On March 21, 2014, Nellie’s held a workshop at Nellie’s Community Support and Outreach office on Diversity, Fairness and Human Rights in housing. Karima Hashmani, Human Rights Diversity Specialist, from the Office of Diversity Fairness and Human Rights at Toronto Community Housing facilitated the workshop. Karima spoke about women’s rights in Toronto Community Housing and their rights generally under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination based on the grounds of: age, Ancestry, colour, race, Citizenship, Ethnic origin, Place of origin, Creed, Disability, Family status, Marital status (including single status), Gender identity, gender expression, Receipt of public assistance (in housing only,) Record of offences (in employment only,) Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding) and  Sexual orientation. These rights are protected in the following social areas: Accommodation (housing), Contracts, Employment, Services and Vocational associations (unions).

Karima provided a general outline of the complaint procedures within Toronto Community Housing and spoke about the importance of documenting incidents when they happen.  10 women attended the participatory workshop, where women were given the opportunity to ask questions and have their concerns addressed. They were provided with the information and tools to advocate for their rights. Participants reported that they felt empowered by gaining knowledge about the laws that protect them to live their life free from discrimination and harassment.

Nellie’s Social Justice and Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Committee (SJ/ARAO Committee) is conducting a research project about social justice best practices. As part of this project, we are surveying various organizations in the Toronto community about their social justice practices.

We hope to understand better what’s being done, how social justice initiatives are being structured, and what key issues need to be addressed, so we can improve our own best practices and increase our social justice impact in the community going forward.

The information we gather will be used in a final report and to create list of best practices for our Social Justice and Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Committee. If your organization is interested in participating, please contact Jessica Davis via Anna Morgan at anna@nellies.org or 416-461-0980.