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Privilege is the unearned institutional advantage that an individual receives simply by virtue of being a part of a certain social group. It has been described as a current against which oppressed groups swim, the force of it impeding their mobility, while simultaneously propelling the members of the dominant group…
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Info about Solidarity Work – further definitions to come! Suggested Reading Being an Ally versus Being a Nice Person White People, You Gotta Get to Work NOW How To Be An Accountable Man Research 101: Manifesto for Ethical Research in the DTES more solidarity work readings

Info about Healing Justice Suggested Reading A not-so-brief personal history of the healing justice movement, 2010-2016 Communities of care An immediate need for emotional justice more healing justice readings

Accessibility is the concept that people with disabilities, physical or mental, have the right to the same level of access as other people. While accessibility is often associated strictly with physical space, its scope extends far beyond that. It includes access to services, access to opportunities, access to information, etc….
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All people not Indigenous to North America who are living on this continent are settlers on stolen land. In particular, the land on which Simon Fraser University sits is claimed by several of the Coast Salish Nations, including the Tsleil-Waututh, Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish), Kwikwetlem and Musqueam nations. These are the original…
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Body Sovereignty is the concept that each person has the right to full control of their body. It counteracts the culturally-promoted ideas that someone’s body is anyone else’s business or property. Society seeks to have folks conform to a standard that it prescribes for many kinds of benefit including economic…
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Systems of oppression are discriminatory institutions, structures, norms, to name a few, that are embedded in the fabric of our society. All the “-isms” are forms of oppression. In the context of social justice, oppression is discrimination against a social group that is backed by institutional power. That is to…
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Intersectionality is that concept that each of us inhabit a number of social locations, and that the complex interactions between our social locations work to shape our experiences. Because of these complex interactions, it can be difficult to identify precisely how a given system of oppression limits us. Intersectionality, therefore,…
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Climate justice is the concept that it the larger, richer, and developed countries that have polluted the most, and have a greater impact on global warming. Yet it is the smaller, poorer, and less-developed countries who will be most affected by climate change. Nations that have contributed the most to…
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