What Is LEAF?

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Recommended: Womens rights over the last 100 years

About LEAF:
Since 1985 Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) has made great strides in enforcing the importance of ensuring equality and protection towards all women in Canada particularly in regards to sexual assault. LEAF’s legal background has enabled them to advocate and intervene in many legal cases where they believe women are at risk of mistreatment and discrimination not only in the legal system, but in society as well (“History”). For this reason, LEAF is one of the main reasons why women’s rights have positively changed in regards to consent, personal records, and stereotypes when discussing sexual assault. Thus, Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund is an important women’s activism group as they have continued to fight …show more content…

LEAF’s Accomplishments:
1981 - Section 28 - It reinforced women’s demands for gender equality by stating: “Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.”
Thanks to LEAF all rights and freedoms in the Charter are equally accessible to men and women (HISTORY)
1985 – Section 15 became part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Section 15 was based on two principles: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination” and that discrimination could not occur “based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”
Helped create Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which ensures that men and women are equal in and outside the court of law without prejudice (HISTORY) http://www.leaf.ca/about-leaf/history/ 1987 - A lost case that led to a law reform win → Criminal Code amended to protect sexual assault complainants
Prevention of sexual assault complainants through policy reforms in the Criminal Code (LEAF 30TH)
1988 - Publication ban on sexual assault survivors …show more content…

Active, ongoing consent to sexual activity is required
A woman must be conscious to give consent (Blanchfield) and must clearly and ongoingly state that she wants to have sexual relations (16 ways)
2012 - Niqab-wearing sexual assault complainants should have access to justice/2012 - Sexual assault complainants with intellectual disabilities deserve access to justice
Allowing equal treatment in the court of law for Niqab-wearing and disabled survivors of sexual assault (30th Anniversary)
2013 - Abused women are entitled to defend themselves against their attacker, especially if they are inadequately protected by the state
Women of abuse, particularly women who are at a disadvantage are allowed to protect themselves from violence, but only through reasonable force
2016 - Sexual assault myths, stereotypes and victim blaming do not belong in sexual assault

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