• All Women and Children have the absolute right to live their lives free from violence. This right is included in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• All women and children have the right to safe affordable permanent housing. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights affirms the basic and fundamental right to have housing that provides protection from the elements; allows access to safe water and sanitation; is accompanied by secure tenancy; protects personal safety; is within easy reach of employment; education and health care; and does not cost more than is required to fulfill other basic needs such as food. Canada has ratified this instrument and thus is obliged to adopt measures to guarantee that everyone has access to housing, and yet Canada continues to fail to live up to its obligations.
• All women and children have the right to adequate income. We believe that poverty can and should be eradicated. The Universal Declaration for Universal Human Rights, 1948, affirms the right to an adequate standard of living and Canada has signed The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, an international bill of rights for women. This convention defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. According to the Convention, discrimination against women is "... any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field." All Women and Children have the right to adequate resources to meet their basic needs, both material needs including food, clothing and shelter, and their basic need for security, independence and self-realization to achieve their goals. Women and children have the right to be free from fear of hunger, homelessness, and consequently vulnerability to abuse or mistreatment.
• All women and children have the right to live their lives free from racism, discrimination and oppression. We believe that this violence can and must be eliminated in the lives of all women and children. Canada is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The International Convention on Elimination of Racism and Discrimination and the International Covenant on? Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These rights are supported by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act. We support the platform for change from the United World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in 2000.
• Interim Place's analysis and framework is shaped by a feminist, anti-racist, anti-oppression approach, which means we understand society as being fundamentally based on patriarchal social relations as well as by racism and multiple other forms of oppression on the basis of: class, age, sexual orientation, disability, gender identification, colour, place of origin, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, political affiliation, record of offences, marital status, family status, life experiences and appearance. Our analysis also highlights the complexity of dominant power relations, including the ways these multiple forms of oppression intersect and work together, to create differential impacts and diverse needs and issues for different groups of women.
• Systemic racism, discrimination, and oppression based on race, class, sexual orientation, Gender identification, status, age, and ability must be addressed as part of an integrated approach to addressing issues of poverty, violence, homelessness and oppression in the lives of women and children.
