The Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights is sponsoring this year’s event.

Where: Galleria, Fourth Floor, University Centre, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa

When: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013 from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.

Opening remarks will be delivered at 9:05 a.m. by the Honourable Landon Pearson, former senator and children’s right advocate.

This event is sponsored by the Landon Pearson Centre.

Media Contact:
Chris Cline
Media Relations Co-ordinator
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 1391
613-355-0336
christopher_cline@carleton.ca

A GIRL LIKE HER

Beyond offering students the chance to watch a superb film that reveals the hidden history of over a million young women who became pregnant in the 1950s and 60s when “nice girls” didn’t get pregnant, the viewing also afforded new and returning Women’s and Gender Studies students an excellent opportunity to meet and socialize with their peers.

The screening was followed by an informal discussion, which was moderated by Professor Karen March, of Sociology.

We were grateful to welcome representatives from adoption agencies and some women who, themselves, had to surrender their baby for adoption.

It was an enlightening experience for all involved!

To learn more about the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, please visit: http://www.carleton.ca/womensstudies/

Are you a student who is interested in and/or researching any of the following topics?

• Children and violence
• Mental health
• Issues concerning Aboriginal children
• Sexual exploitation of children
• Youth justice

If so, access to a world-class resource is right at your fingertips.

The Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights houses a collection of over 10,000 items organized according to the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These books, documents and reports have been donated to Carleton by The Honourable Landon Pearson.  Pearson has been a life-long advocate for the rights and well-being of children, and a Canadian Senator responsible for children.

The Landon Pearson Resource Centre offers a print library that is rich in relevant materials and also a unique ‘living’ library. These resources would be relevant for students who are studying children’s rights, political science, law, human rights, social work, child studies, women’s and gender studies, public policy, Canadian studies, sociology and international development etc.

The Centre not only offers students access to a vast collection of resources and study aids, it also presents them with the exceptional opportunity to meet and work one-on-one on projects such as honours research papers and theses with former Senator, author and an international representative of Canada, Landon Pearson.

Take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to collaborate with one of Canada’s most prominent child rights advocates.

Please contact Landon Pearson or Associate Professor Virginia Caputo to schedule an appointment.

The Landon Pearson Resource Centre is located in A735 Loeb Building.

Check out the Landon Pearson Resource Centre website for more information:  http://www.landonpearson.ca/

Listen to Gentile on CBC’s The Current

Read Gentile’s comments to the Toronto Star

Landon Pearson has devoted much of her adult life to the promotion of the rights and well-being of children and youth in Canada and around the world.   As a Senator, an author and an international representative of Canada, Pearson has done everything in her power to create a culture of respect for children and childhood.  Throughout her illustrious career, this lifelong quest is something Pearson has brought with her to all corners of the world.

In 2006, upon her retirement from the Senate, Pearson donated her extensive collection of materials including reports, documents, books and archival material related to childhood and children’s rights to Carleton University. With this donation and with her appointment as adjunct professor in the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies the Landon Pearson Resource Centre was born.

Celebrated for her unique and innovative methods for including the voices of young people, Pearson maintains that the principal role of the Centre is to help every child understand his or her fundamental rights and responsibilities as citizens and to facilitate their participation in a receptive society.

 “The goal of the Centre is to promote knowledge, information and experience.  The Centre is absolutely unique both on campus, and in Canada.  We intend the Centre to give a more significant voice to all children and youth” explains Pearson.

Five years have passed since the inception of the LPRC, and after countless hours of intensive work and organization, the classification of the collection according to the articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is now virtually complete and accessible to all interested parties. With this essential stage now in the past, the Centre and its founder are peering towards a bright future as they prepare to take the next step in the centre’s existence.

As an independent body that is universally accessible, the LPRC’s database of information is sure to be a useful resource for all those who study and advocate for child and youth rights.  Combine this tremendous amount of material with Pearson’s absolute wealth of political and civic experience and Carleton University can now boast that it hosts one of the world’s premier children and youth rights resource centers.

In step with its newfound accessibility, Pearson has named a special advisory group for the Centre that includes experts from a number of diverse fields that pertain to children, youth and gender.  Pearson has also made the significant move of affiliating the LPRC with the Institute of Women’s and Gender studies.  Pearson has always maintained a focus on bettering the lives of women, youth and children recognizing that children’s and women’s rights issues and struggles run parallel to one another.

Fittingly, Dr. Virginia Caputo, Associate Professor in the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies has been appointed as the director of the Centre.  Caputo was honoured by the appointment and hopes to aid Pearson in enabling children and youth to have their voices heard in more just contexts.

“To be named Director of the Centre is an honour and once in a lifetime opportunity.  It is a thrill beyond words to have the opportunity to collaborate with Landon in this new capacity. I believe that in actively cultivating a culture of respect for children and youth in hearing what they have to say, we can transform our collective lives.”

Caputo will certainly be an incredible asset to Centre. Trained as an ethnomusicologist and social anthropologist, her research includes anthropology, childhood research, feminism and how they all intersect.  Caputo’s research interests include children as engaged social actors, feminist perspectives on children’s and women’s lives, globalization and childhood, schooling and gender, and girlhood studies.  She has been teaching courses on childhood, girlhood and women’s lives in the Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies since 1997, and hopes that her ample experience in child, youth and Women’s and Gender studies, as well as her intrinsic knowledge of the university setting will bring an invaluable element to the LPRC.

“Landon and I share a passion for, and commitment to, children and youth rights.  I am looking forward to taking on my new role as Director of the LPRC with energy, creativity and enthusiasm.  It is a privilege working so closely with Landon to learn from her immense knowledge, experience and wise counsel and to assist her with the work of the Centre.”

On November 24th in the Arts Faculty Lounge, Dunton 2017 at 2:00pm, the LPRC will celebrate both its newfound accessibility and National Child Day in one highly anticipated event.

At this celebration Pearson will introduce three distinguished advisory group members who embody the Centre’s ideals and mandate will initiate a vital discussion on children and youth rights.

Dr. Katherine Kelly, director of the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, will discuss the parallels between children’s and women’s rights and bringing a feminist perspective to the study of their lives.  Dr. Stefania Maggi, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, will speak on the complexity of ethics when carrying out research in this area and will also discuss an upcoming conference she and Pearson are organizing and will host through the centre next fall.  Finally, the panel will also include Sue Bennett, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Child & Youth Protection Program at CHEO.  Bennett will discuss violence against children, and her role in a violence study.

All are encouraged to attend what is sure to be a historic day for Children and Youth Rights.

Landon Pearson Resource Centre
Celebration of National Child Day
The Honourable Landon Pearson, O.C.
Dr. Sue Bennett, MB Ch.B, FRCP
Professor Katharine Kelly, Pauline Jewett Institute of
Women’s and Gender Studies
Professor Stefania Maggi, Child Studies
Thursday, November 24, 2011, 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Arts Faculty Lounge (2017 Dunton Tower)
More Information:  http://www.landonpearson.ca/

Established in 1985, the Joint Chair in Women’s Studies is shared between Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. This position offers an opportunity for its incumbent to contribute to the development of Women’s Studies, to build links between academe and the community, and to explore innovative feminist and interdisciplinary topics. In addition to developing and fostering links between the two universities and the community, the Joint Chair position offers the incumbent support for research activities.

This appointment will commence on July 1, 2011, for a two-year term. The position has a residency requirement that includes a minimum 4 days per week during the academic year. Normally, the chair-holder is expected to spend two days a week at Carleton University and two days a week at the University of Ottawa, throughout the mandate. 

Upon return to faculty ranks, you would be entitled to the normal annual sabbatical credit for each year of service as the Joint Chair. Future salary adjustments would be in accordance with the selected candidate’s Collective Agreement. Should the candidate become eligible for a sabbatical during her/his mandate as Joint Chair, the candidate must be willing to postpone her/his sabbatical until her/his mandate as Joint Chair is completed.

Specific fields and areas of study within Women’s Studies are open. Candidates should have a proven record of commitment to graduate studies and teaching, a strong research agenda, and an ability to work collaboratively.

DURATION OF THE MANDATE:

The duration of the mandate is two (2) years, beginning July 1, 2011. 

Carleton University and the University of Ottawa are strongly committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment and social strength.  We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our University including but not limited to women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity.

When audience members of a recent panel discussion accepted a matchbook containing a nickel they became unwitting accomplices to crime.

The money was earned by Valerie Scott, while plying the oldest profession in the world. Anyone who accepts money made through the sex trade is living off the avails of prostitution – a crime in Canada.

Scott, executive director of Sex Professionals of Canada (SPOC) opened the panel discussion Prostitution and the Criminal Code with the thought provoking stunt.

The event was organized by Pamela Walker, Joint Chair, Women’s Studies at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa to examine the controversial decision by Justice Himel to strike down Ontario’s laws that criminalized living off the avails, operating a brothel and communicating for the purpose of prostitution.  

Walker came up with the idea for the panel over coffee one morning shortly after Himel’s decision made headlines.

“It’s topical and it is clear change is coming so we all need to be informed,” said Walker. “We need to understand what (the decision) is and what it means and have a clearer sense of what we all want for our communities.”

Scott, along with her lawyer and fellow panelist, challenged Ontario’s law. They claim criminalization of prostitution endangers women by putting up barriers that would allow them to ply their trade in greater safety.

While neither argued specifically for the legalization of sex work, they outlined the importance of giving a voice to the front line workers who are directly impacted by the court’s decision.

Krysta Williams, lead youth advocate for Native Youth Sexual Health Network, spoke on behalf of Aboriginal women, a group she claims comprises a large percentage of street workers.  She and fellow panelists, Emilie Laliberte, director general of Stella, and Chris Bruckert, a U of O professor of criminology, all assert that currently prostitutes have little autonomy to support their families, are stigmatized and barred access to health care providers, and are not viewed as victims of crime by police or the courts systems when they are assaulted on the job.

While all agree that the current law had to go, they are uncertain about the future.

Allowing the law to be struck down is a no-man’s land that satisfies few however legalization is a thorny issue fraught with fear from community groups and police agencies.

Young, who is also a professor at York University, says Canadian society as a whole must engage in the discussion to shape the future laws and sex workers themselves must be part of the discussion.

“I share concerns that neighbourhoods need to function well and be safe for all residents,” said Walker. “But I don’t think that decriminalizing prostitution would intensify that, I hope it would diminish it because it would be a legitimate business, regulated and managed like any other.”

The Ontario Court of Appeal granted a stay on the prostitution laws on December 2, 2010.  The stay upholds the laws Justice Himel’s decision had struck down. The next five months should see a ratcheting up of the rhetoric for both sides as the stay expires at the end of April 2011.

“I hope during my year as Joint Chair I can help to highlight all the research going on at the two universities and showcase what a rich culture of scholarship on gender already exists here in Ottawa,” said Walker.

During her year-long appointment, Walker will bring scholars from the two universities together with the public through events focused on gender-related topics and research.

She will continue her SSHRC funded research on the relationship between religion and empire. Her work examines how 19th century missions abroad affected and transformed Protestants in Britian. Walker says these missions “offered women a vastly expanded role as they could do work in the empire they would never be permitted at home.”

“I am very pleased that Dr. Walker has been selected to serve as the new Joint Chair in Women’s Studies, and I congratulate her on this appointment,” said John Osborne, dean, FASS. “Her experience as director of the Centre for Initiatives in Education should prove valuable to the Chair. And with Women’s World 2011 on the horizon next July, it should be an exciting time for both institutions.”

Walker is also director of the Centre for Initiatives in Education and professor of history.

In the 1940s a scandal involving the top echelon of England’s parliament rocked the nation and had a ripple effect on North American national security policies. In Canada, it led to a top secret campaign that resulted in demotions and dismissals of targeted federal public servants.

Patrizia Gentile, assistant professor, PJIWGS and Gary Kinsman, professor of sociology, Laurentian University, have spent the past decade sifting through declassified government documents that record the purging of homosexuals from government ranks. The result is The Canadian War on Queers: National Security as Sexual Regulation.

As WWII drew to an end, and gave rise to the Cold War, the British and American governments classified homosexuality as a threat to national security. In a case referred to as the Cambridge Five, the British government discovered some of its top officials were communist informants.

When one of these men was later found to be gay, all homosexuals were deemed to be disloyal, subversive and vulnerable to blackmail.

In compliance with British and American national security policies, Canada began a campaign to purge homosexuals from the civil service.

“The directives to vet homosexuals came from the Security Panel, an interdepartmental advisory body that comprised top civil servants and the Secretary of the Privy Council which reported to the Cabinet throughout the Cold War period,” explains Gentile. This secret campaign would occupy the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet and the RCMP for the next four decades.

The RCMP identified suspected homosexuals through surveillance, entrapment, park sweeps, and interrogations. Victims were classified into one of three categories – suspected homosexual, alleged homosexual, and confirmed homosexual.  However, the top secret campaign never leveled charges of homosexuality against its victims. Instead they were denied the security clearances necessary to advancement in the federal government, which would ultimately result in demotion or dismissal.

According to Gentile and Kinsman, approximately 9,000 people were victimized in the purge. This number does not take into account the secondary victims – spouses and children who were also affected. 

Gentile’s research of declassified government documents has not unearthed any evidence that any of these “confirmed homosexuals” had ever been blackmailed into providing national secrets to Canada’s enemies.

Despite the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1969 which de-criminalized homosexuality and led Pierre Trudeau to famously declare, “the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation,” the Canadian government continued to take an active interest in its citizen’s private lives.  Gay activist groups, feminists and leftists organizations also came under watch.

The Carleton Connection

In 1961, the RCMP acknowledged that they didn’t have enough manpower to conduct the investigations. They commissioned Carleton University psychology professor, Frank Robert Wake to develop a test to quickly identify homosexuality.

Subjects were given word association and multiple choice tests, shown a series of images while attached to a machine that measured the degree to which their palms sweat, and a camera that captured retinas dilating in response to pictures. 

Wake referred to these tests as his “special project.” The RCMP preferred the more flamboyant term – the fruit machine. The tests proved unreliable and the special project folded in 1963.

Reinstating traditional gender roles

Although Gentile traces her interest in the topic back to her MA research, she focused her thesis on the opposite face of the gender anxiety coin. 

During the 1950s the federal service was expanding and, hoping to lure rural, young women to the city and a job in the government, developed a unique recruitment strategy. 

Women from governmental departments were selected to compete in beauty contests with winners selected at branch picnics. From these contestants, “Miss Civil Service” was crowned.

These “government girls” were the pinnacle of what young women should aspire to – young, professional, beautiful.

The contests not only provided a training ground to bolster femininity, they were morale boosters that departmental colleagues could rally behind.

The beauty pageants served a darker agenda, contends Gentile. They were meant to reinforce the traditional nuclear family in the post-war period. Women, who had previously held down the fort while the men went off to war, were encouraged to return to more traditional gender roles once the men returned. Social order had to be reinstated. The cold war was just beginning and feminism was viewed as a subversive and threatening element to Canada’s social fabric.

In the interest of national security

The Canadian War on Queers traces the trajectory of these federally sponsored campaigns against perceived threats to national security. Kinsman and Gentile also analyze 1920s campaigns aimed at communists and unionists, the internment of the Japanese during WWII, the attempts to assimilate Aboriginal Peoples through residential schools. The authors argue that the “othering” of groups in the name of national security continues although the faces have changed. The most recent example, Gentile points to, is the singling out of Islam and the War on Terror.