of the victims of serial killer of prostitutes, Robert Picton, were Indigenous women.) Government initiatives like, guaranteed livable income, affordable housing. universal daycare, are all initiatives currently being considered at the Federal and Provincial levels in Canada and would support prostituted women’s exit from a dangerous activity. Women have informed front line women’s shelters that given safe economic certainty and support, they would exit prostitution. To maximize the potential of the PCEPC there needs to be increased enforcement of the legislation to charge the pimps, johns, brothel owners, sex traffickers, and businesses that hide prostitution behind a façade of legitimacy. When laws against sex purchase are publicized and enforced, the demand for prostitution decreases. A program of public awareness regarding the extent of domestic sex trafficking in Canada would help to educate Canadians about this very serious problem. There is a misconception that sex trafficking is an international issue, outside of the control of Canadian authorities. However, national statistics of sex trafficking show that nine in 10 (91%) victims of police-reported human trafficking incidents between 2011 and 2021 knew their accused trafficker, while a relatively small proportion (9%) of victims were trafficked by a stranger (Government of Canada, 2022). A trafficker tends to be someone close to the victim (e.g., boyfriend, friend, relative, or peer) (Canadian Centre to End Human trafficking, 2020). Globally, and in Canada, it can be observed that trafficked victims often come from places of oppression, systemic discrimination, and poverty. Only by dealing with the systemic issues of women’s inequality and oppression and violence, will we be able to tackle the subsequent dangerous commodification of women’s bodies, Violence against women and girls is increasing everywhere in Canada, as reported by front line workers and health care officials in Canada. Prostitution and pornography contribute to a rape culture. Female students in high schools across Canada are sounding the alarm protesting inside and outside their schools about the sexual harassment and sexual abuse they endure at school. Recently, in Victoria, BC, a 12-year-old girl was sexually attacked by grade 8 boys in their school playground. Influenced by an unregulated porn industry, children are being influenced by internet porn that teaches them that females are sexual objects to be used. All levels of Government need to include and involve the front-line women’s organizations in recommending the changes necessary to protect women and girls from becoming victims. Some of the recurring themes identified by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, that contribute to the recruitment of Indigenous women into human trafficking include: • Precarious housing and poor living conditions • High rates of unemployment, unstable unemployment, and low working wages • Lack of access to social and economic resources and programs • Prior exposure to human trafficking and the sex trade from a young age (through family or friends) • Family violence and the impacts of colonization (such as the residential school experience and intergenerational trauma) In conclusion, Women’s Space Vancouver vehemently opposes the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution in Canada. The outcome of such a legal change would be to ignore the conditions that force women and girls into prostitution, and make legal a dangerous practice that harms our most vulnerable. Legalizing prostitution is no path to women’s equality. Canada must take steps to strengthen its commitment to ending prostitution in Canada. Resources The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls report on Prostitution

Examining concerns about sexual boundaries, education, and safeguarding children in school environments. We Are Failing Our Kids: A Wake-Up Call. From a retired public-school teacher with 35 years of experience. Photo: Duy Pham - Unsplash For several years I have been following the evidence of rape culture* in our public schools in British Columbia. The evidence is being mostly revealed by female secondary students and they have gone public; holding protests outside their high schools and demanding meetings with school board officials. In 2022, several protests and at least one petition were reported in local media. Parents are also involved . The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC), in the Comox Valley school district drafted comprehensive resolutions to the 2022 British Columbia Parent Advisory Council (BCPAC) convention to address the ongoing sexual harassment and abuse experienced by female students in high schools. The Comox PAC realized that this serious issue needed to be addressed at all levels of the education system; the Ministry, districts, schools, and the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation (BCTF). Their resolutions at the BCCPAC carried almost unanimously – it appears that nothing has happened since. The sexual attack of a grade 7 girl by grade 8 boys on the playground of her Victoria school was reported in the Times Colonist . The article describes how at every level this child was betrayed. School employees, the police, the school district, all seemed to lack the knowledge or have the processes in place to deal with the sexual attack of a child at school. The girl’s parents were left to figure out what to do to support their child and to get her justice. They have confronted all who were involved and demanded answers and action – it’s unclear if there will be a satisfactory resolution. The attack left the girl traumatized. It should shock us all. Something is seriously wrong. It must be addressed. Children are being exposed to and influenced by pornography at younger and younger ages. Teachers in elementary schools are aware but aren't equipped to deal with the issue. One elementary teacher commented. One of my great concerns about the socialization of boys and girls today is the impact of pornography on their developing brains. I see evidence of porn culture in the classroom often, and it's really disturbing. I think many kids don't even know what they're joking and laughing about, but it's far more adult than what my peers and I were exposed to at the same age. Sex Ed, as we knew it, has taken second place to the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) curriculum. Notably -- there is no mandatory curriculum that deals with pornography, rape culture, healthy sexual behaviour, or responsible sexual relations. The issue of consent is not understood. The coercion in sexual power relations and lack of sexual knowledge, beyond what kids are watching on porn, makes it impossible for consent to be the determinant of whether sexual activity is freely given or coercively obtained. The behaviour described by the protesting female students reveal abuse and coercion is what they are experiencing. No one is stopping it. Pornography, social media, cell phone use, bullying, rape culture, and the confusion some students experience with the concept of identity as promoted in the SOGI curriculum , all contribute to an unhealthy and even dangerous sexual environment. It’s clear our public schools are not prepared to deal with what is an increasingly problematic rape culture developing across all age groups. We are failing our children by not equipping them with the information and emotional strength to protect themselves. We are failing by not providing the age-appropriate curriculum to address serious social issues regarding sexuality. And we fail them by not putting in place policies, procedures, and protocols to be used to address student concerns and reports of sexual harassment and abuse in our schools. The Ministry of Education, school districts, the BCTF, and teacher training institutions must provide teachers with the knowledge, training, tools, and confidence to tackle the hard issues that today’s kids are confronting. Share this article with your friends and family. Write a letter to your local paper, and post it on your social networks, if you use them. Mail this article to your local School Board, the Minister of Education, and your MLA with a cover letter of your own. Copy the Premier. Ask for a meeting with your MLA. If you are a teacher, or a parent, raise this issue and call to action with your staff and/or Parent Advisory Committee. Lobby the BCTF to develop an action plan to address rape culture in our schools. Links to media reporting about rape culture in our schools: Explainer: What is rape culture and what does it look like in B.C.? Debate erupts over sexual harassment, rape culture at NWSS Kelowna high school students launch coordinated protests against sex assault B.C. students protest school district’s sexual violence policy B.C. students, parents call for better public school education about consent and sexual violence New Westminster students rally against high school rape culture * Rape culture is a complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. In a rape culture, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm. In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life and inevitable. This violence, however, is neither biologically nor divinely ordained. Much of what we accept as inevitable is in fact the expression of values and attitudes that can change.

Examining the impact of gender identity policies on female inmates, safety, and sex-based rights in prisons. Women's Prisons The issue: men in women's prisons In Canada male-bodied prisoners; including those convicted of sexual assault and rape of women and children, are being housed in women’s prisons. For males to obtain access to women’s prisons they simply self-identify as female. In BC, a consultation with a physician and completion of the Physician's or Psychologist's Confirmation of Change of Gender Designation is all that is required to gender designation on one’s Birth Certificate. “Hormones or surgery are no longer a requirement for being able to change your gender marker on B.C. or federal documents.” The Stats. Federally, nearly 40% more women are incarcerated than a decade ago — this has coincided with cuts to social services nationwide and the over policing of racialized communities. In eastern Canada, Black women and women with disabilities are incarcerated at higher rates than the rest of the population. In 2015 there were about 600 women in Federal prisons and 6,000 others in Provincial prisons. About two-thirds of women in prison have children, and many have young children; most are single mothers. Indigenous women who are perhaps the most vulnerable and disenfranchised women in our country make up 60% of the prison population. Between 2002 and 2012, the number of Indigenous women in federal custody more than doubled. A 2017 government-led study found that nearly 80% of women in federal custody had a mental health disorder, with nearly 33% having been diagnosed with PTSD. 75% struggled with alcohol and substance abuse. Most have never had steady employment which is reflected in the crimes they are imprisoned for. Property crimes, such as shoplifting and vandalism, rank as the most common transgressions. 25% of women in federal custody are there for drug offences, sometimes taking the fall for others. Any violence is often in self-defense—against an abusive partner, for example. Close to 70% of women in federal prisons report a history of sexual abuse. Why does keeping men out of women's prisons matter? Female prisons are vastly different spaces than male prisons. Women prisoners are less violent, security is low, living conditions are communal, and many have programs that include prisoner’s children. Now, any male who is a violent sexual predator can self-ID as a woman and demand a transfer to a women’s prison. According to the Correctional Service of Canada Deputy Commissioner for Women, 50% of transfer requests in 2019 came from men convicted of sexual crimes against women and girls. Many of those males transferred to women’s prisons have committed sexual assault against female prisoners and guards. It seems obvious to state that men don’t belong in these facilities or any other female only spaces. What can we do to keep men out of women's prisons? We can write to our elected officials and tell them we don't want men in women's prisons: Minister for Justice - sean.fraser@parl.gc.ca Minister for Women and Gender Equality - rechie.valdez@parl.gc.ca Minister of Indigenous Services - mandy.gull-masty@parl.gc.ca NDP Critic for Women and Gender Equality - leah.gazan@parl.gc.ca Conservative Critic for Justice - larry.brock@parl.gc.ca Resources Heather Mason Brief to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security Our Letter to the Office of the Correctional Investigator Transgender inmate wins transfer to women's prison Offenders can now be placed in prison based on gender identity rather than anatomy A growing movement believes it's time to stop putting women in jail Prison facts in Canada Keep prisons single-sex

Coverage and context of the Deep Throat protest and its relevance to women’s rights advocacy. Vancouver feminists protest screening of misogynistic film at Rio Theatre A crowd of over 50 protestors, comprising mostly women, picketed the Rio Theatre on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 to protest the screening of the pornographic and misogynistic film; Deep Throat. "Women and allied men came to protest this screening and to send a message to the Rio Theatre that we will not put up with their promotion of rape culture in our community," commented Kim Zander, Women's Space Vancouver spokeswoman. "While it is sad that in 2022, years into the #metoo movement, we have to keep saying it, it's not acceptable for Pornhub or the Rio to profit from the rape and abuse of women." The Rio Theatre's ownership, along with the film director's family, here to speak on a panel, have tried to minimize the emotional and physical damage that Linda Boreman suffered at the hands of her abusive partner during the making of this film. While panelists said they appreciated diverse opinions and informed discussions, they had no one on the panel to speak to the other side of this issue - to the damage the pornography industry has inflicted on women, children, and men, backed up by decades of research and real life experiences.

Other groups advocating for women's sex-based rights. Other Canadian Women's Organizations Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (AWAN) @awanbc on FaceBook Asian Women’s Coalition CaWsbar - Canadian Women's Sex-Based Rights @cawsbar on X EVE Feminist Current @FemlnistCurrent on X Gender Dissent @gender_dissent on X GIDYVR @GIDYVR on FaceBook Heather Mason - Keep Prisons Single Sex @Mason134211f on X Meghan Murphy @MeghanEMurphy on X @Meghan_Murphy on GETTR Vancouver Lesbian Collective @FeministDykesVancouver on FaceBook Vancouver Rape Relief (VRR) @VanRapeRelief on X Women Are Real Canada Women’s Studies Online @WMSTonline on X @WomensStudies on FaceBook Women's Rights Network Canada @WRNCanada on X

Why sex-based spaces matter for women’s safety, dignity, and equality in law and public life. Women's Spaces The issue: Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Bathroom Policy The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is altering its bathroom policy in community centres, libraries and parks. Its goal is to have three types of bathrooms/change rooms – men’s, women’s and “gender diverse”. In addition, the doors on all the men’s and women’s rooms will say “gender diverse people welcome”. There is no definition of “gender diverse”. The existing bathrooms are not being retrofitted to provide greater privacy, so the old knee-to-shoulder partitions between stalls will remain. No risk assessment was done and women were not consulted. Why does bathroom policy matter? Without clear definitions, any man can claim to be “gender diverse” and enter the women’s bathrooms and change rooms. Aside from the fact that trans id males commit crimes against women at the same rate as other men, studies in Britain show that many more men (of any gender id) assault women in mixed sex/unisex washrooms than in single sex washrooms. Men also use cell phones to secretly film women in washrooms and post the footage online. What can we do about the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation bathroom policy? We need to let the Vancouver Board Parks know we object, that we need this policy rolled back so that women’s washrooms remain for women only. Resources Our Letter to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Our Letter to the Vancouver Public Library Board of Directors Unisex Changing Rooms put Women at Danger of Sexual Assault, Data Reveals Study suggests that transwomen exhibit a male pattern of criminality Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation: Trans* and Gender Variant Inclusion Working Group - Final Report

Response and analysis regarding Vancouver Public Library board decisions affecting women’s rights. Presentation to the Board of Directors, Vancouver Public Library Please use any part of this letter for your own use. Wednesday, July 24, 2019 Good Evening, We are pleased to present our position on your draft room rental policy. We have several concerns, and we hope you will hear them as we offer them – with good intention and a spirit of collaboration. One of our main concerns is with the vague wording of this draft. We, the women of the Vancouver Adhoc Committee of Women for Women, are concerned that a relentless drive to be “inclusive and diverse” actually achieves only exclusion and conformity. A robust and healthy democracy depends upon a variety of viewpoints and opinions; the broad understanding of citizens that disagreement is not disrespect. We are aware that, as feminist, labour, and/or anti-poverty activists, our actions have been, for many years, unsettling for a lot of people. That’s good! We want to be unsettling; discomfort is not necessarily dangerous! We learn best when we step outside of that which is comfortable, and a public library is a great place to do that. It is a place where we can gather in public to discuss issues of interest and import to all of us – with people who may not always agree with us. The room rental policy must be explicit that these are places of public discourse with people who have different, often conflicting ideas and beliefs. How thrilling that should be. But at this moment in history, feminists are experiencing increasing intimidation, silencing, punishment and censoring (de-platforming) of dissent. Including from public institutions such as libraries and universities. Several of the women in our committee have experienced such punishment, including myself and my colleague. My father was also a social justice activist, and someone who felt the ugly and vicious hand of McCarthyism that tore apart North American society and the lives of many friends and families. He lost 2 jobs as a young father, because someone whispered in the ear of the owner of the company. His union didn’t utter a word. Many unions participated in McCarthyism. This was one of the saddest lessons in our history. It showed us how damaging hate speech can be, giving in to campaigns of labels, fear mongering, misinformation, and a lack of critical thinking. And the most important result – silencing. No one supports the horrors of that era or would admit they did at the time. I became an activist at the age of 15. I grew up during the Vietnam War and the Cold War. My work started with the Stockholm Peace Appeal, Doctor Helen Caldicott and her famous phrase, “if you love this planet”, working to end to the very real threat of a nuclear war and annihilation. I received constant insults when I worked on that campaign. I worked for Tenants’ Rights at the age of 18, the Right to Choose on abortion at 19, anti-apartheid campaigns defending atrocious treatment of Black South Africans, solidarity with the peoples in the many war-torn Latin American countries, and against unemployment & poverty. My home required a security assessment when I was a spokesperson for the pro-choice movement. I know what hate speech is and it’s affects, I know what discrimination is. I also know, after all that, what it’s like to be recognized for being on the right side of history when the smoke has cleared. I have not suddenly come undone and turned into a hate monger. And neither have the many women I work with, or those who organized, and who attended the Gender Critical January event. We are women who want to discuss our very real concerns about our human rights. We are women who were seeking and gathering information about our mutual concerns from learned and thoughtful people. Women assert that we have the same rights afforded us by the UN Declaration on Human Rights as all human beings . The Declaration reads, in part: “Preamble Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.” Don’t succumb to political expedience and popularity by accepting unfounded accusations and agreeing to limit the rights of others, and specifically Gender Critical women. We have the right to freedom of thought, assembly, and speech. We certainly understand the harmful impacts of hate speech, having been subject to it for most of our lives. We will not debase ourselves to engage in hateful speech or any other hateful acts against anyone, even those whose ideas we find repugnant or dangerous. We will dissent, dialogue, debate – and we will do so in public. It would be great to have the option to use the library spaces, for you and for us. We challenge you to give us evidence of any hateful or harmful speech acts from any feminist gatherings at the library For example, there is no evidence that any hate speech occurred at the controversial January 10th event featuring a panel of women discussing feminist critiques of gender ideology. This meeting was recorded and broadcast. There have been no legal actions. Because there was no hate speech. The Chief Librarian said (about the January 10 event), that gender-critical feminists don’t fit in with the Libraries values. She did not then describe the library’s values, so there’s no way to tell what this statement meant. We don’t believe it’s the Library’s role to take sides on political issues. The speakers at the January 10 event included two Aboriginal women who are both life long feminist and Indigenous activists. The library acknowledges that we are on the un-ceded territories of the coast Salish people, yet, at this event, imposed limits to this opportunity for Indigenous, and other women to speak about how their experiences as members of the sex-class female is diminished by trans ideology. This seems counter to the library’s values. Now even the VPL has been on the receiving end of vengeance by the Pride Parade Society, because you wouldn’t immediately cave to the demands of the Trans community to stop the Jan event. So, we applaud you for that, at least. Even though you did your best to ensure we knew we were not welcome to gather, you stopped short of cancelling the event altogether. That’s shameful behaviour of the so-called “Pride Society” If the Library concedes to the demand to apologize, you’ll be apologizing for allowing women to express concerns about our human rights. A sad reality is that hate speech against Gender Critical women has been prevalent, and disconcerting. TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist), a slur used to describe Gender Critical women, is constantly used to dehumanize and demonize. We’ve found things such as a headline on a poster that says, “Tired of TERFS, SWERFS, and Other Fascists?”, and it was promoted on the Facebook page of the Pivot Legal Society. It’s shocking that a legal organization feels they can perpetuate that kind of extreme comparison and the hatred it will attract. You will regularly find tweets, comments on Facebook and other social media that threatens, mocks, demonizes, and even threatens physical harm to women labeled ‘TERFS’. We’ve provided a sample of those in our written presentation (you’ll find many examples on the website Terfisaslur). The Library itself recognized the level of threat to those of us at the January meeting, because you insisted on special security. That security concern was for a reason. It was not because those who organized, were presenting and attending the meeting were threatening violence. We provide you with two quotes that we think represent our perspective on how political discussion has been thwarted and distorted: Paul Willcocks, a journalist with the Tyee recently wrote in an article about the present political landscape, “We’re entering into a post-Trumpian political era in Canada, one where we are divided in ways that don’t allow rational discussion,” … “One where we no longer listen to one another, and where we see enemies, not people with different solutions to shared problems.” Pete Seeger, also denigrated by McCarthyism and at great personal cost, became an icon to North American society. He wrote a famous peace song called “Rainbow Race”. One of the lines in the song says, “You can’t kill all the unbelievers. There’s no shortcut to freedom.” That is, you can’t kill all the people that don’t think like you. There’d be no one left. Wise words. Don’t fall prey to prejudice, intolerance, and narrow mindedness. Ensure libraries welcome constructive and open discourse about tough issues that face our society, as all public spaces should. Critical thinking is key to our ability to evolve into better human beings. Dissent and debate are essential components of a healthy democracy, and Public Libraries are the ideal arena for such discourse. We will fight for the library to maintain accessible spaces for diverse views, heated debate, uncomfortable conflict, and the development and growth of knowledge and shared wisdom. Our society depends upon it. We ask that you ensure your policies reflect the role the library and other public institutions are meant to play – encouraging exploration of ideas and differing perspectives. Don’t shrink from that, embrace it. Respectfully submitted, Women's Space Vancouver

Critical perspectives on SOGI policies in schools and their impact on children, education, and parental rights. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity The Issue: All schools in BC are required to follow the guidelines presented in SOGI 123. All schools in BC are required to follow the guidelines presented in SOGI 123. The SOGI guidance is imbued with the ideology that people can be born trans, just as people can be born homosexual. The Resources for Parents website states that everyone has both a gender identity, and a sexual orientation. The following statements can also be found on the website: “There aren’t two boxes – boy and girl”, and “Some people’s biology doesn’t fit neatly into two boxes”. Why does SOGI 123 matter? These statements either have no basis in science, or they are false. That people can be born trans (born in the wrong body) has no scientific backing. That people don’t come in two types – male and female – is false. Aside from a tiny percentage (about .2%) of people born with Disorders of Sexual Development, all humans (like all other mammals) are either male or female. The gender ideology of SOGI teaches children that their bodies have no relationship to their sex, that they might be the opposite sex from what their bodies indicate. Thus, teachers and students are expected to applaud a child who announces that they are not the same sex as their body. This is the promotion of an unscientific ideology that leads to children in distress wanting experimental medical procedures including powerful drugs, wrong sex hormones and surgery – all of which have negative effects on their long-term sexual function and health. Since children who “identify” as the opposite sex tend to exhibit mental/emotional distress, the possible causes of that distress are ignored when gender identity is named as the cause. Identifiable other causes include sexual/physical abuse, parental neglect, parental alienation, autism, and latent homosexuality. What can we do about SOGI 123? Refuse to accept the conflation of gender and sex. Demand a definition of gender that does not include stereotypes. Protest in person or through letter campaigns at schools, boards of education, Ministries of Education. Lobby the BC Federation of Teachers to stop its support for SOGI. Demand that parents be informed of all signs of child distress, including a wish to be known as the opposite sex or by wrong sex pronouns. Resources These two videos provide a critical analysis of what is taught about gender identity throughout the elementary, middle, and high school grades in Seattle's schools. The videos highlight the harmful messages inherent in the approaches taken to teach children about gender identity; e.g. you might be born into the wrong body. Ideology is presented as fact, biology is erased or misrepresented and children are presented with information that may be confused, misleading or incorrect. The same ideology is being taught to children in BC schools. If you have children in your family in K-12, ask their teachers if these lesson plans and resources are used. Gender Identity Ideology in Our Schools, Part 1 Gender Identity Ideology in Our Schools, Part 2

Overview of Canada’s prostitution laws and their impact on women, safety, and exploitation. Bill C-36 The Protection of Communities & Exploited Persons Act PCEPA Dear Ms. Kwan, There is a powerful lobby attacking Canada’s prostitution legislation, The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. This law recognizes the inherent risks of violence and exploitation to those who engage in prostitution. The legislation seeks to end the demand for prostitution. Countries who have enacted laws similar to Canada’s law on prostitution are often described as the Nordic Model or the Equality Model. These countries are Sweden, Norway, Iceland, N. Ireland, France, Ireland, Israel. Israel, in 2018, became the most recent country to adopt this Equality Model and has put in place an impressive action plan that includes funding and multiple resources to help women exit from prostitution, and stop human trafficking. Canada would do well to emulate this country’s efforts. Sadly, Canada has put in place no direct support to prostituted women to help them exit. As a result, trafficking, both domestic and international abounds in Canada, with brothels in every neighbourhood. Enforcement of our laws is negligible or none. Nanos Poll results Support for Current Legislation. Survivors speak out about why they support PSEPA. This video following shows the hearing of evidence regarding Bill C36 and is a reminder of why this legislation passed into law in 2014. I am asking you to continue to support Canada’s existing laws on prostitution and recommend real action to help women exit. We know that it is poverty, abuse, racialization, addiction and mental illness that drives prostitution. To legalize makes the State the pimp. Trafficking of women into Canada will become legal as they will be required temporary foreign workers for a legalized sex trade. Sincerely, A Women’s Space Vancouver member and a constituent

Our letter to the BC CDC addressing public health policy and its impact on women and children. Our Letter to BC Centre for Disease Control Please use any part of this letter for your own use. November 2, 2020 Re: BCCDC COVID-19 Language Guide “New language guide helps to destigmatize COVID-19” We of Women’s Space Vancouver are concerned about the new language guide, which purports to address issues related to the pandemic, but in fact violates the rights of women and children, repudiates decades worth of work in reducing shame and ignorance about female bodies, and threatens the safety of children. Very little of it addresses issues related to the pandemic. This ill conceived guide must be revoked. The Guide was created without the knowledge of or input from the public. Rather, a small group of people with what appears to be gender identity bias were invited to participate in the development of the guide. It presupposes science, medicine, law, and public opinion agree that sex is not binary. The BCCDC does not have the right to make such a call. This kind of politic does not belong in medicine or our healthcare system. The Guide uses political language that perpetuates stereotypes and misinformation. The Guide purports to serves as a tool for “writing about COVID-19 and its effect on people”. Rather, it asks the reader to replace specific and objective medical and scientific language with language it says is politically correct. This has serious consequences. The Guide conflates sex and gender. Sex is a material biological reality. Sex is not “assigned at birth”, as the guide would have us think. It is observed and confirmed. It is because of that material reality that women face discrimination, violence, and oppression. Girls grow up in that oppression and endure a society that forces gender role stereotypes on them daily, including grooming them for sexual objectification by and for men. Sex is not something we choose or anyone chooses for us. Sex has caused women and girls to be treated differently in healthcare, and not always in a positive way. Women have asserted for decades our right to access objective information and appropriate treatment, and to make informed health and medical choices. We’ve welcomed studies and research that will collect data to better analyze the unique needs of women. Gender, on the other hand, has no medical or biological definition. It is purely a set of sexist stereotypes designed to confine the sexes to traits that are considered female or male. The Guide says gender is something you think, feel, and express. Thoughts and feelings can change minute by minute and day by day. Thus, so can “gender”. This is scientifically untenable for a healthcare system – gender can’t be studied and researched when it has no definition beyond the thoughts and feelings of and individual on any given day. Gender stereotypes are harmful to women. To children. And to men. The Guide misinforms, and dismisses women’s material bodies and functions. It skews material reality and alienates the vast majority of people from what they understand of science and medicine. Women have fought for many decades asserting our bodies be spoken about with correct, respectful language in medicine, law, and in the public realm. We’ve demanded our children be taught objectively, positively, about their bodies and respect for their right to physical boundaries. Misinformation and politically skewed language is the antithesis to this goal. Girls need to be able to speak of vulva and vagina in order to understand their reproductive systems, sexuality, appreciate their bodies, and when needed, speak of being sexually abused. “External genitals” and “internal genitals” has no useful meaning. Both men and women have external genitalia. Telling your doctor you have a concern with your “external genitals” will not help a physician provide an assessment. A physician speaking to a woman of her “external genitals” will not help that women understand the medical assessment being made. Further, only women – not people and not men - have female reproductive systems, are childbearing, get pregnant, and nurse children with their breasts, not their chest. Women get pregnant through intercourse with men, not “insertive sex”. Most, if not all, health and medical issues are influenced by our sex. That’s why women have asserted our right to have science and medicine recognize and research our unique needs and treatment, accurately and objectively. This requires accurate statistics be gathered upon which to analyse those needs. This Guide makes a mockery of that critical work by encouraging people to ignore objective medical terms and physical processes and replace them with vague ‘politically correct’ language. “Gender violence” hides the fact that what we are talking about is violence against women. When gender violence is used to replace violence against women, an increasing and disturbing epidemic in the pandemic, it’s not just offensive, it’s harmful. Violence against women, domestic violence, is perpetrated by men against women because we are women. Women need transition services and housing. Women and children need supportive services to flee violence and address the harms. “Gender violence” obfuscates reality and hides the harms to women. It’s shocking that a guide that proports to want to address the pandemic encourages the realities of the pandemic be masked. Language is a powerful tool. It can be used to inform or manipulate. As Dr. Réka Gustafson, vice president of public health and wellness for Provincial Health Services Authority and deputy provincial health officer said, “We don’t want how we say things to perpetuate harms and marginalize individuals…”. The Guide says, “When we write or speak, the words we choose have the power to respectfully and accurately represent people...Words also have the power to perpetuate ignorance and bias.” This Guide will do just that. It will perpetuate stereotypes and discrimination and remove medically objective language. What has happened in the UK is a cautionary tale. Their healthcare system is under serious scrutiny for ignoring medical ethics and letting political pressure influence the treatment of children, creating potential life long damage for many. They also realized that women’s sex based rights were in jeopardy because the distinct needs and services for women were being dismissed. Our women-only organization works to defend women’s sex-based rights. We act to ensure women’s voices are heard, our unique life experiences are understood and respected, and that actions are taken to address the harms that arise as a result of the oppression created by patriarchy and misogyny. We oppose stereotypes and ideology that attempt to confine and define women into “gender” roles, silence us, or make us invisible through manipulated language. CC: BCCDC – Language Guide Project Leader, Harlan Pruden, harlan.pruden@bccdc.ca and admininfo@bccdc.ca Provincial Health Services Authority – CEO, Benoit Morin c/o Manager, Communications Ben.Hadaway@phsa.ca PHSA Patient Quality Review Board - contact@patientcarequalityreviewboard.ca Doctors of BC – Dr Kathleen Ross,President president@doctorsofbc.ca , Dr Jeff Dresselhuis ChairOfBoardOfDirectors@doctorsofbc.ca College of Physicians & Surgeons – President, Bruce C. Bell, by standard mail Provincial Minister of Health – Adrian Dix HLTH.Minister@gov.bc.ca Provincial Health Officer - Dr Bonnie Henry, by standard mail BC Association of Community Health Centres – Chair, Piotr Majkowski majkowskip@douglascollege.ca BC Pediatric Society – President, Dr. Stephen Noseworthy bcpeds@cw.bc.ca

See upcoming and past educational webinars featuring women involved in advocating for women's sex-based rights. Visit the WSV YouTube Channel to see all recorded events Educational Events June 20, 2026 - A conversation with the LGB Courage Coalition featuring Jamie Reed & Lauren Leggieri The LGB Courage Coalition is an organization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults concerned with the current state of gender medicine for children & adolescents in the United States and Canada. At its inception, the Coalition articulated a mission: to end the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors. They envision a world where cultural and medical approaches embrace and support gender non-conformity without resorting to irreversible medical interventions, believing many contemporary “gender-affirming” practices are rooted in regressive stereotypes. Jamie Reed is Founder and Co-Executive Director of LGB Courage Coalition and is a public whistleblower from a U.S. pediatric gender clinic. Her explosive first-person account, “I thought I was saving trans kids, now I am blowing the whistle,” published in February 2023, rapidly gained global recognition for shedding light on critical issues in youth gender medicine in the United States. A highly sought-after speaker, Jamie co-hosts Informed Dissent, a weekly podcast bringing dispatches from the gender culture wars and has been interviewed and profiled in The New York Times. As a lesbian, a mother of five and a passionate advocate for LGB issues, her work is personal and impactful. Lauren Leggieri is Co-Executive Director of LGB Courage Coalition. She is pivotal in mobilizing volunteers and orchestrating direct actions. Much of her work occurs behind the scenes, ensuring the safety and effectiveness of volunteer efforts for maximum impact. Her strategic actions have made a significant impact, notably directing protests at the 2024 Endocrine Society Conference in Boston and the 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics Conference in Orlando. She also led a crucial action at the U.S. Supreme Court during the US v Skrmetti hearing in 2024. As a lesbian woman, Lauren brings her personal identity and intellectual rigour to her unwavering advocacy. May 24, 2026 - WHERE WE ARE, WHAT WE HAVE & WHAT WE COULD BE: Prostitution Laws in Canada Trisha Baptie is a survivor of prostitution from the ages of 13 to 28. She wants to change the conversation surrounding the sex industry by directly challenging the demand for paid sex as well as addressing the intersecting and systemic issues that drive women’s and girls' vulnerability to be trafficked into prostitution, and the sex industry as a whole. In 2008, she founded EVE (formerly Exploited Voices now Educating), a group that gives survivors a voice to help create societal, legal and policy change. Recognized nationally and internationally, her work includes a TEDx talk and the National Film Board of Canada documentary Buying Sex. She was a part of the process when Canada succeeded in gaining its new prostitution laws in 2014 called the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA). She has made multiple written and oral submissions to the Senate and Justice subcommittees on PCEPA and is an articulate, informative and sought-after writer and presenter. Janine Benedet, K.C. is Professor of Law at the Allard School of Law, UBC. Her research focuses on legal responses to men’s sexual violence against women and girls, including sexual assault, prostitution and pornography. She is a frequent presenter at judicial education conferences and an Associate Editor of the Criminal Reports. Professor Benedet is a member of the bar of British Columbia and has appeared before trial and appellate courts as intervener counsel pro bono in a number of cases involving prostitution and sexual violence against women. She has testified regularly before the House of Commons and Senate Committees on laws relating to human trafficking and the commercial sex trade. In 2024, she received a Governor General’s Medal in Commemoration of the Person’s Case for her work promoting the equality of women and girls. Cherry Smiley (https://www.cherrysmiley.com/) is a decolonizing feminist from the Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) and Diné (Navajo) Nations. She is an irreverent yet award-winning artist, researcher, troublemaker, cat lover, and #1 theme park fan. She holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Concordia University and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Simon Fraser University. She works with others in the Women's Liberation Movement to end male violence against women and girls. In 2023, Spinifex Press published her first book, Not Sacred, Not Squaws: Indigenous Feminism Redefined. She is the founder and executive director of Women’s Studies Online. She really likes to laugh at her own jokes. March 7, 2026 - Political Courage: Women’s Rights & Democracy in Europe with Faika El-Nagashi Faika El-Nagashi is a political scientist and former Member of Parliament with Austria’s Green party, with 30 years of experience in human rights advocacy. She has worked on women’s rights, migration and LGBT issues. Her work now centres on addressing ideological shifts that, in the name of inclusion, constrain women’s rights and democratic debate across Europe. She is the founder and director of the Athena Forum, a new European initiative for sex-based rights, democratic values and political courage. About Athena Forum Athena Forum is a European initiative for sex-based rights, democratic values and political courage. We work to safeguard and advance women‘s rights, children’s rights and the rights of lesbians and gay men across law, policy and civil society. We recognise sex-based rights as foundational to legal and societal protections. We insist that public policy reflect material reality and be guided by robust evidence and transparency. We affirm the right of minors to bodily integrity and protection from premature or ideologically driven medical interventions. We defend open debate and the freedom to discuss complex issues, even when uncomfortable or controversial. We interact with European institutions and advocate for clarity, accountability and respect for sex-based rights in policy and decision-making. We provide cross-sector analysis and engage the media and the public. We convene public forums across Europe, supporting democratic processes. February 27, 2026 - LESBIANS IN AUSTRALIA DENIED: A conversation with Australia’s Lesbian Action Group An Australian human rights tribunal says that lesbians in Australia cannot host events that exclude men. The Lesbian Action Group has appealed the decision. February 7, 2026 - Hague Mothers: An Exposé of the Betrayal of Mothers by The Hague Convention on Child Abduction FiLiA Hague Mothers is a global campaign to end the injustices created by The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, specifically for mothers and children who are victims of domestic abuse. October 26, 2025 - Why Sex is Crucial in Data Collection with Alice Sullivan In February 2024, Prof. Sullivan was commissioned by the UK government to conduct an independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender. She spoke with Women's Space Vancouver about her research, as well as about having a scheduled talk cancelled by the Canadian government. May 10, 2025 - A Conversation with Susan Smith of For Women Scotland Women's Space Vancouver interviews Susan Smith of For Women Scotland discussing the landmark ruling by UK's Supreme Court interpreting the terms "woman" and "sex" under the Equality Act 2010 to refer strictly to biological sex. The court ruled that "woman" and "sex" in the Act refer to biological sex, meaning a person's sex, and not to gender identity. April 13, 2025 - A Conversation with Helen Joyce Irish journalist Helen Joyce writes a monthly column for the Critic, and between 2005 and 2022 was a staff writer for The Economist. Prior to 2017, Joyce was blissfully unaware of the fact that some people thought the words “man” and “woman” weren’t simple descriptors of biological sex in our mammalian species. After 2017, Joyce became best known as an author. Her first book, Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, was an immediate bestseller, named by the Times, Spectator and Observer as one of their books of 2021. It was reissued in 2023 under the title: Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women’s Rights. Many have described the book as the most powerful and readable book on this topic. Trans is a compelling, overdue argument for viewing self-ID more critically. Even those outraged by Joyce's positions would benefit from understanding them….’ (New York Times) ‘A tour de force…simply a must-read’ (Evening Standard) As well as freelance work in journalism and consultancy, Joyce works part-time with human-rights charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about the two sexes in law and in life. For those who haven’t heard Helen Joyce speak, you’re in for a treat. Helen Joyce’s talk at Genspect Conference, 2024 Richard Dawkins interviews Helen Joyce Oct 20, 2024 - A Conversation with Julie Bindel Julie Bindel is a feminist campaigner, writer, and investigative journalist. She grew up in a working-class family in a north-east England council estate and has lived in London since 1987. She is a keen broadcaster and has travelled far and wide to investigate stories which relate to misogyny. For her book The Pimping of Prostitution: Abolishing the Sex Work Myth (2017), Bindel interviewed 250 people in nearly 40 countries, visited brothels, and spoke to prostitutes, pimps and the police. Her book Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation (Little Brown, 2021), explores the tsunami of misogynistic backlash that feminists have encountered this past decade and more. Her new book, Lesbians: Where Are We Now? will be released in the spring of 2025. Bindel's views have resulted in personal backlash and attacks, both online and in person. In June 2022, her talk at Aspley Library, in Nottingham, was cancelled by Nottingham City Council following protests and complaints. The talk took place outside the library instead and after Bindel took legal action, the council later apologised for their unlawful action and paid for losses incurred. Bindel is the co-founder of the law reform group Justice for Women (justiceforwomen.org.uk), a feminist organization that supports and advocates on behalf of women who have fought back against or killed violent men. She is also the founder and co-director of the Lesbian Project (thelesbianproject.co.uk). Her wit and sense of humour are intact and sharp - to be enjoyed weekly on the Lesbian Project Podcast (thelesbianprojectpod.com), co-hosted with Kathleen Stock. Bindel's new podcast series is Julie in Genderland (juliebindel.substack.com). Bindel writes for Unherd, Observer, Sunday Times, The Critic, Spectator, Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Tortoise, Prospect, among other news outlets. To relax, she imagines a world free of male violence towards women and girls. If that doesn't work, a negroni and a browse of Netflix usually do the trick. June 9, 2024 - A Conversation with Kathleen Stock: Why feminists must protect lesbian rights Kathleen Stock is a contributing writer at Unherd, a co-director of The Lesbian Project, and the author of Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism (Little Brown 2021). Until 2021 she was a Professor of Philosophy at Sussex University. Stock has written for UK national newspapers on a range of issues, and especially on sex, gender and women's rights. In 2023, she was shortlisted for Columnist of the Year by the British Society of Magazine Editors; in 2024 for Tabloid Columnist of the Year at the Press Awards; and in 2022, she was voted World’s Top Thinker in Prospect Magazine. Stock was awarded an OBE for services to higher education in 2020. Since being hounded out of her job at Sussex University (for her belief in biology and sex), Kathleen Stock has become an internationally renowned writer and speaker. With a focus on the UK’s Lesbian Project, she will be joining Women’s Space Vancouver for a webinar on June 9th, 2024. About The Lesbian Project Led by Julie Bindel and Kathleen Stock, the Lesbian Project gives voice and influence to women whose stories are too often overlooked. The Lesbian Project works to build knowledge about lesbian lives, promote sensible and evidence-based policy and contribute to building lesbian community in the UK and internationally. A not-for-profit organization (with Martina Navratilova as founding patron), the Lesbian Project is non-partisan. June 22, 2023 - Freedom of Expression: The Impact of Gender Ideology & Woke Politics in Suppressing Open Dialogue with Meghan Murphy & Jonathan Kay RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Meghan Murphy is a Canadian writer who founded Feminist Current in 2012, the first feminist outlet in Canada articulating a feminist critique of gender identity ideology. She has since hosted the Feminist Current podcast and launched a second podcast, The Same Drugs. You can find her writing on Substack at meghanmurphy.ca. Meghan published the first op-ed against Bill C-16 in a Canadian mainstream news outlet in 2016, criticizing Bill C-16 from a feminist stance, and testified against this legislation at the Senate in 2017. She was the first in Canada to give a talk about women's rights and trans activism in October 2018 in Kitchener, ON and the first to debate this topic with a trans activist in Canada at Mount Royal University in Calgary in 2019. According to the police, there were 700 protesters outside her speaking engagement in Toronto in 2019, where she was there to address the conflict between women's rights and gender identity legislation. She was permanently banned from Twitter in 2018 for referring to a man as 'he' and for saying that 'men are not women', and her account was restored in November 2022 after Elon Musk took the reign. She’s spoken on this issue in New Zealand, Scotland, London, Vancouver, Calgary, Ontario, Seattle, New York, and beyond. She’s been one of the most outspoken and brave women to address this issue in Canada. Jonathan Kay is a Toronto based journalist, author, editor, and speaker. He was the editor-in-chief of The Walrus, and is a senior editor of Quillette and a host of the Quillette podcast. He was previously comment pages editor, columnist, and blogger for the National Post, and continues to contribute to multiple publications in Canada and the US. His recent books include "Panics and Persecutions“ and "Magic in the Dark: One Family's Century of Adventures in the Movie Business“. In November of 2022, the court dismissed a defamation lawsuit launched against him by lawyer Richard Warman, a board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) who sued journalists Jonathan and Barbara Kay for tweets that criticized CAHN’s links to the Antifa movement in the United States. May 13, 2023 - Youth Gender Dysphoria: First Do No Harm with Dr. Bradley and Dr. Sinai About the Speakers Dr. Susan Bradley Founder of Gender Identity Clinic for Children and Adolescents at Clarke Institute of Psychiatry 1975. Dr. Joanne Sinai A Canadian psychiatrist who became interested in gender dysphoria when she began to notice increasing numbers of young adults referred to her clinic with psychiatric issues and gender dysphoria. Sinai is now one of two psychiatrists in Canada speaking up publicly about concerns regarding the gender affirming model in youth medicine. About the Talk Dr. Bradley and Dr. Sinai share their research, practice and evidence-based approach to examining issues such as: What is gender dysphoria? Does gender dysphoria create a suicide risk? Why has there been such a dramatic increase recently in the numbers of children and youth with gender dysphoria -- especially girls? What harms are being done by gender affirming care? Why is the medical profession reluctant to research this issue or apply evidence-based practice? May 13, 2023 - Learning about the Gender Dysphoria Alliance with Aaron Kimberly and Aaron Terrell RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Gender Dysphoria Alliance (GDA) was established in 2021 by people with personal experience of Gender Dysphoria (GD). It is volunteer run, non-partisan and not for profit. The way in which gender and GD are often discussed today assumes that there is just one way people experience gender dysphoria and only one way to manage it. Too often, people talk about related processes such as medical transition, in ways that make it sound as though everyone thinks, or should think, the same way about these issues. People don’t always feel comfortable asking questions, feeling doubt or disagreeing with the dominant activist framework. GDA's central aim is to help create a more evidence-based, less ideological conversation about GD. They work to broaden the way we all talk about this condition to help show the richness and reality of individual experiences. They believe that honesty and transparency about the full range of experiences of those with GD are in the best interest of all. Aaron Kimberly is a female to male transsexual who started to medically transition in 2006, having experienced a Gender Identity Disorder since age 3. He’s a Registered Nurse with a specialization in psychiatric nursing and has worked in a psychiatric stabilization unit at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC, was a nurse educator for the British Columbia Specialized Adult Tertiary Eating Disorders Program, and a counsellor and case manager within a network of community-based clinics for youth ages 12-25. From January-March 2023 he was a clinical instructor at Brandon University, Department of Psychiatric Nursing and currently works as a community mental Health nurse in rural Manitoba. Aaron Terrell is an American transman interested in the causes of gender dysphoria as well as the sociopolitical trends that facilitate medical transition. Aaron transitioned in 2011 at the age of 27. In 2017 he became concerned by the exponential rise in adolescent girls seeking gender transition and what he has come to view as institutional negligence on the part of the healthcare establishment's response to the phenomenon. Aaron has spent countless hours in FtM communities (both online and off) and offers valuable insight into the subculture influencing these young people. April 15, 2023 - Lesbian not Criminal with Tonje Gjevjon RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE In 2022, feminist Tonje Gjevjon was reported and investigated by the police in Norway for hate speech. She was charged initially then recently, without explanation, charges were dropped. Tonje is a Norwegian visual artist, composer, editor, filmmaker and activist who has participated in the Norwegian and international visual art, film, music and LGB scenes since she was 16 years old. Her main project, the lesbian performance group Hungry Hearts, participated in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest final in 2016. Tonje has published articles about issues related to women, the arts and the LGB community since 2005 and is editor and producer of the 2020 book We ate, slept, and drank feminism. As a blogger at the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, she kicked off the debate in 2017 on how the legislation of gender identities has consequences for women’s sex-based rights, language, children, parenthood and society as a whole. About the talk In 2023, the LGB Alliance and Lesbian Labour in the UK organized a Lesbian Not Criminal Roadshow tour where Tonje spoke about her experience. Now on Saturday, April 15th, 2023, Women’s Space Vancouver will be hosting Tonje Gjevjon, who will tell us her story about how women in Norway are being criminalized and charged with hate speech for speaking out about the rights of women and lesbians. October 22, 2022 - Vancouver Lesbian Collective RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE A discussion with Jacqueline & Natalie from the Vancouver Lesbian Collective on the current threats to lesbians and to learn how to support their campaign at sexbasedrights.ca. The Vancouver Lesbian Collective is a group of mostly Vancouver-based lesbians founded in 2015. They advocate for the rights of lesbians to define themselves and their boundaries and to organize politically in pursuit of women’s liberation from patriarchy. Get in touch via the Contact page or through Facebook or Instagram. November 27, 2022 - Dr. Linda Blade – athlete, coach, author – Fighting to Save Women’s Sports RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Dr. Linda Blade is a former NCAA All American and National Champion of Canada in track & field (heptathlon) with a PhD in Kinesiology. For the past 26 years, she has run a private consulting business as a Sport Performance Professional coach in Edmonton, Alberta working with athletes in over 15 sports (beginner to elite). Since 2014, Linda has also served as President of the Board for Athletics Alberta, where she has a duty to represent the province of Alberta at Canadian national sport policy meetings. Linda has been fearlessly speaking out against gender ideology and its impact on women’s sports. In order to increase public awareness of this threat, Linda has partnered with journalist Barbara Kay to author a book titled: UNSPORTING: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport. About the talk Should we believe male leaders in sports when they say they consulted with women on including trans identified males in women’s sports? Who were the women consulted and why are those who disagree with “trans inclusion” seen as a fringe minority? Why are women who demand to be included treated as if none of them can lay claim to having legitimacy in representing the vast collective of female persons nationally or globally? The question surrounding FEMALE representation of women’s sports has proven to be far more difficult than anyone might have thought. Over the past year, an International Consortium on Female Sport has taken form and is on the cusp of making a charge at the drawbridge that shields the males who presume to impose their will upon women’s sports. Linda will share with us her journey fighting to save women’s sports. June 18, 2022 - Surrogacy with Ghislaine Gendron RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Ghislaine Gendron has been active in feminist organizations since 2014 and sat on the Board of Directors of ‘Pour le droits des femmes du Québec’ until 2021. While with that organization, she was involved with two strategic committees focusing on gender identity and surrogacy. She has written numerous articles published in Québec newspapers, she has contributed to submissions to the provincial and federal governments and she has done interviews with media. Ghislaine has presented on surrogacy in French and English. Ghislaine recently co-wrote an article with Ghislaine Sirois that is being published in a book, “Ventres à louer” (Wombs For Rent), now available in France and in Canada; 26 authors from around the world contributed articles. Ghislaine is currently national co-coordinator for Women’s Declaration International (WDI) Canada, responsible for Québec and francophonie. We offer this link to an article co-written by Ghislaine on surrogacy: https://actualnewsmagazine.com/english/surrogate-mothers-quebec-must-say-no-to-the-regulation-of-the-commodification-of-women-and-children/ As well, you’ll find commentary from the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-sale-of-children/surrogacy This recent article from the Globe and Mail examines how the Russian invasion of the Ukraine has exposed the reality of the Surrogacy business there. May 7, 2022 - The Consequences of Allowing Men into Women's Prisons with Heather Mason and Alia Perini Heather Mason is an Advocate, Activist, Former Federal Prisoner, Survivor of Fentanyl Addiction, Founding Member of caWsbar, and on the Board of Directors for Strength in SISterhood. She submitted an insightful brief on this topic to The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in June of 2021. She has helped organize protests at prisons in 2021 and 2022 to create awareness for the public, who have no concept of what's happening to women in women’s prisons. Alia is also a former federal prisoner, advocate for women and member of Strength is SISterhood. The alarm has been sounded, who’s going to respond? is an excellent article on the subject written by Heather for the website Woman are Human. March 5, 2022 - How Did We Get Here: Examining the Rise of Gender Identity Ideology and Its Impact on Women and Girls with Renee Gerlich and Cherry Smiley RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Renee Gerlich is a feminist writer from New Zealand whose work can be found on Feminist Current, Savage Minds, and her blog, reneejg.net. In 2021 she founded Dragon Cloud Press to publish her Brief Complete Herstory, an illustrated herstory of the world from the birth of life to neoliberalism that is available at dragoncloudpress.com. Cherry Smiley is a feminist, artist, and researcher from the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) and Diné (Navajo) Nations. With other women, she works to end male violence against women. She is in the final stages of completing a PhD in communication studies at Concordia University where her thesis examines the prostitution of Indigenous women in Canada as a form of male violence and proposes a female-centered definition of colonization and decolonizing feminism. She is the founder and executive director of Women’s Studies Online, a platform for decolonizing feminist research, education, action, and community-building. We offer this link to an article that we think provides important information about one element of how we got here – the funding of the ideology. Renee and Cherry won’t be speaking specifically to this aspect of the question, but we thought you’d find this information of interest. It was published in an online media outlet that is known for being right wing. Don’t let that deter you. Before very recently, it was incredibly difficult for feminists and those who questioned Gender Identity Ideology to find venues for their research and analysis. https://thefederalist.com/2018/02/20/rich-white-men-institutionalizing-transgender-ideology/ January 23, 2022 - The Impact of Gender Identity Ideology on Children & Youth, School Curriculum, and the Rights of Parents with Pamela Buffone & Stella O'Malley RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Stella O’Malley is a psychotherapist, best-selling author, public speaker and a parent. In addition to her B.A. in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and M.A. in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, she is currently studying for a PhD in gender dysphoria among children and adolescents. Much of Stella's counselling and teaching work is with parents and young people which culminated in the publication of her two bestselling books Cotton Wool Kids in 2015 and Bully-Proof Kids in 2017. Her latest book, Fragile, was released in 2019 (focusing on overcoming anxiety and stress). Stella is a regular contributor to local and national media, fast becoming one of the leading voices on what’s influencing people’s behaviour in Ireland today. She’s spoken extensively, locally and internationally, on the impact of gender ideology on the development of children and youth. Pamela Buffone created Canadian Gender Report after people started reaching out to her after her family’s human rights case went public. What she heard from parents and others echoed their experience dealing with our school – yet most people were afraid to speak out using their own names. She is a strong believer that activism and wishful thinking are no substitute for evidence and common sense. The activism on this topic has gone way too far and is poisoning our ability to come together as Canadians to understand and discuss critical issues on the sensitive topic of gender and identity. October 9, 2021 - The Right to Freedom of Expression: Stop the Silencing of Gender Critical Women with Shahdin Farsai and Lindsay Shepard RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Shahdin Farsai is a lawyer that practices in Kelowna, British Columbia. She originally immigrated from Iran to Canada at the age of 8. She obtained a law degree from the University of Ottawa. She has recently come under fire by some members of her profession for speaking out about a court practice directive that strayed too close to compelled speech. She was not successful in getting an article published expressing her concerns until it was eventually published in the C2C online journal magazine. She has put a resolution on this issue before the Law Society, the outcome of which will be known on October 5, 2021. Lindsay Shepherd is the author of "Diversity and Exclusion: Confronting the Campus Free Speech Crisis." She holds fellowships with True North (www.tnc.news) and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (www.jccf.ca). Lindsay has had personal experience being ‘cancelled’ in the academic environment. June 12, 2021 - The Impact of Gender Identity Ideology on Children and Youth, School Curriculum, and the Rights of Parents with Stephanie Davies-Arai RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE On June 12, 2021 Women's Space Vancouver hosted an event with Stephanie Davies-Arai the founder of the UK organization Transgender Trend. Her presentation included a summary of the Keira Bell case and the global impact the issues in that case raise for children's health. Stephanie is an accredited communication skills trainer, writer and author of the book Communicating with Kids. She has delivered courses and workshops for parents and teachers for over twenty years. From 2013 - 2015 Stephanie was a prominent member of the No More Page 3 campaign, speaking on female objectification at schools, universities and organizations including Girlguiding and the Institute of Public Policy Research. She founded the organization Transgender Trend in 2015 and produced a schools guide Supporting gender variant and trans-identified students in schools in 2018, for which she was shortlisted for the John Maddox Prize which “recognizes the work of individuals who promote sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest, facing difficulty or hostility in doing so.” Stephanie has delivered presentations on the subject of transgender children at events across the UK, including in the House of Commons and House of Lords, and has appeared numerous times on TV and radio, including Newsnight, Good Morning Britain, the Today Programme and Woman’s Hour. Stephanie contributed chapters to the best-selling books Transgender Children and Young People: Born in Your Own Body (2018) and Inventing Transgender Children and Young People (2019), both edited by Heather Brunskell-Evans and Michele Moore and published by Cambridge Scholars. She also contributed a chapter to Transgender Children: A Discussion published by Civitas (2019). You can find Stephanie on Twitter @cwknews and on email at hello@stephaniedaviesarai.com April 18, 2021 - Prostitution, Trafficking and Law Enforcement: Why Left Feminists are Abolitionists with Suzanne Jay, Trisha Baptie and Cherry Smiley RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Suzanne Jay from Asian Women for Equality works to advance equality for women and to create opportunities for Asian women to have meaningful participation and to take leadership roles in civil society. They fight the sexualized Asian women stereotype. Trisha Baptie co-founded EVE, a volunteer, non-governmental, non-profit organization of former sex-industry women dedicated to naming prostitution violence against women and seeing its abolition through political action, advocacy, and public education. Cherry Smiley is an artist and feminist activist from the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) and Diné (Navajo) Nations. Feminist sex trade researchers cite Indigenous women and girls as “Canada’s first prostituted women.” Cherry Smiley speaks nationally and internationally on the topic of prostituted Indigenous women and girls in Canada.