Women strike outside Nanaimo Court House to bring awareness about women’s rights
According to the B.C. government, in 2022 women were paid 17 per cent less than men for an average hourly wage. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
On the second anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned in the United States, almost 100 people gathered outside the Nanaimo Court House on Monday, June 24 to strike for better rights for autonomy over women’s bodies and existence.
The gathering in Nanaimo was part of a women’s strike happening across Canada and the United States recognizing the need to continue fighting for reproductive rights.
In 2022 Roe v. Wade was overturned ending the legal case from 1973 that saw the U.S. Supreme Court rule 7-2 that the restriction of abortion services by state regulations was unconstitutional.
In Nanaimo, strike organizer and clinical counsellor Stephanie Peter told the crowd that while the overturn of Roe v. Wade may only affect those in the U.S., it is important to pay attention to what is happening in Canada.
“There's still so much further that we need to go in terms of pay equity, in terms of safety, in terms of equality, and to see that it's going in the wrong direction, is deeply worrying and upsetting,” Peter said. “I think that's one of the reasons that we're all here today.”
Sarah Cameron, a local healthcare worker and 2SLGBTQIA+ advocate also spoke at the strike. Cameron, who is a transgender woman, shared what she noticed through her gender transition
She said until her transition she was only able to experience the perspective of being a woman from the point of view of someone perceived to be a man. She said it wasn't until her transition that she started to notice and understand the inequities that all women face
“Sometimes now I'm talked over by colleagues a lot more than I used to be. It never used to happen. In fact, my work is sometimes questioned, that never used to happen,” Cameron said. “This never happened that way before. I have unwanted advances from men sometimes at work, or randomly when I'm just minding my own business”
She said in the United States women, including transgender women, are losing more rights to what they can do with their bodies.
“This is a concern for everyone, a sign of things to come for all women,” Cameron said. “The removal of trans[gender] rights has been a testing of our tolerance for the removal of rights, and we saw this in the U.S. with the right to choose now taken away. So could this happen here in Canada? Yes.”
Cameron said there have been similar shifts in societal acceptance happening in Canada and it is time for people to recognize that what’s happened in the U.S. could happen in Canada as well
She said it is important to pay attention to local politics and school board trustee and board elections, even if as she said it seems “obscure or pointless”.
She points out a former school board trustee in Chilliwack who had strong anti-sogi–or Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities– views on the curriculum that teaches kids about sexual orientation and gender identities.
“The good news is that this man is a former school board trustee, he tried to get reelected, but folks organized to make sure that didn't happen,” Cameron said. “So we can take action and we can make a real difference.”
After the speeches, CHLY spoke with Stephanie Peter and Pattie Dyer about the strike.
Peter said she only recently got into the women’s movement and the fight for reproductive rights although she has experienced sexism and misogyny all throughout her life.
“Since I was a teenager, I've become aware of misogyny. I've become aware of feeling like a second-class citizen,” Peter said. “But I didn't get involved politically,”
She said it wasn't until Roe v. Wade was overturned that she got involved in the movement.
“That's been there since 1973. I'm in my 60s now, so my entire reproductive life, I've known that abortion was legal in the States, and at least not illegal in Canada so could be accessed for most of my adult life,” Peter said.
Dyer also came into the movement later in life.
“I've certainly been vocal, but I have not been an activist. I have not been someone who's on the forefront, but I really do feel like times are changing,” Dyer said. “So this opportunity came at the right time and I think we are at a turning point.”
Peter said the strike is to raise awareness of three main topics; bodily autonomy and reproductive rights; stopping gender-based violence; and general equal rights for women.
“There's still only 30 per cent of the people in decision-making positions of power in Canada are women and 6 per cent women of colour,” Peter said. “Those are really disappointing steps, we should be much further ahead than that.”
She also points out the gender pay gap across the country that differs in size in each province and territory.
According to the B.C. government, in 2022, women were paid 17 per cent less than men with an average hourly wage for men being $35.50 per hour compared to $29.53 per hour for women.
It also found that Indigenous, racialized and immigrant women had an even lower average wage.
New pay transparency legislation that came into effect on November 1 of last year requires all publicly advertised jobs to include wage or salary ranges.
Peter tells CHLY that while there are reproductive rights across the country, the situation is different from province to province.
“I think we're pretty lucky in B.C., for instance, when it comes to abortion, we have access to abortion [services] for the first 25 weeks of pregnancy, in New Brunswick, they have access for the first 13,” Peter said. “Most women don't know they're pregnant until they're about six weeks pregnant, so that gives you seven weeks to get an appointment and to go through the waitlist and to be served and that's not happening in New Brunswick.”
Currently, in B.C., abortions are available in the province and are covered for residents under the Medical Service Plan.
According to the province, depending on how far along the pregnancy is, there are different options on how to access the service.
In February of this year, Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights made a statement saying the New Brunswick government's lack of funding for surgical abortions outside of a hospital setting is forcing community abortion clinics to close.
Currently, in New Brunswick, there are only three hospitals that can offer abortion services up to 13 weeks.
The closure of community abortion clinics could then lead to a longer waitlist to access the service in the province which could end up being a wait time longer than 13 weeks.
Peter, whose daughter was in attendance at the strike, said it is important to protect current abortion rights so that future generations will still have access to them.
She said as a provincial election is coming up this year and a federal election will be happening next year, it is important to pay attention to candidates and what they stand for.
“When you add up the number of women, non-binary and trans[gender] Canadians, it's almost 20 million [people]. That's a lot of votes,” she said. “I think that if we act in our own best interests and we can communicate and discuss and share your information, then that's one big thing that we can do.”
Dyer adds that it is important to continue being engaged with the movement and continue having conversations about the current state of reproductive and women's rights across the country and in the United States.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.