Gender

Canada Can’t Put Human Rights on the Back Burner in 2019
- December 19, 2018
By Stéphanie Bacher

Over the past year, Canada has taken some important steps to promote and protect human rights abroad. However, the picture is not as rosy as often presented by the government, and Canada still has a long way …
By CIPS
Canadian Foreign Policy, Gender, Human Rights, International Trade, Middle East, Women
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Democracy’s Promise Unfulfilled while Violence against Women in Politics Persists
- December 10, 2018
In October 2018, the Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls presented a report to the UN General Assembly recognizing violence against women in politics (VAWP) as a human rights violation …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
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Blue Wave Swamps Taiwan Elections
- November 28, 2018
Taiwan’s mid-term elections on 24 November brought a renewed “blue wave” to the island democracy. In this case, the blues are the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) and allies who favour rapprochement with China. The greens are the …
By Scott Simon
Asia, Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, International Relations
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Bulldozing Human Rights in Tanzania
- November 16, 2018
by Dane Degenstein

Tanzania has recently started a campaign to identify, track down, and arrest gay people, an unprecedented move in a previously more tolerant country. The regional governor of Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, announced a task force to …
By CIPS
Africa, Gender, Health, Human Rights
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Women Leaders Needed in the WTO
- June 14, 2018
The Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment is a stepping stone on the road to advancing gender equality and the economic empowerment of women in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The best way to achieve gender equality in an …
By Debra Steger
Gender, International Trade, United Nations, Women
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The Commonwealth’s Refusal to Address LGBTI Rights
- April 25, 2018
One of the best predictors of whether a country criminalizes homosexuality is whether it is a member of the Commonwealth. In 36 out of 53 Commonwealth countries, sexual acts in private between two consenting adults of the same sex are …
By Stephen Brown
Commonwealth, Gender, Human Rights
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Time to Make the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Plan Permanent
- March 21, 2018
In too many countries around the world, LGBTQ persons are criminalized — singled out for who they love — with criminal penalties including prison time and death. Canada’s refugee admission system is not perfect, but one of its great strengths …
By Patti Tamara Lenard
Canadian Foreign Policy, Gender, Human Rights, Refugees
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Budget 2018: A Bit of Good News for Development
- March 1, 2018
by Stephen Brown and Hunter McGill

If you watched Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget speech in the House of Commons yesterday, you had to be paying close attention to catch the one sentence that refers to foreign aid: “We will …
By Stephen Brown
Africa, Canadian Foreign Policy, Gender, Indigenous Peoples, International Development
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Gender, Data, and High-Risk Environments
- December 6, 2017
Collecting reliable data on state and political processes in insecure environments is a necessary first step to understanding and ultimately reducing violence. Gender shapes the data we collect, the ways it is collected, and ultimately the findings we produce and …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
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Women in Political Life Say #MeToo: Here’s How Harassment and Violence Limit Their Political Lives Worldwide
- October 23, 2017
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal last week, millions of women and men took to social media to speak out against sexual harassment and violence. Facebook alone saw over 12 million posts as more than 4.7 million users …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
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Crowded Out by “Big Man” Politics, Kenyan Women Still Struggle in 2017 Elections
- August 21, 2017
by Gabrielle Bardall, PhD, CIPS Research Associate

For all its progressive constitution, high-tech society, and exceptionally resourced Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Kenya is the worst performer in the East African Community (EAC) regarding women in parliament. These failures …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Africa, Democracy, Gender
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Is Canada Ready to Deliver a Feminist Development Co-operation Policy?
- June 22, 2017
A policy rethink on Canada’s Agenda 2030 commitments finally emerged as a feminist development manifesto from Canada’s Development Minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau. This feminist framework for Canadian aid is bold in its ambitions — some might call it revolutionary — but …
By John Sinclair
Canadian Foreign Policy, Gender, International Development
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