Straight Talk

Antiviolence educator and activist Lee Lakeman wins award inspired by Mahatma Gandhi

by Charlie Smith on September 26th, 2013 at 1:52 PM
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      SFU has announced that one of Vancouver's pioneers in promoting greater safety for abused women has won the prestigious Thakore Visiting Scholar Award.

      Lee Lakeman, a former staff member at Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter, will receive the prize at SFU's Harbour Centre campus on October 2, which is the birthday of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

      Lakeman has researched and written about violence against women, promoted the development of shelters, and offered training to more than 1,000 women over the past 40 years.

      According to an SFU news release, she has been influential on the international front, promoting feminist activity in numerous countries, including Russia, India, and Ecuador. 

      As a representative of the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres, she provided legal analysis that was used in court cases to advance the interests of abused women.

      Lakeman will deliver the Gandhi Commemorative Lecture, entitled What Way Forward to End Male Violence Against Women?, on October 3 in Segal Rooms 1420/1430 at the Harbour Centre campus. (Registration is required.)

      The man behind the award, Natverlal Thakore, was a Burnaby developer who considered Gandhi as his major inspiration in life.

      Thakore suffered from Parkinson's disease and committed suicide in 1997 at the age of 78, with the assistance of Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

      The Thakore Charitable Foundation, SFU's Institute for the Humanities, J.S. Woodsworth chair Eleanor J. Stebner, and the India Club of Vancouver bestowed the award on Lakeman.

      Comments

      5 Comments

      JamieLee

      Sep 26, 2013 at 2:56pm

      Ms Lakeman is despised among many progressive feminists for her anti-trans stances. Ms Lakeman has been intolerant of transgender citizens and shouldn't be receiving such a prestigious recognition in light of her blatant transphobia. I'm aghast that the Straight would pay homage to Ms Lakeman considering how spiteful she was toward Ms Kimberely Nixon and other transsexual women.

      Si Transken

      Sep 26, 2013 at 7:21pm

      Lee is a tenacious advocate for social justice. I admire and respect her. This is another wonderful moment of recognition for the positive contributions she's made to the world.

      Raven

      Sep 27, 2013 at 9:54pm

      I am a Trans* woman and I know Lee Lakeman to be a vigilant and brilliant vanguard against oppression. Explain your politics, your theory, your practice and if she agrees she'll back you %100 +. She did not invite the transgender debate she was forced to respond with her and the organization she represented with their backs against the wall facing a poorly conceived and illegitimate human rights charge against them. Get your facts straight. Congratulations Lee.

      Truth Speaker

      Sep 27, 2013 at 10:04pm

      So Lee is, in fact, a campaigner against violence _against women_. Nothing wrong with that of course but the sub-editor's blurb on the News page (web edition) simply say Lee is an "antiviolence" campaigner, which she isn't. She only advocates for women and not violence in general. Maybe I'm being pedantic (okay, I am) but if someone is an anti-racist campaigner, for example, the byline should reflect that and state that fact clearly rather than simply writing pro-human campaigner or something that leaves out a crucial bit of information. The hypothetical campaigner is likely pro-human, being human and all, but that is not what the hypothetical article is about. Likewise, Lee is likely anti-violence in general and would not support a male beating his roommate or partner but that is irrelevant so far as her prize and her work as an advocate for female victims of violence goes.

      Thank you for reading and humouring a well-meaning pedant on a rainy Friday night.

      Truth Speaker

      Sep 27, 2013 at 10:12pm

      @JLH Ah, the plot thickens. If what you say is accurate, and I'll take your word for it, than Lakeman is of the "all women are equal but only cis-gendered people are _real_ women" school.

      Correction: I mistakenly referred to Ms Lakeman as Lee in my previous post. My apologies.