Position Statement

caWsbar asserts that:

 

1. Sex -- as distinct from gender -- is a material, biological reality;

2. There are only two sexes – female and male;

3. Disorders of Sex Development (DSD, sometimes referred to as intersex) exist, but people with DSD are either female or male;

4. Humans cannot change their sex; scientific evidence demonstrates that the sex chromosomes within our DNA are present in every one of our cells and are immutable;

5. Gender identity and expression, which have yet to be defined in Canadian law, are culturally-based, stereotypical degrees of “masculinity” and “femininity” (e.g., men like hockey, women like fashion);

6. All Canadians are free to express and present themselves as they wish; however, the concept of "gender identity and expression" does not negate the material, biological reality of women and girls;  

7. Women’s and girls’ sex-based rights to bodily privacy, dignity, fairness and security are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in which sex is a protected characteristic;

8. Canadian women’s sex-based Charter protections are based upon the fact that females have historically been -- and still are -- disadvantaged and vulnerable due to their distinct biological reality;

9. Therefore, women’s and girls’ sex-based Charter rights must be strongly asserted and preserved in public policy, and must take precedence over any concept of gender;

10. The inclusion of males in the definition of “woman” under federal and provincial Human Rights legislation (i.e., gender self-identification) is regressive, unfair and perilous for Canadian women and girls.

 

We will no longer stand by and watch the hard-won rights and protections of Canadian women and girls be eroded through a confusion of sex with "gender identity or expression."

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Moving forward, we demand that spaces and resources previously used only by women and girls continue to be sex-segregated.

 

Such spaces and resources include (but are not limited to):

 

• homeless shelters and hostels

• change rooms/locker rooms

• washrooms

• rape relief and domestic violence shelters

• prisons

• sporting divisions

• shared rooms in hospitals and university/college dorms

• extracurricular groups (e.g., Girl Guides)

• academic scholarships and grants

• positions on committees

• conferences, seminars and retreats

• lesbian resources and events

• housing co-ops

• music and art festivals

• university/college women’s centres

 

In order to meet our vision, caWsbar intends to take action in ways that protect such sex-based spaces, using our collective voices to demand that women’s and girls’ Charter rights be both recognized and defended.

 

Through non-violent resistance, caWsbar will utilize various means to achieve our goals, including increasing public awareness and education through press releases and public talks, increasing political pressure through letter writing and organized protests, as well as legal challenges.