Download SER_Goss_Arg_en - National Association of Women and the Law

National Association of
Women and the Law
Association nationale
Femmes et Droit
1066 Somerset West/Ouest, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4T3 Tel/Tél 613-241-7570 Fax/Télécopieur 613241-4657 [email protected]
NAWL’S ARGUMENTS ON SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND WOMEN’S
EQUALITY
A.
When the government reduces social assistance to a belowsubsistence level, women are harmed in specific ways.
B.
Because women are more vulnerable to poverty than men,
social assistance programs are crucial for women.
C.
Constitutional equality rights create a duty for governments to
make sure that laws and regulations do not have an adverse
impact on women.
A. SPECIFIC HARM TO WOMEN
“…violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal
power relations between men and women, which have led to domination
over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of
the full advancement of women …some groups of women, such as …
destitute women, …are especially vulnerable to violence…”
(Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women,
United Nations General Assembly, 1993)
- The reduced rate affected Louise Gosselin’s ability to make choices about her
sexual relationships.
- She was left more vulnerable than ever to sexual harassment, abuse and
exploitation.
- The reduced rate reinforced her vulnerability as a woman and was therefore
discriminatory, and in violation of section 15 of the Charter.
- When the government reduces social assistance to a below-subsistence level,
women are harmed in specific ways.
- Extreme poverty deprives women of equal status and decision-making
authority in their relationships with men. It can even force them to enter into
or maintain unwanted sexual relationships.
- Poverty increases women’s vulnerability to sexual and racial discrimination,
violence and exploitation. The traditional patterns of subordination that women
experience in relation to men in society are reinforced in a situation of belowsubsistence income.
- Homelessness and life in communal shelters exposes women to a greater risk
of violence.
- Whether a woman stays in an abusive relationship or leaves can depend on
whether she has access to social assistance that will provide her with the
means of subsistence: “Although financial independence does not always mean
that a woman will decide to leave, it helps. Without it, the only option is to
endure. The decision to leave a violent relationship is complex; poverty makes
it more so.” (Monica Townson, A Report Card on Poverty (Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives: April 2000).
- Denying women access to adequate social assistance when they are between
18 and 30 increases their vulnerability to poverty at later stages of their lives
and causes them lasting harm.
- Giving birth to children in economically impoverished and socially constrained
circumstances will also have a lasting effect on women’s lives, in terms of
psychological well-being, physical health, access to job opportunities, and
eventually their financial security as older women.
B. ADEQUATE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE IS KEY TO WOMEN’S EQUALITY
“The World Conference on Human Rights affirms that extreme
poverty and social exclusion constitute a violation of human
dignity (…).”
(Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Article 25,
World Conference on Human Rights)
- "In Canada, the feminization of poverty is an entrenched social phenomenon"
(Moge v. Moge, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 813).
- Because women are more vulnerable to poverty than men, social assistance
schemes are crucial for women.
- In Canada, more women than men are poor, they experience greater depths
of poverty than men, and they are more likely to be poor at virtually every
stage of their lives.
- Women are poor for different reasons than men.
- In particular, women suffer economic penalties when they are unattached to
men, or have children alone.
- Women of colour, Aboriginal women, and women with disabilities face higher
unemployment rates and higher poverty rates.
- Young women are also considerably more likely than other women to be
unemployed.
- The factors that make women poorer than men, including discrimination in
the labour market and the traditional division of labour in the family, also
restrict women’s opportunities and means of escaping from poverty.
C. GOVERNMENTS HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT LAWS DO NOT HAVE
AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON WOMEN
Countries that have signed the Convention (like Canada) “… shall take
in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural
fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full
development and advancement of women, for the purpose of
guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.”
(Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article
3.)
- “…to promote the objective of a more equal society, section 15(1) acts as a
bar to [the government] enacting provisions without taking into account their
possible impact on already disadvantaged classes of persons.” (Rodriguez v.
British Columbia, [1993] 3 RSC 519)
- Constitutional equality rights create a duty for governments to make sure
that laws and regulations do not have an adverse impact on groups who are
already marginalized or disadvantaged groups, such as women.
- This is even more the case when laws and regulations affect women who are
particularly disadvantaged such as poor women, disabled women, and
aboriginal women.
- When the Courts interpret the Charter, they have to take into account
Canada’s international human rights commitments.