This March, editors have been asked to write pieces in light of International Women's Month. As a result, the question “Do you feel Canadian laws protect women,” was asked to various University of Toronto students in order to truly understand their interpretations of the laws and therefore attest to whether or not they operate in favour of them.
To commence, one of the first interviewees brought up the police force and the impacts which they have upon their mental health. They commented on how although the police are meant to make them feel safe, they found that they felt on edge around them, stating that given a majority of the police force are men a “fear of law enforcement” is formed. The common theme of discomfort surrounding law enforcement was found throughout most of the interviews. Furthermore, they commented on how female police officers tended to be consistently sexualised within the workforce rather than taken seriously.
Another individual introduced the idea of equal pay and how despite legislation, the problem was still active. They commented how, as a student in business, they often felt like they were not offered the same opportunities as other students. Moreover, they commented on how this seems to be an issue that is rarely discussed and how they believed it was “not something the government wants to address.”
One student brought up their concerns regarding abortion rights in light of what is occurring just south of the border. They stated how in the United States they seem to have easily limited the abortion rights of women and they fear that the same could be done to Canadian women. They also commented that their confidence in the current legislators was questionable as they believed that these same legislators of Canada would not protect these rights if needed.
When asking a member of the Law Society of the University of Toronto at Scarborough about this, they commented more on the legal protections in place. Despite feeling safe as a result of Canadian legislation, they found that the lack of international action which the Canadian government has done to be appalling as they seem to only protect one group of women and ignore those outside of the nation. This commenter stated that “I personally feel safe in Canada, in the sense that I don't feel like as a woman I'm going to be treated differently by the legal system, however, that issue definitely still does exist at the international level.”
In conclusion, it is evident that all interviewees who commented on this issue felt that the laws did protect them, yet, there were clear limitations on these protections. Therefore, the commentary clearly states that although the legal protections in place do act to protect women, they do not act in a manner strong enough to make Canadian women feel safe.
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