Women with disabilities pressured to die in Canada

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has called on Canadian authorities to repeal euthanasia laws for the mentally ill, saying they negatively impact women with disabilities. It has also drawn up a new anti-trafficking strategy, according to a nine-page document to the United Nations.

The briefing was written for the 89th session of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly. It is part of an evaluation of Canada’s contribution to eliminating discrimination against women.

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2021 for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. However, the EFC noted that since the expansion of euthanasia laws, there have been many cases of people seeking MAiD due to a lack of medical or social support, poverty or housing insecurity, or “intolerable conditions in long-term care.”

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“Many have received MAiD from medical professionals, sometimes repeatedly,” the EFC said. “Eligibility based on disability endangers and devalues ​​the lives of disabled Canadians.”

The EFC pointed out that while the overall number of MAiD deaths was equal between the sexes, with 2022 Canadian government figures showing 51.4% men and 48.6% women, the ratio of women to men among people with mental disorders is “significantly skewed.”

Fifty-nine percent of these deaths were women and 41% were men. This suggests discrimination against people with disabilities, which is “experienced more acutely by women with disabilities or chronic illness.”

The EFC was also concerned that Canada’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking expires this year and there will be no replacement.

About 94% of trafficking victims in the country are women and girls, the EFC said, adding: “It is essential that Canada implements a permanent, responsive strategy with stable funding to effectively combat trafficking. Time-bound strategies can lead to gaps in funding, policy and response.”

The report also pointed to an “inextricable link” between human trafficking and prostitution, resulting in paid sex arising from the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children.

“We know from other jurisdictions that when prostitution is legalised or decriminalised, the sex industry grows, and so does human trafficking,” the EFC wrote.

The EFC called on the Canadian government to implement a permanent anti-trafficking strategy, including a survivors’ advisory committee, funding for victim services, and legal training for those involved in the fight against trafficking.

According to the EFC, measures should also be taken to reduce the demand for paid sex, through the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA).

“The prostitution system cannot be normalized or legitimized. Canada must do better than accept prostitution as a solution to female poverty, racism and a host of other underlying social problems.”

Furthermore, the EFC supported the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, as previously reported by Christian Daily International, which recognized prostitution as a “system of exploitation and violence.”

Finally, this view of prostitution must be “maintained and reflected” in all UN protocols and treaties, including CEDAW, the EFC said.

Originally published on Christian Daily International