The Impact of Disinformation on Access to Justice

While significant progress has been made in the last decade to improve the overall accessibility of the legal system, members of the public remain unable to take full advantage of these improvements due to ongoing and new systemic barriers.

Some of the quickest growing barriers are strongly tied to identity-based disinformation and the global resurgence of othering narratives framing members of equity-deserving populations, such as women and members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, as fundamentally “less than”. These narratives have both direct and indirect impacts on the legal system, and combating the harms they cause requires an understanding of the broader social context in which they’ve arisen and the needs of the individuals who are most directly impacted.

The Impact of Othering Narratives

One example of how these narratives contribute to harm is the portal established by the United States Health Human Services Department to report health care professionals providing gender affirming care to youth, which was deemed to be “medical and surgical mutilation of children.” The portal initially included an option to select a Canadian province or territory when making a report, which served as an intimidation tactic targeting gender-affirming care providers within Canada.

The messaging that gender diversity and gender-affirming care is inherently harmful to children was also cited by the legislatures of Alberta and Saskatchewan when enacting legislation targeting the rights of gender-diverse youth and as a rationale for invoking the notwithstanding clause. The deployment of this clause is part of a broader trend where the notwithstanding clause is used to block individuals from seeking accountability and recourse through the courts for government actions affecting their Constitutional rights. This messaging, when espoused by government actors at home and abroad, reads as institutional support for discrimination against 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

In a similar vein, the rise of online spaces denigrating women encourages the creation of revenge porn and online harassment campaigns that force women out of public discourse. These spaces also normalize Intimate Partner Violence (“IPV”). IPV already is recognized as an epidemic and systemic crisis in Canada. A woman is killed, primarily by an intimate partner, roughly every 2.5 days. Victims of IPV must often engage with multiple branches of the legal system when seeking support and protection for themselves and their families. Each of these branches have their own processes, priorities, and costs, which compounds trauma and makes it difficult for victims of IPV to remain engaged with the legal system. It stands to reason that an increase in the normalization would further exacerbate the impact of these barriers on survivors and their families.

Combatting Identity-Based Disinformation

Responding to the harms caused by identity-based disinformation inherently requires a person-centred approach. Centering the experiences and voices of members of targeted communities increases the likelihood that advocacy and justice reform efforts will be genuinely impactful and responsive to their needs in the face of barriers that seek to diminish their place in society.  

In some instances, the response that best meets the needs of such communities is advocacy before the courts to challenge government decisions and create new precedent. The legislation impacting the rights of gender-diverse youth in Alberta and Saskatchewan are the subject of ongoing legal challenges spearheaded by Egale and UR Pride. This year has also seen the release of the SCC’s decision in Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia, which established the tort of intimate partner violence and enables survivors to seek compensation for a pattern of behaviour rather than attempting to combine separate individual torts.

In others, it is modernizing outdated processes with new approaches based on the experiences of the people interacting with these systems. Dr. Kim Stanton’s systemic review of the B.C. legal system’s response to IPV and the Indigenous Women’s Justice Plan developed by the BC First Nations Justice Council draw on the lived experiences of IPV and gendered violence survivors to guide recommendations for changes to policing strategy, court processes, and wraparound support services. These would assist individuals experiencing IPV to access—and remain engaged with—the legal system when they need it most. Many of these recommendations are in the process of being implemented.

Strengthening Partnerships and Public Trust

The efforts already underway to combat identity-based disinformation and the harm it can cause or exacerbate are the product of the combined passion and dedication of members of the public, civil society organizations, and the counsel supporting their work. Responding to similar or new barriers will continue to require strong partnerships with organizations that support individuals interacting with the legal system during a time of crisis. Most importantly, it requires us to continue fostering communication pathways and connections with the public we serve, so we can ensure future justice reform and advocacy efforts are truly responsive to the ever-changing needs of society.