Human Rights in Action Handbooks

This handbook is designed to give women and gender-diverse people in federal prisons the tools and resources to defend and advocate for their rights while they are incarcerated. This handbook is written specifically for people in prison, but we hope that advocates, lawyers, and other allies will also find it useful in their work.

This handbook was initially developed through the leadership of Senator Kim Pate, with the help of current and former federally incarcerated women, along with prison law students at Dalhousie University and the University of Ottawa and Regional Advocates with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS). Aspects of the original handbook remain, but the version you are reading now was updated by staff and volunteers at the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies between 2020 and 2021, with feedback from other organizations.