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Intervening in the context of white settler colonialism: West Coast LEAF, gender equality, and the Polygamy Reference

2016; Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law; Volume: 6; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

2079-5971

Suzanne Lenon,

Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment

In November 2011, the British Columbia Supreme Court released its judgement in Reference re: s.293 of the Criminal Code of Canada, upholding the prohibition on polygamy as constitutional. The Polygamy Reference, as it is known, concluded that the pressing and substantial objective of s. 293 is the prevention of harm to women, to children, and to the institution of monogamous marriage. This paper analyzes the submissions made by the feminist legal education organization, West Coast LEAF, one of the few feminist 'voices' taken seriously by the court. The apprehension of polygamy's harms was central to the Reference case. West Coast LEAF offered one of the most nuanced interpretations of how the criminal prohibition on polygamy should be interpreted with respect to harm. Yet as this paper argues, its position conceals and is underpinned by racialized relations of power that, however unwittingly, give weight to and indeed require the racial logic of white settler state sovereignty articulated in the Polygamy References' overall narrative. En noviembre de 2011, la Corte Suprema de la Columbia Britanica dicto sentencia en Referencia: s.293 del Codigo Penal de Canada, ratificando la prohibicion de la poligamia como constitucional. La Referencia a la Poligamia, como se la conoce, decidio que el objetivo urgente y sustancial de la s. 293 es la prevencion del dano a mujeres, a menores y a la institucion del matrimonio monogamo. Este articulo analiza las aportaciones realizadas por la organizacion feminista de educacion juridica, West Coast LEAF, una de las pocas voces feministas tomadas en serio por el tribunal. El temor a los danos de la poligamia fue central en el caso. West Coast LEAF ofrecio una de las interpretaciones mas matizadas de como la prohibicion criminal de la poligamia deberia interpretarse con respecto al dano. Sin embargo, como se argumenta en este articulo, su posicion encubre y se sustenta en relaciones de poder de caracter racial que, de forma inconsciente, dan importancia y de hecho requieren la logica racial de la soberania de los colonos blancos, articulada en la narrativa general de la Referencia a la Poligamia. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN : https://ssrn.com/abstract=2891019