Kimberly Nixon is a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

woman who filed a human rights complaint against

Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter is Canada's longest running rape crisis center. The shelter, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, was established in 1973 and has operated a radical feminist, feminist Transitional living, transition hous ...

Society (VRRS) for

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

. VRRS argued that Nixon, a transgender woman, did not have the same life experiences as a woman who was assigned female at birth, and could not volunteer as a peer

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

counselor.Chambers, Lori. "Unprincipled Exclusions: Feminist Theory, Transgender Jurisprudence, and Kimberly Nixon." Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 19.2 (2007): 305–34. Web. She fought her case successively through the

British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal is a quasi-judicial human rights body in British Columbia, Canada. It was established under British Columbia's ''Human Rights Code''. It is responsible for "accepting, screening, mediating and adjudicati ...

, the

Supreme Court of British Columbia Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, each of which rejected her complaint, and then eventually the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

, which dismissed her request to appeal the decision against her case on February 1, 2007."Chronology of Events in Kimberly Nixon vs Vancouver Rape Relief Society". Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter. rapereliefshelter.bc.ca, June 1, 2009. Web. June 11, 2016.

Personal life

Nixon is a

post-operative Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

woman. She was assigned male at birth and realized from an early age that her physical sex did not align with her sense of self. She lived privately as a transgender woman and publicly as a male until 1990 when she underwent sex reassignment surgery alongside hormone replacement therapy at age 33. Following her surgery, Nixon’s birth certificate was amended, identifying her as a female. As a survivor of male violence and

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

as a transgender woman, Nixon had previously received aid and volunteered with Battered Women’s Support Service (BWSS) as well as another halfway house that helped women in crisis. Inspired by her own past experience, Nixon applied to volunteer at Vancouver Rape Relief Society, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that provides services for women who have been victims of male violence. Following Nixon’s successful prescreening, she was rejected by the society based upon her

biological sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, o ...

as a male-born transgender woman.Kimberly Nixon (complainant) and Vancouver Rape Relief Society (respondent) and BC Human Rights Commission. June 2, 2000. (Folder 1). Raw data. University of Victoria, Victoria. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

Human rights complaint

Nixon alleged that Vancouver Rape Relief discriminated against her violating the British Columbia Human Rights Code. The society argued that they didn’t allow males into the group and to qualify as a volunteer she must have been a woman who experienced sex-based

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...

from birth. They argued that Nixon was

socialized In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultur ...

as a man and thus, did not have the proper life experiences of a woman. Other Rape Relief trainers supported this position identifying Nixon as a man, which justified her rejection from the volunteer position. In August 1995, Nixon filed a formal human rights complaint against VRRS. This resulted in Nixon receiving a formal letter apologizing for her exclusion, $500 in compensation, and an offer for an in-person apology. Nixon rejected these offers and in 2000 the case went to the

. Nixon won the Human Rights Tribunal on the grounds that the society discriminated against her and was awarded $7,500 for injury of self-respect and dignity. Vancouver Rape Relief Society brought the Tribunal’s decision for

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

, establishing that discrimination was not present.

''Vancouver Rape Relief Society v. Nixon''

In August 2003, the decision was brought to the

. The court was to decide "whether transgendered women are protected from discrimination on the basis of sex". The court debated

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

, biological indicators against

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

, psychiatric and legal treatment.Vancouver Rape Society v. Nixon. Supreme Court of British Columbia. 1999–2000. (Folder 1). Raw data. University of Victoria, Victoria. Retrieved June 8, 2016. On December 19, 2003, the Supreme Court decided that there was an error in judgement in the previous tribunal. The Vancouver Rape Relief was not guilty of discrimination based on the group’s right of

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membe ...

. This meant that the group had the right to organize as female-only space, irrespective of gender identity. Following this decision Nixon

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

ed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal who

unanimously Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...

maintained the previous decision by the Supreme Court of BC. They held that Vancouver Rape Relief Society was protected under the Human Rights Code, Section 41. This allowed the society to abide by its female-only membership policy, based on its rational and interests in serving women. On February 1, 2007, the

dismissed Nixon’s request to appeal the decision. Nixon was also charged with covering the awarded costs of Vancouver Rape Relief, which she has refused to pay.

References

{{Reflist Canadian LGBT rights case law Canadian transgender case law British Columbia case law Women in British Columbia