Justice for Girls is a non-profit organization that promotes social justice in the lives of teenage girls in poverty. Media inquiries: media
@justiceforgirls
.org
Justice for Girls was delighted to have a return visit from Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.
Joined by Jessica Lake & Lauri Thompson from the Lake family’s All One Fund, we had an engaging & heartfelt conversation about justice & equality for girls in Canada & around the world.
Yesterday, The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle visited to discuss climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous peoples. Was great to talk about the importance of a holistic approach to social justice, and the power of young women’s leadership.
#DuchessOfSussex
A highlight of our conversation was the focus on girls’ and young women’s leadership. A feminist advocate from a young age herself, The Duchess was keen to chat with two of our teen interns to discuss their personal struggles for justice.
Together with our teen interns, staff, directors, and board members, we talked about Justice for Girls’ decades of work advocating for girls’ access to education, freedom from violence, Indigenous rights, and environmental justice.
UN Committee on Racial Discrimination tells BC & federal governments to suspend TMX & CGL pipeline construction due to escalating human rights violations against the Wet’suwet’en & Secwepmc peoples. See the letter from the UN Committee here:
The RCMP has asked the court for permission to dispose of 14,000 pieces of evidence collected during its probe into former Port Coquitlam pig farmer Robert (Willie) Pickton, the target of the largest serial killer investigation in Canadian history.
An important call to justice, and accountability, from Sue Brown: “They are turning a blind eye. There is no doubt that murders, disappearances, and sexual violence against Indigenous women and girls is linked to resource extraction." 1/2
#MMIWG
Young women taking the lead at Feminists Deliver. Thanks to Zoe, Morgan, Sadea, Rebecca and Savanah for an incredible panel. The standing ovation was well deserved!
Join us at 6 pm on October 4th at the O'Siyam Pavilion in Squamish for a vigil & event on the National Day of Action for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls.
#NationalDayofActionforMMIWG
#MMIWG
We are thrilled that
#BC
has taken a historic step today by cancelling its immigration detention contract with
#CBSA
!!!
Other provinces should follow suit & help
#Canada
get on the path to abolishing immigration detention.
#WelcomeToCanada
#bcpoli
There is a potential serial killer targeting Indigenous young women & girls. We demand that VPD & RCMP prioritize investigating these deaths. Let's not forget about Robert Pickton, & David Pickton - who has been seen in the DTES within the last year!
This Mother’s Day take a stand for mothers and tell your Vancouver City Councilor or your MLA that All Mothers are
#WelcometoCanada
and must not be inhumanely jailed in provincial prisons! Every child deserves to hug their mother today.
(Human rights) Activists rallied outside David Eby's Vancouver office Tuesday, calling on the B.C. attorney general to drop criminal charges against Wet'suwet'en land defenders.
Canada’s subsequent failure to take urgent steps to end genocide now puts Indigenous women and girls at higher risk of infection and death in this pandemic
“For me February 14 for the last 18 years as been a day that I take to the streets, I disrupt traffic, I claim space, I march to deal with my sense of hopelessness and anger towards the inadequate response to Missing & Murdered Women & Girls...”
#MMIWG2s
Another sickening example of racist and sexist policing by RCMP. We must demand RCMP accountability. For more information about abusive policing and failures to protect Indigenous women and girls in BC, read
@hrw
report
Happy Earth Day from all the staff at Justice for Girls
These challenging and uncertain times have given a glimpse of a cleaner and healthier planet.
Before we return to our ‘normal’ life, we must consider what things we do want to come back to and what we need to leave behind.
Everyone has the right to clean air, water, and nature.
Last October, the
@UN_HRC
recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Join people from around the world in calling on the
@UN
General Assembly to recognize this right:
#HealthyEnvironmentForAll
!
“Man camps absolutely feed the cycle of violence, murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls. Approving man camps means that we know that women don’t feel safe, that women will experience more violence, and that women will have little to no means of justice." 1/2
Today at 8:30 am PST,
@bccla
will host an online press conference to kick off a 14-Days-of-Action Campaign alongside advocates across BC calling on the province to cancel its immigration detention contract with
#CBSA
.
#bcpoli
#WelcomeToCanada
@mikefarnworthbc
Our hands are up to Maggie for her strong words: “Man camps have devastating impacts on our communities, our families, and our women and girls. As they are a part of a larger economic and political system that is designed to continue to oppress our people.”
#MMIWG
"It’s hard to understand abuse from the outside. It’s not black and white. It's more than just a raised fist. Abuse happens on a spectrum, and it happens slowly. Much like a lobster in a pot, you don’t know you’re in danger until the water is already bubbling around you."
“I Went Back To My Abuser After A Week. This Is Why It’s So Hard For Women To Get Out For Good.” Everyone has the right to be safe & free from violence. If you are experiencing abuse by a partner we can help call 604-687-1867 or 1-855-687-1868
"The information that's been collected here & abroad is that there is absolutely no doubt that there is a link between sexual exploitation, sexual violence, physical violence & these camps." - Sue Brown, JFG Director of Legal Advocacy
“I’m aware of experiences of unaccompanied minors that have been sexually assaulted by men — girls 10, 12 years old,” she said. “Policy does not mean something gets done.” - Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of the Battered Women’s Support Services
“Canadians are by and large polite...and so to speak out about something is not a cultural norm...What we’re asking people to do now is to break some of the taboos that we’ve had around speaking out.”
@_AngelaMarieMac
Heard the most powerful and inspiring stories today at
@femdeliver
from these incredible youth leaders. Honoured to sit-in on an impromptu session — young women deserve a seat at the table and must be heard. This is how we move the dial collectively toward gender equality.
Justice for Girls is happy to announce that Savanah Norman, our Public Education & Engagement Coordinator has been appointed by Vancouver City Council to the Women's Advisory Committee!
“That requires a very serious second look,” Sue Brown (JFG Director of Advocacy) said. “It is my sincere hope that the RCMP is looking very closely at the facts here…this is not an outcome that we want to see from our policing services anywhere.”
JFG Director of Advocacy Sue Brown: “We have to call on our Governments now to say NO. We need to say NO to more extractive industries that are devastating our environment and contributing to the genocide of Indigenous women and girls.”
#MMIWG
JFG director, Zoë Craig-Sparrow wants to help Indigenous youth realize their full potential: “As a big sister, I want my little sisters to know that, despite what society and statistics may tell them, there is nothing they cannot do, be, or accomplish.”
JFG's Co-director Zoe Craig-Sparrow and Public Education & Engagement Coordinator Savanah Norman presented to the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers in Victoria yesterday on issues faced by teenage girls living in poverty.
#FPT
Ministers spoke with youth on
#LGBTQ2
and youth issues to better understand their priorities and challenges, and hear their own lived experiences.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed serious concerns about Canada’s climate policies, calling out the “disproportionately high carbon footprint of [Canada], in particular through investments made in fossil fuels.”
@DavidSuzukiFDN
Young women leaders in sciences from Vancouver Jeanny Yao and Miranda Wang, the youngest to win the Perlman science prize. They've invented bacteria that eat plastic, so inspiring to see girls working to find solutions.
“We have an epidemic of missing & murdered Indigenous women & girls in this province & we have not seen the quality of investigation, in my opinion, that we need to be seeing into these cases,” - Sue Brown, staff lawyer & director of advocacy.
"Universities cannot claim to be reconciling with Indigenous communities when they are using armed police to intimidate, arrest, and threaten Indigenous peoples in the name of research.”
“Economic hardship makes the appeal of such projects understandable. But in the context of poverty and unemployment, the degree to which consent is genuinely freely given is an open question.”
🚨Have you heard about this massive LNG project being proposed in northern BC?
If approved, the project would require a new pipeline, further lock BC into fracking, and place the province’s climate targets out of reach.
Read the latest by
@SethDKlein
⬇️
Disturbingly, the most commonly deepfaked celebrities are ones who all found fame at a young age which begs another stomach-twisting question here: when talking about deepfakes, are we also talking about the creation of child pornography?
The UN committee recommends Canada establish a legal and institutional framework to ensure adequate consultation to obtain free, prior and informed consent, and freeze present and future approval of large-scale development projects...
The time has come...after decades of demands from civil society and Indigenous Peoples organizations, the
@UN_HRC
approved the resolution to recognize the right to a healthy & sustainable environment!
🚨 Historic ruling on harmful effects of
#ClimateChange
on children: UN
#ChildRights
Committee finds that a State party can be held responsible for the negative impact of its carbon emissions on the rights of children within and outside its territory.
👉
"Since 2010, the number of Indigenous prisoners has increased by 43%, while the number of non-Indigenous prisoners has decreased by 14%. The situation is most troubling for Indigenous women, who now represent 42% of women in federal prisons."
News Release: Correctional Investigator underscores the national travesty of increasing over-representation of Indigenous Peoples in Canadian prisons
#cdnpoli
#SenCA
#TRC
#MMIWG
Today we celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, as well as the 20th anniversary of Justice for Girls. For two decades, Justice for Girls has fought against poverty, homelessness, violence and the brutal impacts of colonization in the lives of teenage girls.
Join us in standing in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en and demanding that our government respect their commitment to UNDRIP
This Saturday, January 11th, 11:30am-2:30pm
Start: Courthouse (800 Smithe Street)
End: Victory Square
A girls' school in Iran brought a member of the IRGC-run Basij paramilitary to speak to students. The girls welcomed the speaker by taking off their headscarves & chanting "get lost, Basiji".
Teenage girls have been at the forefront of protests for days.
If mother's are living in poverty, they are less able to leave abusive partners. If mothers are unable to leave violent men because of economic need, their daughters may also be at risk & may be forced to leave home to become homeless & at risk of violence and exploitation.
#gbv
“We know that lone-mother families and single older women are particularly at risk of poverty, with many widows also experiencing stigma and gender-based violence.”
#widowsday
#gbv
#vaw
A student was told at the hospital that the issue of drugging at frats is very common and has been happening “all month.” There may be a discrepancy between the number of druggings taking place and the number of instances being reported
Pleased to have Elizabeth Stanger from the CKNW Kids' Fund Grants Committee join us at
#PledgeCKNW
to talk about the importance of
#mentalhealth
. Donate at or call to donate at 604-222-9898.
Jazmyn Williams live at Squamish MMIWG event: ““LNG will bring man camps and bring in a lot more men and a lot of people that are outside of our community, that don’t know our indigenous people and don’t have respect for our Indigneous people [...]” 1/2
Thank you so much to Jazmyn Williams and Maggie Korolyk for sharing their stories, and fears with us. Today, and every day, we must take ACTION on
#MMIWG
.
Maggie Korloyk challenges a society that cultivates
#MMIWG
: “Why are Indigenous women and girls always the target? Is it because little to nothing gets done? Is it because men know they’ll get away with it?”
Inspiring Change - Oxfam Canada’s new guide to gender-based analysis plus in impact assessment in Canada is a road map to support activists and community members of all genders & identities in navigating the federal impact assessment process.
📣 Support the youth-led fight for climate justice in Canada’s courts! With support from
@Davidsuzukifdn
&
@youthvgov
, youth plaintiffs in La Rose v. His Majesty the King will attend a virtual hearing on February 14-15! 1/2
According to a 2021 study from the Uni. of Calgary, one in three youth in gr. 9 & gr. 10 had experienced adolescent dating violence. StatsCan reported in 2014 that 47 per cent of all sexual assault incidents were committed against women aged 15 to 24.