NCJ Number
142038
Journal
Canadian Journal of Women and the Law Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (1993) Pages: 25-51
Date Published
1993
Length
27 pages
Annotation
The adequacy of Canada's human rights law regarding the discrimination experienced by racial minority women was examined by means of a review of all judicial decisions on human rights in the last 10 years in which race or sex had been alleged as a ground of discrimination, as reported in the Canadian Human Rights Reporter.
Abstract
Results revealed that Canadian courts largely ignore the race and gender identify of both complainants and respondents. By ignoring these characteristics, the tribunals effectively denied the reality of combined race and sex discrimination experienced by racial minority women. Findings indicated that the concept of discrimination that informs current human rights law is unduly simplistic and reflective of the privileged perspective of the dominant group. This concept views difference as an inherent characteristic of the non-dominant group rather than as a feature arising out of the relationship between groups. Findings indicate the need for a new concept of discrimination that is responsive to the complex social reality in which we live. Footnotes (Publisher summary modified)