Queen's alumna thriving as project coordinator for the Ontario Women's Justice Network

Wendy Komiotis, Executive Director METRAC, Kirsti Mathers McHenry, Law '03, Project Coordinator OWJN, Andrea Gunraj, Outreach Manager METRAC, and Zahra Dhanani, Legal Director METRAC

Kirsti Mathers McHenry's long-standing commitment to ending violence and discrimination towards women has culminated in the launch of the new Ontario Women's Justice Network (OWJN) website. Mathers McHenry, Law '03, is Project Co-ordinator for the OWJN, and as part of her duties worked closely with the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), OWJN's parent organization, to completely revamp the website, which had not been in operation since 2003.

The OWJN's mandate is to promote understanding of the law as it relates to violence against women. OWJN has a very broad understanding of "violence" - ranging from personal violence (such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse) to social and systemic barriers (like sexism and poverty). The website is important to METRAC's larger "justice strategy" because it offers free, high quality legal information that reflects the diverse experiences and realities of women and offers a feminist perspective on the law.

Mathers McHenry's role involved bringing together over 50 volunteers to revise, write and edit articles for the website. She has also been heavily involved with making the public more aware of this valuable resource.

"By the time we launched the new website in January 2009 we had reviewed and revised all existing materials and had over 100 new articles for the website," Mathers McHenry said. "About 50 additional articles are currently being edited and thanks to the many volunteers - including at least one Queen's student - new materials will regularly appear on the OWJN. Law students played a vital role in the revitalization of the OWJN and I hope to see many more Queen's students volunteering in 2009."

Mathers McHenry was originally drawn to law school after seeing the power law had as an instrument of social change in her volunteer work with various feminist organizations. She came to the law program at Queen's because of the faculty's experience in women's equality.

"Studying with Bev Baines, Kathy Lahey and Sheila McIntyre was a dream come true," said Mathers McHenry. "All three women - and many other faculty members - pushed me to develop my analysis and understanding of the law and how it impacts people's lives. While at Queen's I was a member of Women and the Law [Club] and Queen's Law Queers, and I participated in the Wilson Moot...All of these experiences helped me put the theory I was learning in the classroom into practice and understand the connections between law and reality."

For information on submitting an article or providing assistance with the OWJN website, contact Kirsti Mathers McHenry at owjnresearch@metrac.org. For more information about the OWJN, including how to make a donation and subscribe to the mailing list, see www.owjn.org . For more information about METRAC, see www.metrac.org