His hypocrisy is glaring. Rick Madonik/Getty.
In Downtown Eastside, also known as Canada’s Skid Row, people are dying on the street. One woman, slumped across soiled blankets, is being injected into a vein in her neck by a man with blackened, filthy hands. Her eyes bulge wide, then close.
Another, younger woman, is being dragged along by a man who is clearly a pimp. She sways as he shouts that she is “Only $20!” No one responds apart from a dealer who asks if he wants “Apache” (fentanyl).
Canada may have stringent alcohol restrictions and licensing in place in every province, but, on this street running 10 blocks, people turn a blind eye to addicts shooting up. And they are left to overdose on the street outside the legal “safe” injection site which has destigmatised the taking of illegal substances. The death rate here is 30 times higher than the national average. I hear tales, too, of young, mainly indigenous women who are marched into clinics by their pimps to access opiates for free; they become addicted and compliant.
There is a place here, though, which is supposed to provide respite for these women. The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre purports to offer support, a bit of warmth and a free meal for anyone needing shelter, along with “safe washrooms”. Perhaps they aren’t quite as safe as some vulnerable women might wish, though, since female-only services for abused women and girls are illegal. And as the welcome sign reads: The Centre is inclusive of all self-identified women which includes trans women and two spirit people.
It wasn’t ever thus. One of the most inspirational and successful feminist organisations I have ever encountered was founded here in 1973. Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter was led by the indomitable Lee Lakeman who sadly died last year. And she, along with her team, fought hard to protect that safe space for women.
But the self-declared “male feminist” Justin Trudeau fought back. And not for women’s rights. Although a big fan of posturing about indigenous people’s rights, he did little to protect these women and girls from the abuse they suffer. Meanwhile, he removed their right to safe spaces and decriminalised prostitution. In any case, in Canada anyone can be a woman.
Vancouver has laws and policies in place that allow for men to self-identify as women. You may remember the case of the ball waxer supreme (then known as Jessica Yaniv, now known as Jessica Serenity Simpson). In 2019, Yaniv filed complaints against beauty salons in Vancouver run by women of immigrant background, for having refused to provide him with a “Brazilian” bikini wax (that is, the waxing of the female genital area). Yaniv lost — but only by the skin of his scrotum. The women lost too — in terms of both their livelihoods, and their peace of mind. One woman had to close down her home-based business as a result of the stress of the Yaniv case.
Aside from a small handful, all of the so-called feminist institutions and organisations go all out to support transgender ideology. The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), established in 1985 in order to fight cases on behalf of women relating to male violence and discrimination, is now full-throttle transactivist. Indeed, the first sentence under LEAF’s Mission and Vision section of its website describes it as a charity that works for “all women, girls, trans and non-binary people”, meaning everyone. “In Canadian society, cis and trans women, trans, intersex, gender diverse, gender nonconforming, gender queer, genderfluid, agender, bigender and non-binary people all experience discrimination based on their gender.”
Gender ideology has taken hold here in a way that makes Britain’s trans activists look meek, with liberal feminists welcoming the opening of domestic violence services to everyone. And any push-back comes almost exclusively from Right-wingers and radical feminists — who are roundly castigated.
As a result, I know exactly the sort of abuse I am liable to be subject to whenever I do an event in Canada. There is screaming, jeering and intimidation. Sometimes there is spitting. There is always anger and the threat of violence. So the crowd that greeted me at an event about safe spaces for women (the irony escapes them, obviously) was no surprise.
But what was a surprise this time was that along with the jeers of “Nazis, bigots, fascist cunts”, some people were actually barking. And many of them were wearing animal masks. Since their aim was to intimidate, I wanted to show them that they hadn’t. So I approached them to quiz them about their feminism, only to have a placard shoved in my face by one young man that read: “Real feminists support ALL women.” The contrast between these privileged “feminists” with those tragic women I saw on the backstreets couldn’t have been starker. So much for the great successes of women such as Lee Lakeman.
During my visit, Trudeau was replaced by Carney. I wondered whether getting rid of him would change the landscape in Canada when it comes to the rights of women. Carney, though, is certainly keeping his mouth shut on the divisive issue. A firm believer in open markets and free trade, he is doubtless more focused on the economy rather than whether he is free to get along to the Pride parade. But the women I spoke to read that as cowardice; they suspect this man has no backbone when it comes to dealing with anything trickier than Trump’s tariffs.
They’re also very clear that the last thing they want is a Canadian Trump in the shape of Poilievre, the leader of the Conservatives. “He would do exactly what the orange man is doing,” said Sara, a long-time activist who works in a women’s shelter, “which is posturing about reversing all of the trans stuff, like men in women’s sports, whilst taking all of the other rights away, from abortion, to funding for Rape Crisis centres, and everything in between.”
Perhaps those young protesters who’ve grown up in Trudeau’s Canada, refusing to listen to what we aged feminists had to say about men’s violence, might learn something if they got out of their echo chambers and took a bus down to Downton Eastside. There they would see the damage done by men empowered by Trudeau’s policies, they would see vulnerable women victimised, abused and denied shelter.
Julie Bindel is an investigative journalist, author, and feminist campaigner. Her latest book is Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation. She also writes on Substack.
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SubscribeIt takes enormous fortitude, courage and resilience to keep reporting on this topic. Thank you for doing so.
It takes enormous egoism to think that the worlds biggest problems are the ones that obsess you personally the most.
It’s good for them to sleep in the bed they made.
What an appalling comment directed at a woman who has campaigned tirelessly for women’s rights and refuges for victims of male violence. I suspect that you have done nothing to change anything; ever. You should be ashamed.
he’s probably a Canadian from vancouver. they drank the woke cool-aid and then some
Are you they them ?
Spoken like a man who has never been raped or sexually abused as a child. I have suffered both. 1 in 4 women have. Not such a small problem for half the human race, including whatever saint birthed you.
I agree. I am a male Canadian with two daughters and I am so disillusioned by Trudeau’s stance on this. Keep up the good (but difficult) work Julie.
But a curious incuriosity about the relationship between her own belief system and the very things she laments. It reminds one of the Meatloaf song, “I’d do anything for love (but I don’t do that).” You know what I mean – “Feminism means women are no longer defined by their biology! Wait, I don’t mean it like that…” Has Ms. Bindel decided just what limits biology is allowed to place on us, and which limits its ok for us to circumvent with technology’s assistance?
Feminism means women deserve equal rights, that we are equally valuable human beings. It doesn’t mean women are the same as men, just equal in value.
Biological differences define women and men in meaningful ways, conferring gifts and weaknesses to both. While strength, etc. varies to some degree in individuals, we are different on a chromosomal level. Our immune systems, our hearts and lungs, our complex reproductive systems are wholly different.
Our ability to bear children – a miraculous strength – is a central difference that has tragically been weaponized against us throughout history. Even today women are raped in war, exploited by surrogacy. We are trafficked and sold like car parts.
Feminism was never about being the same as men. We are different, but not less.
“Feminism means women deserve equal rights, that we are equally valuable human beings. It doesn’t mean women are the same as men”
That is utter rubbish, because that’s the very reverse of what feminism is.
Feminism means women deserve special rights – no military draft, DEI quotas, lower punishments for the same crime, priority over fathers in family court.
Simultaneously, it also means women get to be treated as if they are exactly like men,when convenient – hence men are treated as criminals for being better at sport or IT, ridiculous girlboss characters in media, and equal prize money in sports etc.
And it’s the last one which is the root of trans. Feminist insistence that men are women are the same biologically, same prize money for female lawn tennis, the ridiculous fawning over third rate female footballers……
Not that you lot are going to take responsibility for that though, quite clearly.
“He would do exactly what the orange man is doing”
And there you have it, two massive displays of ignorance and arrogance in one. This is why Canada has the problems it has and the politicians it has. The fact that she calls him ‘The Orange Man’ says an awful lot about her as a person.
Firstly, Trump isn’t posturing; he has signed into law via EO a clear dictate that protects girls in sport and in changing rooms and toilets. Secondly he has (thus far unsuccessfully thanks to the Democrats) attempted to get these changes ratified via Congress so that the next Democrat president can’t simply reverse them. The idea that Trump is a danger to women versus the Democrats (or Liberals in Canada) is absurd.
Secondly, Poilievre is absolutely nothing like Trump. He is a straight-laced conservative politician who might share some of Trump’s economic ideals (small government and low taxes) but temperament and personality wise they are poles apart.
I agree, and would add that under the Canadian constitution the provinces have the jurisdiction over property and civil rights. All provinces have enacted human rights codes that create trans rights of the kind the author of the article criticizes, but neither Trudeau nor Carney nor Poilievre can do anything about this.
Interesting. In some ways, that makes Canada more libertarian than the US. If, say, California and Tennessee were constitutionally entitled to their own policies on hot button social issues like abortion and trans rights, a lot of conflict could be avoided, at least at the federal level, and the government could probably be far more effective without those social issues that tend to make people on both sides very angry.
“The fact that she calls him ‘The Orange Man’ says an awful lot about her as a person.”
First, he is orange. His utterly ridiculous makeup is his own choice and he deserves to be laughed at for it.
Second, spare us the pearl clutching – Trump is the single most offensive politician in our lifetimes. I don’t see you whining about that.
I may chose to address the rest of your nonsense at a later time. You’ll just have to wait and see.
Be still our hearts, CS!
canadians have no bloody sense. they are all going to vote for justin turdeau 2.0 and watch their country fall apart (former canadian born/raised in vancouver.) polievre is the only hope they have of coming back from the brink, but they are too indoctrinated to see it.
The connection of Poilievre to Trump is so dishonest. One could certainly disagree with his time in parliament, various bills he supported or did not but this insane direct comparison is mind numbing. There is zero evidence for it. Canadians are not Americans except when it’s convenient to pump a narrative. Poilievre has done far more to condemn and bring attention to the disastrous decriminalization of illicit drugs than anyone else in Ottawa.
Polievre is basically advocating for a a return to 1990s Liberal policies.
It’s a political strategy. Tie one’s political enemies, Canadian conservatives, to someone wildly unpopular, Trump. Facts and evidence are not necessary or desired, nor is logic. It makes no more sense for Canadian liberals to try to tie Poilievre to Trump than for American liberals to try to tie Trump to Putin. I wonder if the Canadian liberals will spend millions of dollars investigating possible collaboration between Trump and Poilievre in similar fashion. I would hazard a guess that Canadians aren’t quite as combative or vindictive as Americans, politically or otherwise.
Judging by the Canadian response to the us taxing their own citizens, I think you may be wrong.
We typically aren’t, Steve, though that won’t stop the attack dog faction of the Liberal party from trying to make that connection, as they have done with every Conservative politician since Trump came on the scene.
Canadian Conservatives were traditionally like pre-Obama Democrats, but now represent portions of the working class that the NDP left behind. And they typically don’t have the Libertarian streak that infuses most US politicians on the right.
With Donald Trump taking such an extreme position against Canada, now no one will buy that (insert Canadian Conservative politician name) is Trump because he has all Canadian politicians lining up against him, with Conservatives like Doug Ford at the fore.
Well said!
And as the welcome sign reads: The Centre is inclusive of all self-identified women which includes trans women and two spirit people.
I identify as a three-spirit person: bourbon, vodka, and gin.
Don’t try to be funny.
it just isn’t funny any more.
Carney will offer Canada the same kind of managerialism that the British Tories opted for in Sunak.
A technocrat in a decent suit, installed to offer platitudes on everything while guarding the wide open gate of all that is progressive / radical Leftism.
Carney will not be your ally Ms Bindel. He wants power and that’s all he is focused on. Power, the maintenance of his status and self aggrandisement. The UniParty people.
When enough women get angry enough – then something may change in relation to the Trans corruption of society. And that is what it is. Trans is a tool of the Left to queer and corrupt western society. It is a social poison.
“if they got out of their echo chambers and took a bus down to Downton Eastside. There they would see the damage done by men empowered by Trudeau’s policies,”
they know, they don’t care just like Trudeau did’nt
I am with Julie a 100 per cent on this one.
I would be 110% with it if the author was not Julie Bindel, who writes like a broken record.
‘Cracked’ record surely?
It’s tedious verging on monomania. If it was AI generated it would fail the Turing test.
And yet another revolution heads inexorably towards the guillotine, split by factionalism and bitter infighting between once erstwhile colleagues, friends and allies. Is it that activists, drunk on power and success, just don’t know when to stop, when to lay down their arms (placards) and start using their energy to build things rather than just try to tear them down ?
We could all have a good laugh about it, the collapse of the feminist movement, if it wasn’t so absurdly tragic. And what is even more tragic, rather than a period of introspection and contemplation, they still reach for the same battle standard “We blame MEN”.
When Mary Whitehouse protested about violence and sex on television her biggest critics were feminists.
I live in Vancouver and the Downtown Eastside is truly a hellscape. It looks like the TV show “The Walking Dead” – literally. I drove by a young homeless woman (not in the Downtown Eastside) recently. She was in that slumped standing pose drug users have. However she still looked healthy and pretty. All I could think of were the horrors that await her. In a year she will look like a crone. She will be dead within 2 years. That is progressive policies in action for you. She probably got hooked on free dilly’s (the famous “safe supply”) that are handed out like candy by the BC government with the support of the federal Liberal Party. Then started selling them to dealers so she could take fentanyl. The dealers sell them to high school students – a new market created by government ‘safe supply.’
Anyone who thinks Carney will change the Liberal Party’s ‘progressive’ stance on social issues is delusional. He has already uttered the expected platitudes about his party’s progressive values. He is a Davos man committed to making the world safe for global capitalism. Undermining society’s structures is part of that mission. Whether people like it or not the only way to stop this is to vote for conservatives – who oppose drug culture and trans insanity.
Whilst I’m sympathetic to most of J. Bindel’s points here, it is not the case that Trump is taking away abortion rights.
The Supreme Court reversed Roe vs Wade and what that does is take the question of abortion out of federal hands and give it back to the 50 individual states to decide.
Important to get the hyphen in when you start talking about ‘bigender’ people. What spinach this all is.
A heartbreaking read Julie.
Thank you for all that you do.
Is this how Rome ended?
No, at least according to Gibbon later reinforced by Arnold Jones (1904-1970,Cantab)*.
* The Later Roman Empire, 284-602.
What did the West Roman Empire comprise after about 450 AD ?
Nothing of note.
The Republicans in the US elected Trump instead of the Harris of the Democratic party. That brought an end to the woke policies that had taken over much of the West. Those policies included the total acceptance that ‘gender’ was on a spectrum, males could be females, female could be males depending on how they “felt”. This denial of biology, sex, led to children being drugged and genitally mutilated. As much as we might dislike Trump he deserves credit for declaring that there are only two sexes.
The Liberal Party are the Democrats of Canada and adopted all the gender policies of the US.
Polievere is not Trump. Attacking him, or any opposition, is standard for the Liberal Party who see themselves as the “natural leading party” of Canada.
How much time have those women dedicated to reading about Pierre Poilievre’ s views? Or are they just hypnotically chanting anti Trump tired descriptions?
Carney only does what will promote Carney. He’s an empty suit. Canadians will get what they deserve if they vote for him.
> There they would see the damage done by men empowered by Trudeau’s policies
As always the radfems try to blame everything on men whereas it is quite clear that Trans is simply the logical conclusion of the radfem doctrines that Julie continues to pump. Sure, the perps that invade women’s spaces are male, but they are a tiny minority, empowered by the radfems themselves. 99% of men consider it their duty to protect women from these creeps but alas the radfems can’t accept our help because their doctrine is that all men are their enemies. No Julie. Most men are the protectors of women. Your enemy is your own sick doctrine and the creeps it licenses.
and ironically, now men even make better women than women. go feminism!
Having lived in Vancouver, I appreciate Bindel’s perspective in general. But the comparison of Trump & Poilievre on social issues is purely the bias of the activist, and not demonstrated thus far in what Poilievre has said. It is hysteria and speculation to claim that Canada is taking away abortion rights, rape crisis funding, etc if he becomes PM. Poilievre is slightly right of centre–which is about as ‘far right’ as the majority of Canadians will tolerate–and much of that has to do with economic conservatism, rather than social conservatism. We are due for an election, so I guess we shall soon see.
Bravo to one of the bravest people on the planet – Julie Bindel! Thank you for always fighting the good fight.
The vast majority of people barking dont vote liberal or conservative. They vote ndp and judging from the budget town hall I went to they are still all barking mad.
They did promise to build pipelines though. Which is a huge joke.
Women have probably always been and probably always will be abused by men.
Men also abuse other men horribly. But nobody cares about that so much, since the dudes probably had it coming. It seems wronger when women are abused because men are physically stronger and uglier. I think that double-standard is fair. Bindel may be a man-hater, but she is largely correct (having said that, when women are turned loose on other women – it can get very dark very quickly).
The safest space for my wife and my daughter is in my home, in the homes of our relatives, and in the church. Expecting governments to provide safe spaces for women is misguided since A) Governments do not and cannot be made to care. and B) Government care is subject to the poor judgements of politicians and the fools who vote for them.
I think Bindel is writing about B.
ah vancouver. i know exactly where you were. I grew up there. it’s a crazy crazy place with a ton of problems including drugs. organized crime, human trafficking and sex slavery. and the people are as bat sh!7 crazy as they come. no bloody sense at all. i got out of there and canada as soon as i could. Canada has gone off the deep end, there is no coming back. they are a failed state and like the UK will implode, and probably emerge as Canukistan or the people’s federation of Canada, its just a matter of time.
Trudeau is a horrible man. How do we allow people like him to occupy positions of such power only to dump us in the kak?
What happened to Canada? For years it was probably the best run country in the world.
The irony – of course – is that far more women voted for Trudeau than men did.
Suckers for a handsome sweet-talker….
The globalist-bankers’ coup: It should be noted with much alarm that Carney is now the Prime Minister of (probably) the world’s most resource-rich per capita country but has never been elected or even run in an election. He won the Liberal Party leadership race. They allow kids age 14+ and non-citizens to vote for the leader.
Interesting and useful information. Very thought-provoking. The far left look remarkably like the far right.
This sounds like a problem between radical feminists and feminist extremists. I kept reading to find where she’d blame it all on men – luckily I wasn’t disappointed.
Joking aside, I think the problem is that sane men and women have allowed progressive insanity to go this far. Because the reaction will be equally deranged (thinking along the lines of Horseshoe theory) and their clash (Right-wing vs Left-wing) will be dangerous.
JB articles are so caricatural that they might look like undercover trans propaganda.
JB is anti right wing, misandrist, yet expects society in general and unherd readership in particular to have sympathy for her identity driven crusade. Basically, she practices eft wing identity politics and complains when another left wing identity politics group outmuscles her.
At some point, part of the trans movement is also about low status males wanting to get their slice of the state’s women only welfare, and this article reads like two hyenas arguing about who should get the spoils of my taxes.
Yes. Stupid PC women brought this on themselves. Suck it up Sistas.
You’re wasting your time I’m afraid. JB seems to have a fan club who suddenly emerge to write inanities every time one of her repetitive pieces appears. They’ve even started flagging comments they don’t like so they vanish until the moderator gets up and everyone has moved on.
But trans is the real problem of course.
A lack of safe spaces for biological women is part of the problem. Did you read a different article than me?