You may recall that in 2010 West Coast LEAF released Mapping the Gap, a report that provided a broad overview of the legal resources available to women in BC. The results of the surveys conducted during the preparation of that report indicated a significant gap in responses from Aboriginal organizations and centers. For West Coast LEAF, this gap highlighted a need to better engage with Aboriginal communities in order to learn what legal resources Aboriginal women are using and what needs remain unmet.
To this end, they initiated a new project in 2011 that specifically focused on community-based legal resources accessed by Aboriginal women and their advocates within the context of diminishing legal aid services.
Now available on Clicklaw, Mapping the Gap: Linking Aboriginal Women with Legal Resources and Services is a report that describes the results of their project and their findings that there are major gaps in service for Aboriginal women (including basic, face-to-face, legal support). The report also contains recommendations for the future.
More information about this project can be found on their website.
