Ten-year-old Charlie Lowthian-Rickert from Stittsville stood alongside Justice Minister Judy Wilson-Raybould on Tuesday when she introduced a bill to prevent discrimination and hate crimes based on gender identity and gender expression.
“Transphobic people don’t have enough information about who we really are. They don’t know that we’re the exact same as them,” she told CBC. “What I’m trying to do is raise awareness for transgender people.”
“It’s meant to protect transgender, gender fluid, gender queer, intersex people. It protects them from hate propaganda, hate crimes, assaults, rape, anything that is related to discrimination because of their gender or anything related to bullying or hurt because of their gender. That’s why I feel safer. Some people might not do it because they would be scared of getting caught,” she told the National Post.
Here’s some of the media coverage:
- National Post: ‘We’re not monsters’: 10-year-old transgender girl on importance of gender rights legislation
- Toronto Star: “Ottawa tables bill to outlaw transgender hate speech, discrimination”
- CBC: Charlie Lowthian-Rickert, transgender tween, says she wants ‘justice and peace’
