On December 6th, 2017, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, West Coast LEAF issued our 9th annual CEDAW Report Card, assessing BC’s progress in nine key areas impacting women’s human rights, including access to justice, economic security, affordable housing and child care, and women’s health and safety. Government inaction in all of these areas erodes women’s safety by intensifying the barriers to fleeing violence. In the Report Card, BC’s record over the past year is measured against the obligations set out in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the international bill of rights for women.

While this year’s Report Card shows some improvement over last year’s grades, there are many alarming areas of inaction, including with regard to the CEDAW Committee’s recommendations on addressing the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women and girls. West Coast LEAF will be carefully watching for government follow-through on recent promises and demanding accountability at this pivotal time for women and girls in BC.

Image of the cover of the 2017 CEDAW Report Card. The letter grades are listed: Access to Justice, D+; Child Care, D; Employment, C+; Health, C+; Housing, C; Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, D; Poverty, C; Prison, C-; Violence, C

Read our 2017 CEDAW Report Card. Please email education [at] westcoastleaf [dot] org if you require a version in Word or another format.