(left) Ena Chadha, Human Rights Lawyer (right) Leah Simone, Lawyer, Associate of Wood Gold LLP
March 10, 2025
As we approach our 40th anniversary in June of 2025 we are excited to highlight an historic moment before the Supreme Court highlighting the importance of DAWN’s advocacy work and our ongoing fight for equality and justice for women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities!
On February 12th 2025, Ena Chadha and Leah Simeone, represented DAWN as an intervener in a Supreme Court of Canada (SCC Case #41061) where a woman with a disability was abused physically, emotionally, financially, with elements of coercive control. The case itself is about the creation of a new tort of family violence, which would provide financial compensation to survivors while holding abusers accountable.
Chadha is the former Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and an experienced human rights lawyer, and Simeone practices family law and has experience in both the Ontario and Superior Courts. Both women also live with disabilities. And that is a first, in our courts and very possibly in the world.
The issue at the forefront of this case before the SCC- Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia—is within DAWN’s mandate to advance human rights protections for women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities and Deaf Women (WWD) and to illustrate the harms WWD face.
DAWN’s factum before the SCC outlined how women with disabilities were uniquely vulnerable to coercive control, which includes but is not limited to, withholding medical care, destroying assistive devices, manufacturing isolation and denying access to support.
DAWN Canada has intervened in over 20 court cases on both the federal and provincial levels.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day on Saturday, we will honour herstory as WWD are having their voices heard in our nation’s highest court and within the justice system.
