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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

Exploring fairness, safety, and policy in women’s sports, with a focus on sex-based categories and female athletes. Women in Sports Women Space Vancouver stands in support of the sex-based rights of women and girls in sports. Women's sports have been sex-based for decades and must remain so to be fair and just to women and girl athletes. Below is an article by Linda Blade, co-author of UNSPORTING: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport , offering insight into the monumental struggle for women's sex-based rights in sport and athletics that is currently playing out on the world stage and in Canada. Linda Blade: International body upholds fairness for women in sport. Will Canada follow suit? National Post World Athletics now understands that there is no way to mitigate the enormous advantage that male-born transgender athletes have in women's sports by Linda Blade, Mar 30, 2023 At its spring council meeting in Monaco on March 23, World Athletics (WA), the global governing body of athletics, announced that it would “exclude male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female World Rankings competition.” With this one announcement, WA sent ripples across the sports world. As many federations look to WA for guidance on eligibility policy in sports requiring speed, power and endurance, the ruling is bound to have an influence on other sports. American swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to compete against male-born Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Championships, stated that, “As a woman of sport, I sincerely thank World Athletics and Seb Coe for prioritizing fairness and integrity in sports over so-called ‘inclusion’ … this decision is monumental and gives me hope for other (sports) organizations.” It is significant that Gaines contrasted “fairness and integrity” with “inclusion,” because at the heart of this debate is a question over what principle takes precedence: inclusion or safety? After an extensive review in 2021, the Sports Councils in the United Kingdom concluded that when it comes to males seeking to self-identify as women in gender-segregated sports, it is not possible to balance fairness and safety with inclusion. Including male-born competitors in a women’s event is unfair — and potentially unsafe, in the case of contact sports — to the female athletes involved. The physical manifestations of male physiology, especially post-puberty, offer extraordinary competitive advantages over female characteristics when it comes to performance in sports. After its review, World Athletics now understands that there is currently no known way to mitigate the enormous male advantage. Hormonal suppression doesn’t do it. Nor does reassignment surgery. So a decision had to be made and WA chose to prioritize fairness at the expense of including transgender athletes. The impact on Canadian sports will be significant, particularly for Athletics Canada. Eligibility rules for WA- and World Para Athletics-sanctioned competitions will have to be revised immediately to comply with the new framework. Otherwise, athletes from Canada will not qualify for elite international events. Neither would Canada be cleared to host international competitions without complying with WA rules. In domestic “grassroots” competitions, however, Athletics Canada is leaning towards inclusion. Its current policy states: “In registering for a domestic competition, an athlete may select the category that best reflects their gender identity and sense of self. “Coaches, officials, staff and volunteers must support an athlete’s right to select a competitive category that best matches their gender identity.” There are three problems, however, that arise from the misalignment of domestic and international policies: philosophical, legal and jurisdictional. If we are to accept the WA dichotomy of a choice between fairness and inclusion, Athletics Canada’s prioritization of “inclusion” means that it is choosing to be unfair to women and girls. Due to sex-based advantages, including male-bodied athletes in the female category is not only unfair but is bound to exclude women and girls from their rightful places on the podium, on national rankings and in domestic record books. Presumably, greater inclusivity on the domestic front is an attempt to avoid discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” and “gender expression,” as mandated by Bill C-16. On the other hand, doing so in sport is a form of sex discrimination against women and girls. Both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act forbid discrimination against girls and women on the basis of their sex. Confusion and conflict at the provincial level is bound to ensue. What is to become of the Athletics Alberta policy, for example, that enforces sex-based boundaries that align more with international standards set by the WA and less with the Canadian recommendations? Why should a provincial sports organization be forced to choose unfairness for the sake of a certain kind of “inclusion” that, in fact, excludes women and girls from their rightful placings and results? These questions illustrate that even as the majority of people involved in track and field rejoice at the establishment of clarity and fairness for elite female athletes by World Athletics, we recognize that it opens an entirely new debate here at home. Linda Blade is president of Athletics Alberta and co-author (with Barbara Kay) of the book, UNSPORTING: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport (2021). World governing body bans transgender women athletes, By Lori Ewing, March 23, 2023

Coverage of 2022 British Columbia's municipal elections and issues affecting women’s rights in local governance. Questions for MPs Regarding Sex-based Rights in 2022 These are the questions our group has put together for you to ask your municipal candidates before voting in the 2022 elections. We will be sending them out to all candidates in Vancouver. Please use and distribute as you like. If you are a candidate and would like to answer these questions and /or meet and discuss with us, please email womenspacevyr@gmail.com . Preamble: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international bill of rights for women. Article 1 of CEDAW, explains discrimination is understood as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex.” The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms sets out equality rights. “Section 15 of the Charter makes it clear that every individual in Canada – regardless of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, colour, sex, age or physical or mental disability – is to be treated with the same respect, dignity and consideration. This means that governments must not discriminate on any of these grounds in its laws or programs.” Questions for Municipal Election Candidates – Council 1. Do you support women’s sex-based rights as outlined in CEDAW and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? 2. In order to accurately include and represent all citizens in decision-making, it is critical to gather data that reflects material reality such as biological sex and sexual orientation. 3. Women’s (adult human female’s) sex-based representations in the civic processes must be preserved. 4. Political organizations should strive to have equal representation of women (adult human females) in leadership positions and as candidates. Questions for Municipal Election Candidates – Parks 1. In order to protect the dignity and safety of women and girls, washrooms and changerooms in all public venues must offer sex-segregated facilities. 2. Public venues should offer women-only programs such as women-only time in the gyms, girls-only sports, or teen girls-only activities. 3. Further, women have the right to request that some activities remain sex-segregated, when renting Park Board facilities for cultural, social, or sporting events. Questions for Municipal Election Candidates – School Board 1. Girls (female children and youth) have sex-based rights to safety and privacy, guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom must be supported. 2. What would you do to protect students from being lured into online sexual extortion and online luring for the purposes of prostitution, sex trafficking and pornography? 3. Some parents are concerned about whether materials and beliefs presented in the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculum (SOGI) for students are age and developmentally appropriate. What would you do to protect the rights of parents and educators to bring concerns to the School Board, regarding curriculum, policy and/or practice? 4. Female students are reporting rape culture in BC’s elementary and secondary schools and a lack of protections or safety mechanisms in place at the municipal and school board levels. This is an urgent issue to address. The 2020 Convention of BCCPAC overwhelmingly passed the following resolutions to address peer to peer sexual harassment and sexual assaults in schools. See pages 45 to 49 . 2022.09 Action Against Peer-to-Peer Sexual Misconduct 2022.10 Action to Address Peer-to-Peer Sexual Harassment 2022.11 Action to Address Peer-to-Peer Sexual Assault/Exploitation - Data Collection & Analysis 2022.12 Action to Address Peer-to-Peer Sexual Assault - Response Protocol What will you do to support and implement these recommendations? Printable PDFs Council School Board Park Board

Local advocacy work in Vancouver supporting women’s rights, public engagement, and policy awareness. Our Letter to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Please use any part of this letter for your own use. February 28, 2021 Donnie Rosa, General Manager Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and the Vancouver Park Board Dear Parks Board: Re: Vancouver Park Board decision to open all washroom and change facilities to “Gender Diverse” people We are writing on behalf of Women’s Space Vancouver. We are an organization whose mission is to protect and enhance the sex-based rights of women, including their right to safe female-only public spaces. We note that such spaces are increasingly threatened and/or altered by governing boards seeking to include those who self identify as the opposite sex, be they transgender, gender fluid, or “gender diverse”. Many attempts at being inclusive have denied women’s participation, autonomy and safety in public life. Threatened spaces include bathrooms and change rooms, transition houses and women’s organizing centres. We are writing you to express our concerns about Vancouver Park Board’s plans to change single-sex (women and men) change rooms and bathrooms into mixed-sex spaces. We are concerned about the following: The process of “creating inclusive toilets and change rooms” in community centres was and is anti-democratic and anti-woman in violation of human rights and your goals for the parks board. (1) According to the Vancouver Parks Board 2014 TGVI report,(2) you conducted a community survey comprising 3 (of 33) community centres and fewer than 150 individual participants. This is hardly an adequate sample of community centre participants to take such a big decision to remove single-sex spaces for women. The Park Board has a legislated responsibility to provide adequate sex-segregated toilets and change rooms. A document produced in June of 2018, https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/goal-8-foster-safety-and-welcome.pdf ,declaring that Park Board facilities would become safer and more inclusive, did not mention women, females or sex as categories requiring extra protections. The designation of washrooms as mixed sex spaces (“gender diverse” or “gender neutral”) contravenes the BC Human Rights code prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, ignoring women’s distinct needs, including privacy from men. Mixed sex toilets violate the principles of United Nations guidance. Sex segregation is presented as a priority in achieving equality for women, especially in developing countries: Paragraph 2.1.2 of the UNICEF document on applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDG 6) to sanitation specifies that separate school toilets should always be provided for girls (UNICEF, 2016). The United Nations Report on The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation states that sex-specific toilets should be provided, especially in schools, where privacy to deal with menstruation is a major factor in determining whether girls continue their education (Albuquerque and Roaf, 2012, pp 35, 153-4). Some Islamic, Hindu, and Orthodox Jewish women are forbidden to share intimate areas with male strangers, especially when menstruating. In the interests of the inclusion of ‘diverse genders’ the City of Vancouver has excluded the needs and human rights of women including those women whose religious beliefs and practices won’t be respected. Women have distinctly different needs than men. Women have well established distinctly different needs than men. Female needs include dealing with menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, breastfeeding and caring for babies, children and elderly female relatives, all of which require the need for privacy from male observation. Separate cubicles do not resolve the need to have private space to deal with these matters. The breadth of need for the above examples do not require just a toilet, or just a change space. They are often dealt with in safe open space in front of other women. Women require more time and space (booths take up more room than urinals) in washrooms and change facilities. We do not have access to toilets in the numbers proportionate to that need. The inevitable line up outside women’s washrooms, when there is little or no line up for the men’s, is evidence of the difference in needs. There are already about one third fewer facilities for women than for men. The answer to this deficit is to provide more room for women in sex-segregated facilities and provide separate facilities for those who do not want to use the facilities designated for their sex, be they “gender diverse” or uncomfortable for other reasons. The answer is not to sacrifice women’s needs and protected spaces to address the needs of other groups. Welcoming “gender diverse” people into women’s bathrooms and change facilities leaves women vulnerable to all males, whether they self-id as women or not. Women in distress can find privacy and safety in the women’s washroom. Women sometimes use the washroom to get away from predatory men or men pursuing a woman they wish to control. If a woman fleeing a man is able to go into the women’s washroom and be guaranteed to be away from men, she can have a moment’s reprieve, access a phone unmonitored, and ask for assistance from other women. If anyone can declare they identify as a woman to qualify as “gender diverse”, then any man can do so and enter women’s washrooms without being questioned. This safe space will no longer be available if men can access all facilities for women. According to many accounts on social media, the safe space of a women-only washroom is already no longer an option for women, as a result of this “gender diverse” inclusion. This not only puts women at risk, but keeps women on high alert. They can no longer feel at ease in the women’s facilities. They will not know the motivation of a male-bodied person entering the washroom or change room. Regardless of motive, many women have had experiences that justify their caution around men, especially in intimate spaces. This is the antithesis of protecting the dignity and safety of women. It puts them at risk of harassment and violence. In order to adhere to the goals of the 2014 Park Board report, significantly retrofitted public washrooms will cost millions. Such retrofitting will still leave women vulnerable and without privacy. It has already been shown in other jurisdictions that when males are invited into female facilities, the traditional knee-to-shoulder barriers are not sufficient for privacy, safety and dignity. They are an invitation to voyeurism, illicit filming and sexual harassment. Whether these stalls have floor to ceiling walls and doors with secure locks, the reality that they open to a shared, mixed-sex washing up area continues to violate women’s needs, as noted above. Women’s bodies and bodily functions, and those of children and aging female parents, are exposed in this area. Women and girls will not have dignified space for privacy or safety. Again, the answer is not to compromise safe, private space for women and girls in order to meet the needs of other populations. As noted above, separate facilities for those who are not comfortable using the facilities designated for their sex, or even for further privacy of any special need, is a far better answer and where Park Board money should be channeled. In conclusion, we urge the Vancouver Park Board to respectfully consider the safety and privacy of all those who use the parks and recreation facilities in Vancouver. Special attention must be paid to including women, who have historically been disadvantaged and under-served by our recreation and parks facilities. In 2014, the Park Board promised discrete space for men, women and transgender or ‘gender diverse’ people, and have yet to adequately provide anything more than signage which results in compromising, or at worst, dismissing and eliminating, the needs and rights of women and girls. Though this may have been an unintended consequence, we must demand that this sexist and dangerous situation be corrected. We ask that you carry out a more democratic and inclusive consultation by consulting with women’s organizations about any changes to washroom and change facilities. Thank you for your attention. A core value of the Park Board is the desire to create welcoming parks and recreation services for all. That’s why we are committed to improving the safety and inclusiveness of our spaces through programming, education, activities, events, and enhanced park design. April 17, 2014 Vancouver Parks Board, “trans and Gender Variant Working Group”

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

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

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

Analysis of Canada’s 2021 Census and issues related to sex, gender, and data accuracy. Census 2021 The issue: Changes to the 2021 Census Those who fill in the 2021 Canadian Census, and by law, we must do so, will notice some troubling changes. The changes to the 2021 Census are, according to the Government website, to be in keeping with Bill C 16. ”In 2017, Bill C16 was passed in Parliament, adding gender expression and identity as protected grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code”. The Government website goes on to explain, that when “funds were allocated to create the Centre for Gender Diversity and inclusion Statistics, “this was direction to Stats Canada to begin to gather statistics regarding gender identity. However, in the Stats Can Technical Report that gives background to the 2021 changes, Stats Canada was, from 2016 on, engaged in a proactive strategy to serve gender identity activists to fill “publicly identified” gaps. An online consultation was conducted to gather input from Canadians on the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub . Also, invitations were sent out to specific LGBTQ groups soliciting suggestions for changes to the next Census. In 2018, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat released a Summary Report, Modernizing the Government of Canada’s Sex and Gender Information Practices . There are some troubling descriptions and expectations as to how the Canadian Government will define and treat the categories of sex and gender that lead to conflating the two categories and/or privileging gender. Self-identification of gender leads to the erasure on Government documents of the category of biological sex . Why do the changes to the 2021 Census matter? The resulting changes in the next Census provide for an identification of female or male sex and an additional question on gender identity. A Citizen can identify with a gender different than the ’Sex Assigned at Birth”. Adding “gender identity” to the Census has not been publicly examined or debated in Canada. We could find no specific concerns raised by the Canadian academic community such as those raised by UK academics (the UK and Scottish 2021 Censuses will add a third option for gender identity). In an open letter published in the Sunday Times in December the UK academics said, “As social statisticians, quantitative social scientists and epidemiologists, we are concerned about the proposed online guidance to accompany the sex question which advises respondents that they may respond in terms of their self-identified gender. The guidelines “will effectively transform the sex question into one about gender identity.” The fear was that these changes would “undermine data reliability on a key demographic variable and affect the ability to measure sex-based discrimination and inequality. “The signators to the letter emphasized that “Sex and gender identity are distinct and should not be conflated.” The fears of the UK academics hold true for the upcoming Canadian Census. Feminists must become aware of the intentions of the Government to fulfill the goals of the gender identity activists to privilege gender over biological sex. Women, as a category, are being eliminated from political platforms, policy development, government action, and the justice system. The Census 2021 questions on gender identity deepen this dilemma.

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

Learn how to support Women’s Space Vancouver through advocacy, events, and community involvement. How you can help Familiarize yourself with women’s sex-based rights under: The BC Human Rights Code The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Get involved: Write to your MLA Talk to your family, friends, schools, Parents Advisory Councils Join our mailing list for educational events, email us at womenspaceyvr@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @womenvancouver Distribute our brochure on Gender Self-Declaration

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

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 March 7, 2026 - Political Courage: Women’s Rights & Democracy in Europe with Faika El-Nagashi https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_c0f4fdfff531427b9a745efa5af61f52~mv2.jpg 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 (https://athena-forum.eu/)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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/af0036_ea464f76dc974bb8b27165d1f1c4c58c~mv2.webp An Australian human rights tribunal says that lesbians in Australia cannot host events that exclude men. The Lesbian Action Group (https://lesbianactiongroup.org.au/)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 (https://www.hague-mothers.org.uk/#about)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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_cf44fd3098484bf2a1217039ec95fafc~mv2.jpg 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.(https://sullivanreview.uk/) 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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_138c3282d8f94ba18154c9c640f5ecfc~mv2.jpg Women's Space Vancouver interviews Susan Smith of For Women Scotland (https://forwomen.scot/)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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_c3f43f11d8924b4887ce2bf358bbd9de~mv2.jpg Irish journalist Helen Joyce (https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/p/about-me)writes a monthly column for the Critic,(https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecritic.co.uk%2Fauthor%2Fhelen-joyce%2F%3Fref%3Dthehelenjoyce.com&data=05%7C02%7Callison.mcdonald%40bchydro.com%7Cddcaf3bc937c4656898e08dd70c8df5f%7C8fbb85e80cbc48c3a2e9528cef30ec27%7C0%7C0%7C638790730262787417%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=75bNAXZs1hjNomvxmwqssGCUQpt7PgE2vC4B9tYWxgQ%3D&reserved=0) 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,(https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsex-matters.org%2F%3Fref%3Dthehelenjoyce.com&data=05%7C02%7Callison.mcdonald%40bchydro.com%7Cddcaf3bc937c4656898e08dd70c8df5f%7C8fbb85e80cbc48c3a2e9528cef30ec27%7C0%7C0%7C638790730262798995%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JW%2Bg5wvMU%2FR9HT4mRttpNj3cEYKF9CLLbSOJ8eMGT54%3D&reserved=0) 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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs4FYlgy90c) Richard Dawkins interviews Helen Joyce(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu72Lu5FqE4) Oct 20, 2024 - A Conversation with Julie Bindel https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_525191f58f3847078d2ebb17dab9fe61~mv2.jpg 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)(http://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)(http://thelesbianproject.co.uk). Her wit and sense of humour are intact and sharp - to be enjoyed weekly on the Lesbian Project Podcast (thelesbianprojectpod.com)(http://thelesbianprojectpod.com), co-hosted with Kathleen Stock. Bindel's new podcast series is Julie in Genderland (juliebindel.substack.com)(http://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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_304fe17dd9d044e1a7341405b6fbe007~mv2.jpg Kathleen Stock is a contributing writer at Unherd,(https://unherd.com/) a co-director of The Lesbian Project,(https://www.thelesbianproject.co.uk/) and the author of Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism (https://www.google.com/search?q=Material+Girls%3A+Why+Reality+Matters+for+Feminism&rlz=1C1GCEA_enCA983CA985&oq=Material+Girls%3A+Why+Reality+Matters+for+Feminism&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDIzMTNqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&ip=1&vld=cid:289a3c07,vid:EppfWmtbP2Y,st:0)(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.(http://meghanmurphy.ca) Meghan published the first op-ed against (https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalobserver.com%2F2016%2F10%2F25%2Fopinion%2Fopinion-bill-c-16-flawed-ways-most-canadians-have-not-considered&data=05%7C01%7Callison.mcdonald%40bchydro.com%7Ccb02c0115d534300e31108dbd7ca9968%7C8fbb85e80cbc48c3a2e9528cef30ec27%7C0%7C0%7C638341037375756255%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=L07UOkM6Ra5STUdRbWb1SX6G9gMRnmGSINfmOqo4YKA%3D&reserved=0)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 a(https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fwatch%2F%3Fv%3D330686790845945&data=05%7C01%7Callison.mcdonald%40bchydro.com%7Ccb02c0115d534300e31108dbd7ca9968%7C8fbb85e80cbc48c3a2e9528cef30ec27%7C0%7C0%7C638341037375756255%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Bk5K%2BEFcYHsd8r%2BD9qVP9Spy8fsIEgr2ddsD8GYK42Q%3D&reserved=0)bout women's rights and trans activism in October 2018 in Kitchener, ON and the first to debate t(https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-yawM1CRWxE&data=05%7C01%7Callison.mcdonald%40bchydro.com%7Ccb02c0115d534300e31108dbd7ca9968%7C8fbb85e80cbc48c3a2e9528cef30ec27%7C0%7C0%7C638341037375756255%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=47D9Yow7vj2LMrA2%2FYqFGU3IE6FlM99%2B2K2GuIFAH5o%3D&reserved=0)his 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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_7b13b0d4aca1493cb87c62233f444282~mv2.jpg 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. November 27, 2022 - Dr. Linda Blade – athlete, coach, author – Fighting to Save Women’s Sports RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE Dr. Linda Blade (https://worldathletics.org/be-active/lifestyle/linda-blade-life-in-athletics)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. (https://www.unsporting.com/) 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 (https://www.sportsconsortium.org/)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. 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.(http://sexbasedrights.ca) The Vancouver Lesbian Collective (https://www.vancouverlesbiancollective.com/)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 o(https://www.vancouverlesbiancollective.com/contact-us)r through Facebook o(https://www.facebook.com/FeministDykesVancouver)r Instagram.(https://www.instagram.com/vancouverlesbiancollective/) 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/(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(https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-sale-of-children/surrogacy) This recent article (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-wartime-labour-how-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-has-exposed-the-reality/)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 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_a2995a44072e4b0ca16cd562b0c9b9cc~mv2.jpg Heather Mason is an Advocate, Activist, Former Federal Prisoner, Survivor of Fentanyl Addiction, Founding Member of caWsbar,(https://www.cawsbar.ca/) and on the Board of Directors for Strength in SISterhood.(https://www.strengthinsisterhood.net/) 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. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/db6d9a_e4182c47b4f24fc39472db52423a8f58~mv2.jpg 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? (https://www.womenarehuman.com/the-alarm-has-been-sounded-whos-going-to-respond/)is an excellent article on the subject written by Heather for the website Woman are Human.(https://www.womenarehuman.com/) 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.(http://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.(http://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, (https://wmstonline.com/)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/(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 i(https://stella-omalley.squarespace.com/cottonwoolkids)n 2015 and Bully-Proof Kids i(https://stella-omalley.squarespace.com/bullyproof-kids)n 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 (https://genderreport.ca/)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)(http://www.tnc.news) and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (www.jccf.ca)(http://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 (https://stephaniedaviesarai.com/)the founder of the UK organization Transgender Trend.(https://www.transgendertrend.com/) Her presentation included a summary of the Keira Bell case (https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/12/01/the-judgment-in-keira-bells-case-upsets-trans-groups)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.(https://www.amazon.ca/Communicating-Kids-Stephanie-Davies-Arai/dp/1784621080) 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,(https://theconversation.com/no-more-page-3-how-a-feminist-collective-took-on-a-media-behemoth-to-challenge-everyday-sexism-156478) speaking on female objectification at schools, universities and organizations including Girlguiding and the Institute of Public Policy Research. She founded the organization Transgender Trend (https://www.transgendertrend.com/)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 (https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-0398-4)(2018) and Inventing Transgender Children and Young People (https://cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-3638-8)(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 (https://www.civitas.org.uk/publications/transgender-children/)published by Civitas (2019). You can find Stephanie on Twitter @cwknews (https://twitter.com/cwknews?lang=en)and on email at hello@stephaniedaviesarai.com(mailto: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 (https://www.endslaverynow.org/asian-women-coalition-ending-prostitution)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,(http://www.educating-voices.com/index.html) 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.