Connection, Laughter, and Collective Visioning
For five days in July, representatives of women’s organizations, human rights groups, and community leaders from Equitas’ international programs came together for Equitas’ first International Learning Event in Montreal. Partners travelled from Burkina Faso, Haiti, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Tunisia to connect with Equitas staff for five days of collective learning. It was an intensive [...] Honouring the human rights legacy of Max Yalden
Throughout the years, Equitas has been fortunate to garner the support of various foundations and funds to assist in its mission to advance equality, social justice, and respect for human dignity around the world. One that has been supporting Equitas for several years is the Maxwell Yalden Fund. Max Yalden was a member of Equitas’ [...] Moving towards racial justice
The events of late spring of 2020 were a long overdue wake-up call for societies, not only in Canada but across the world. It highlighted how deeply engrained racist and colonial systems are within institutions. It raised acute awareness about how these systems negatively and violently impact folks who identify as Indigenous, Black, People of [...] Hétéra Estimphil: Educator and activist for the rights of LGBTQI people in Haiti
In July 2013, various anti-homosexuality protests attacking the rights of LGBTI communities took place in Port-au Prince, Haiti. It was also that summer, Hétéra, a Haitian transgender woman, realized the extent to which her identity is misunderstood. "I don't see myself as an abomination, I don't see myself as a mortal sin, I don't see myself as a mentally ill person, no! I told myself that I have to [...] We Have the Right to Defend Human Rights – Infographic for Strategically Taking Action on Human Rights Issues
Each journey of a human rights defender is unique however, there is the shared experience of sometimes feeling discouraged or isolated, in addition to the joys of making progress. This tip sheet is inspired by the experiences and strategies shared by participating human rights defenders in the Spring 2022 EquiTalks panel discussion. It serves as [...] Montreal 21k Charity Challenge – A successful race for Equitas!
On April 23rd and 24th, 36 people ran and raised funds for Equitas in the Charity Challenge at Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal. More than $13 500 were raised this year for our third participation in the race. We also counted on the support of a corporate partner, Accedian, a Montreal-based leader in performance analytics and end user experience [...] John Smith: Challenging stigma and discrimination through human rights education in Guinea
*Real name has been changed for safety reasons* John Smith is a founding member of Afrique arc-en-ciel Guinée, an NGO which has been striving to protect and defend the LGBTQ+ community in Guinea from false information, stigma, and discrimination since 2008. John participated in the first edition of Global Rights Connection – an innovative virtual [...] Georgina Adhiambo: Passionate defender of lesbian, bisexual and queer rights in rural Kenya
Georgina Adhiambo is the Executive Director of Voices of Women in Western Kenya – a community-based organization focused on empowering and protecting the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in rural areas across Kenya. In order to strengthen her efforts to fight for these rights, Georgina participated in the first edition of Global Rights [...] How to Dismantle Racism using a Human Rights-Based Approach
1. Recognize that racism is a lived experience Racism is the conscious or unconscious belief that certain people or groups are inherently superior to other people because they belong to a particular race. Although the concept of race has no scientific basis and is a social construct, racism and racist behaviors exist. Therefore, racism and [...] 5 tips for recognizing and dealing with online hate
1. Understand what online hate is According to the UN, online hate is defined as “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, [...]