The Use of Non-Discriminatory Language in the Law
The use of language is fundamental to law. This paper addresses three reasons why lawyers should use non-discriminatory (and especially non-sexist) language: to
promote accuracy in legal writing and speech; to meet current standards of
professional integrity and responsibility; and to be consistent with legal norms of equality and non-discrimination in Canadian law. The paper then examines ways of achieving non-discriminatory language in English and French in a number of concrete situations. The paper examines the `false generics" of "l'homme" and "man"; the problems of gender specific pronouns (a problem which has different implications in English and in French); and the use of a non-sexist vocabulary. Finally, it explores briefly the relationship between non-discriminatory language and other aspects of equality in the legal profession.
Adding a Third Dimension: The Danadian Approach to Constitutional Equality Guarantees
The problem that has most vexed judicial decisionmakers and academic writers about constitutional equality guarantees is how to measure equality in deciding when equality rights have been violated. This article suggests that an analysis in three dimensions provides valuable direction toward a solution. In its early decisions under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,' the Supreme Court of Canada has addressed equality in a ground-breaking and creative way. 2 At the core of its approach to equality rights in these decisions is the kind of simple yet profound insight that the concept of "equity" exemplifies in the law of remedies. The insightembodied in what I refer to as the "equality principle"-is that equality rights are constitutionally guaranteed in order to counterbalance certain types of inequalities between people. They are not primarily designed to address "inequality" in a generic or abstract sense.3 The wording and context of the Canadian constitutional equality guarantees determine the kinds of inequalities that must be addressed and the possible ways of addressing them. The equality rights are aimed at the alleviation of particular disadvantages, such as those between women and men, racial or religious minorities and the dominant group, persons with handicapping conditions and those of average abilities, the elderly or the very young and the rest of the population, and
Women's health in prison: urgent need for improvement in gender equity and social justice.
The needs of women held in detention have received little attention and con-tinue to be neglected by health systems and prison authorities. One reason for this, too readily accepted until now, is that women prisoners are a clear minor-ity group within prisons all over the world. It is only recently that attention has been drawn to the fact that a minor-ity status does not justify the widespread ignorance of women’s basic rights and the considerable gender insensitivity still dominating criminal justice systems.In Europe alone, there are about 100 000 women and girls in prison.