Human rights of women in Canada

Abstract

Women's human rights in Canada are recent acquisitions and were possible to obtain them thanks to the work of brave women who stood up to an entire legal system that granted rights and privileges only to men. Through their efforts, Canadian women obtained the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to earn a fair salary and, above all, the right to be legally recognized as people. Today, the human rights of Canadian women are protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Commission and internationally by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Canada has made progress, however, the statistics of violations of the human rights of women and girls as well as the recommendations of international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women make it clear that the Government of Canada must take urgent measures to eradicate gender violence, obstetric violence, trafficking in women and girls, feminicide especially of indigenous women and girls, domestic violence, the criminalization of sex workers, discrimination and forced sterilization.