Elizabeth Sheehy holds an LL.B. (Osgoode 1981), an LL.M. (Columbia 1984), and an LL.D. (Honoris causa) (Law Society of Upper Canada 2005). She started teaching at the University of Ottawa in 1984 and was a Full Professor from 1995 until 2018, when she retired from the University and became Professor Emerita. She held the Shirley Greenberg Chair for Women and the Legal Profession (2013-15 and 2002-04). In 2013 she was awarded the Roman John Hnatyshyn Award for Law by the Canadian Bar Association, and in 2014 she was welcomed as a new member of the Royal Society of Canada. Her book, Defending Battered Women: Lessons from the Transcripts (UBC Press, 2014) was awarded the David Walter Mundell Medal by the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario for fine legal writing in 2015. Among other awards for her research and advocacy, Professor Sheehy received the Person鈥檚 Award from the Governor General of Canada, which honours Canadians who advance women鈥檚 equality, and in 2018 she joined the Order of Ontario for her work on legal responses to men鈥檚 violence against women.
Elizabeth Sheehy

Profile
LL.B. (Osgoode Hall Law School)
LL.M. (Columbia University)
LL.D. (Law Society of Upper Canada)
Biography
Teaching
Professor Sheehy taught Criminal Law and Procedure, Advanced Criminal Procedure, Sexual Assault Law, and Defending Battered Women on Trial. She was a Visiting Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, the University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law, Sydney University, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Law, and the University of Auckland, Faculty of Law. She has also participated in various educational programs for the Canadian Judicial Institute on topics such as sexual assault, wife assault, and women and girls in the justice system. In 1999 Professor Sheehy received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Common Law Students鈥 Society at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law.
Professional Activities
Professor Sheehy was a Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada 1987-2019. She was co-counsel for the Women鈥檚 Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in its intervention in R v JA (鈥渁dvance consent鈥 to sexual assault) (2011 SCC 28) and has participated in ten LEAF interventions, including R v Sullivan; R v Chan (ONCA 2020); R v Boyle (ONSC 2019); R v Gagnon (SCC 2018); R v Ryan (2013 SCC 3), R v NS (2012 SCC 72), and R v Ewanchuk (SCC 1999). She has participated in legal work on the Jane Doe litigation (ONCJ 1998) and the legal intervention by Vancouver Rape Relief and Women鈥檚 Shelter in the Bonnie Mooney litigation against the AG of BC (BCCA 2004).
In 2019 she appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to comment on Private Member鈥檚 Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (Sexual Assault) and before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (2018) and the Standing Senate Committee (2019) on Bill C-75, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts, and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. Also in 2018, she spoke on Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, before the Senate Standing Committee and in 2017 before the House of Commons Standing Committee.
Professor Sheehy is involved in many other law reform activities around equality rights and social justice issues: she has worked in a consultative capacity with the Department of Justice on the reform of criminal law (Preliminary Inquiries, Provocation, Self-Defence, Extreme Intoxication, Disclosure of Women鈥檚 Confidential Records), with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies on Judge Lynn Ratushny's Self-Defence Review, through the Policy Implementation Assistance Program (CIDA) and the Social Affairs Committee of the Vietnam National Assembly on its Gender Equality Law, with the African Canadian Legal Clinic on its intervention in R v Golden (strip searches) (SCC 2001) and R v Nur (challenge to mandatory minimum sentences) (2011 ONSC 4874), and with The Equality Effect on its women鈥檚 rights litigation project aimed at criminalizing marital rape in three African countries.
In 2009 she convened the first national conference in Canada on sexual assault law, entitled Sexual Assault Law, Practice and Activism in a Post-Jane Doe Era, featuring 70 speakers from across Canada as well as New Zealand, South Africa, and Israel. With Jane Doe (the litigant in Jane Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto Commissioners of Police (1998), 39 O.R. (3d) 487) as Conference Co-Ordinator, they fund-raised and launched a sold out conference March 6th and 7th 2009, attended by over 350 law students, activists, professors and lawyers. The event was opened by Justice Claire L鈥橦eureux-Dub茅, cheered on by multiple standing ovations, and closed by a slide show tribute to Jane Doe and her work. Over 50 papers arising from this event were published in three collections edited by Professor Sheehy.
Professor Sheehy currently sits on the Expert Advisory Panel for the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability (2017-) and the Monash Gender and Family Violence and Prevention Centre (2017-) and is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Legal Education Review (2016-). She has acted as a Collaborator with artist cj fleury in a project joining art, feminism, and law, Templates for Activism (1999-2006) ( ), as Board Member for the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre (2015-2018), as a Member of the University of Ottawa Task Force on Respect and Equality (sexual violence on campus) (2014-2106), as a Member of the Battered Women鈥檚 Subcommittee for the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (1992-97), as English Language Editor of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law (1989-93), and as President of Lawyers Against Apartheid (1989-91)
Media
Professor Sheehy contributes regularly to print and radio media analyses of current developments in criminal law and policy as well as legal responses to male violence against women. She has published more than 35 op eds on topics such as wrongful convictions and issues affecting women and the criminal justice system, for example:
- *鈥溾楨xtreme intoxication鈥 appeal decision is yet another blow to women鈥 Policy Options (14 July 2020) . With Isabel Grant.
- *鈥淓nforcing prostitution laws could have saved Maryl猫ne L茅vesque鈥 The Toronto Star (11 February 2020) . With Janine Benedet & Isabel Grant.
- *鈥淭he misogyny of the so-called rough sex defence鈥 Policy Options (31 January 2020) . With Isabel Grant & Lise Gotell.
- *鈥淛ustice bill must be amended to protect sex assault victims鈥 Policy Options (23 November 2018) . With Isabel Grant & Karen Segal.
- *鈥淐leaning up the mandatory minimum mess鈥 Policy Options (8 May 2018) . With Isabel Grant.
- *鈥淐anada needs national agency to review domestic homicides and violence鈥 The Province (29 April 2018) . With Isabel Grant.
- *鈥淏ill C-75 reforms too little, too late to respond to domestic violence鈥 The Toronto Star (23 April 2018) . With Isabel Grant.
- *鈥淭wo nations in a reform vacuum over family violence鈥 The Newsroom (6 April 2018) .
- *鈥淗ow police stats fail the victims of sexual assault鈥 The Globe and Mail (1 November 2017) . With Holly Johnson.
- *鈥淢arital rape myths have no place in Canadian law鈥 The Globe and Mail (27 October 2017) . With Jennifer Koshan & Melanie Randall.
- *鈥淭he Supreme Court鈥檚 Jordan ruling could have a negative impact on how the justice system responds to violence against women鈥 Policy Options (26 October 2017) . With Simon Lapierre.
- *鈥淧lease stop shaming women who report sex assault鈥 The Ottawa Citizen (16 August 2017) . With Sabrina Heyde & Sunny Marinner.
- *鈥淐apacity for consent and the Halifax case: Did the judge err?鈥 The Globe and Mail (6 March 2017) .
- *鈥淯nfounded: For real change, we need more than internal police reviews鈥 The Globe and Mail (28 February 2017) . With Teresa Scassa.
- *鈥淥pinion: Bigotry does not belong on the Bench鈥 Vancouver Sun (15 September 2016) . With Daphne Gilbert & Lise Gotell.
- *鈥淭he Ghomeshi verdict: This is no time for complacency鈥 Policy Options (12 April 2016), online at: . With Blair Crew & Daphne Gilbert.
- *鈥淭he way forward on sexual assault on campus鈥 The Ottawa Citizen (5 February 2016) online at . With Allan Rock.
- *鈥淔emicide is predictable and preventable, but we need to name the problem鈥 Feminist Current (30 December 2015) online at: .
- *鈥淎 tragic tale of two Gladues鈥 The Toronto Star (27 April 2015) online at: . With Isabel Grant.
- *鈥淪ocial science research does not distort problems of sexual violence. Inaccurate commentators do鈥 The National Post (31 December 2014) online at: . With Holly Johnson.
- * 鈥淎re battered women justified in killing in self-defence? You decide鈥 The Ottawa Citizen (18 鈥淐onsent ruling sends a welcome and clear ruling鈥 The Vancouver Sun (1 June 2011).
- *鈥淪upreme Court got it right in ruling against 鈥榓dvance consent鈥欌 The Halifax Chronicle Herald (1 June 2011).
- *鈥淲hen prison is the better option; Acquittal extends lifeline - defence of duress - to battered women鈥 The [Halifax] Chronicle Herald (16 April 2011) A15.
Publications
Professor Sheehy鈥檚 research focuses on criminal law and on legal responses to male violence against women.
Books and Edited Collections
- Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law: 鈥淔amily Violence and Parental Alienation鈥 (2020) 42:1. With Simon Lapierre.
- Canadian Journal of Women and the Law: 鈥淭he Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women Inquiry鈥 (2016) 28:2. With Jane Bailey and Sherene Razack.
- Canadian Journal of Women and the Law: 鈥淢en鈥檚 Groups: Challenging Feminism鈥 (2016) 28:1. With Susan Boyd.
- Defending Battered Women on Trial: Lessons from the transcripts (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014).
- Criminal Law and Procedure: Proof, Defences and Beyond, 5d Ed. With Jennie Abell and Natasha Bakht (Toronto: Captus Press, 2014).
- Sexual Assault in Canada: Law, Legal Practice and Women鈥檚 Activism (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2012) (double volume book), 819 pp.
- Criminal Law and Procedure: Cases, Context, Critique, 5th Ed. (Toronto: Captus Press, 2012). With Jennie Abell and Natasha Bakht, 522 pp.
- Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 鈥淭en Years After Jane Doe: Reflections on the State of Rape鈥 (2010) vol. 22:2, 255 pp
- Canadian Woman Studies 鈥淲omen Resisting Rape: Feminist Law, Practice, Activism鈥 (2010) vol. 28:1, 161 pp. With Jane Doe, Carol Latchford and Rakhi Ruparelia
- Co-Editor, Calling for Change: Women, Law and the Legal Profession. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2006. With Sheila McIntyre, 428 pp. Reviewed by Susan B Boyd in (2007) 40 UBC L Rev 309.
- Adding Feminism to Law: The Contributions of Claire L鈥橦eureux-Dub茅 (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2004)
- Co-Editor, Special Issue Honouring Madam Justice L'Heureux-Dub茅. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law (2003) volume 15, number 1, 246 pp.
- Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Law and Policy (2001) vol 39: 2 & 3 Osgoode Hall LJ.
Selected Book Chapters
- 鈥淐riminalizing Private Torture as a Feminist Strategy: Thinking through the implications鈥 in Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Sandra Walklate, Jude McCulloch, and JaneMaree Maher, eds, Intimate Partner Violence, Risk and Security: Securing women鈥檚 lives in a global world (London: Routledge 2018) 251.
- 鈥淩esponding to Sexual Assault on Campus: What Can Canadian Universities Learn From US Law and Policy?鈥 in Elizabeth Quinlan, Andrea Quinlan, Curtis Fogel and Gail Taylor, eds. Sexual Violence at Canadian Universities: Activism, Institutional Responses and Strategies for Change (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2017) 291. With Daphne Gilbert.
- 鈥淎 Feminist Reflection on Domestic Violence Death Reviews鈥 in Myrna Dawson, ed. Domestic Homicides and Death Reviews: An International Perspective (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) 373.
- 鈥淢aking Universities Safe for Women: Sexual Assault on Campus鈥 in Wayne Antony, Jessica Antony and Les Samuelson, eds. Power and Resistance: Critical Thinking About Canadian Social Issues, 6th ed (Black Point, NS: Fernwood 2017) 260.
- 鈥淲hen Self-Defence Fails: The Other Defences for Battered Women鈥 in Arie Freiberg and Kate Fitz-Gibbon, eds. Homicide Law Reform in Victoria: Prospects and Retrospect (Sydney: Federation Press, 2015) 110. With Julie Stubbs & Julia Tolmie.
- 鈥淛udges and the Reasonable Steps Requirement: The Judicial Stance on Perpetration Against Unconscious Complainants鈥 in Elizabeth Sheehy, ed. Sexual Assault in Canada: Law, Legal Practice and Women鈥檚 Activism. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2012, pp 483-540
- 鈥淭he Victories of Jane Doe鈥 in Elizabeth Sheehy, ed. Sexual Assault in Canada: Law, Legal Practice and Women鈥檚 Activism. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2012, pp 23-45
- 鈥淓quality and Supreme Court Jurisprudence: Never the Twain Shall Meet鈥 in Sheila McIntyre and Sanda Rodgers, eds. The Supreme Court of Canada and the Achievement of Social Justice: Commitment, Retrenchment or Retreat. Markham, Ontario: Supreme Court Law Review and LexisNexis Canada, 2010, pp 329-348
- 鈥淢isogyny is Deadly鈥 in Trish Hennessy and Ed Finn, eds. Speaking Truth to Power: A Reader on Canadian Women's Inequality (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2010) 107.
- 鈥淟egal Responses to Violence Against Women鈥 reprinted in Barbara A. Crow and Lise Gotell, eds, Open Boundaries. A Canadian Women鈥檚 Studies Reader (2d ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education, 2004, pp. 256-267; in Michelle Webber and Kate Bezanson, eds, Rethinking Society in the 21st Century: Critical Readings in Sociology. Toronto: Scholar鈥檚 Press, 2004, pp. 275-287; and in in Katherine M.J. McKenna and June Larkin, eds, Violence Against Women. New Canadian Perspectives. Toronto: Iana Publications, 2002, pp. 473-491.
- 鈥淛ustice L鈥橦eureux-Dub茅 and Canadian Sexual Assault Law: Resisting the Privatization of Rape鈥 with Christine Boyle, in Elizabeth Sheehy, ed, Adding Feminism to Law: The Contributions of Justice Claire L鈥橦eureux-Dub茅. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2004, pp. 247- 283.
- 鈥淐ompensation for Women Who Have Been Raped鈥 in Julian Roberts and Renate Mohr, eds. Confronting Sexual Assault. A Decade of Social and Legal Change. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994, pp. 205-240.
Selected Journal Articles
- *鈥淧enalizing Women鈥檚 Fear: Parental alienation and intimate partner violence in Canadian family law cases.鈥 (2020) 42(1) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 80-91. With Susan Boyd.
- *鈥淔eminist Interventions: Learning from Canada.鈥 (2019) 2 New Zealand Women鈥檚 Law Journal 201-242. With Julia Tolmie.
- *鈥淭he Merits of Restricting Provocation to Indictable Offences: A Critical Analysis of Provocation Law Reform in Canada and New South Wales, Australia鈥 (2019) 31:2 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 197-231. With Kate Fitz-Gibbon.
- *鈥淐oercive Control Evidence in Support of Self-Defence: The Trial of Teresa Craig鈥 (2018) 18:1 Criminology & Criminal Justice 100.
- *鈥淪trip-searching of women: Rights and wrongs鈥 (2016) 94:2 Canadian Bar Review 241. With Michelle Psutka.
- *鈥淒efending Battered Women in the Public Sphere鈥 (2016) 5:2 International Journal of Crime, Justice and Democracy 81.
- *鈥淪ecuring Fair Outcomes for Battered Women Charged with Homicide: Analysing Defence Lawyering in R v Falls鈥 (2014) 38:2 Melbourne University Law Review 666. With Julie Stubbs and Julia Tolmie.
- *鈥淒efences to Homicide for Battered Women: A Comparative Analysis of the Laws of Australia, Canada and New Zealand鈥 (2012) 34:3 Sydney L Rev 467-492. With Julie Stubbs and Julia Tolmie.
- *鈥淏attered women charged with homicide in Australia, Canada and New Zealand: How do they fare?鈥 (2012) 45:3 Aust & NZ J Criminology 383-399. With Julie Stubbs and Julia Tolmie.
- *鈥淭he Discriminatory Effects of Bill C-15鈥檚 Mandatory Minimum Sentences鈥 (2010) 70(2) Criminal Reports (6th) 302-317.
- *鈥淐ausation, Common Sense, and the Common Law: Replacing Unexamined Assumptions with What We Know About Male Violence Against Women, or, From Jane Doe to Bonnie Mooney鈥 (2006)17 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 97-126.
- *鈥淭hrice Punished: Battered Women, Criminal Law and Disinheritance鈥 (2004) 8 Southern Cross University Law Review96-130. With Barbara Hamilton.
- *鈥淎dvancing Social Inclusion: The Implications for Criminal Law and Policy鈥 (2004) 46 Canadian Journal of Criminology73-95.
- *鈥淓vidence Law and the 鈥楥redibility Testing鈥 of Women: A Comment on the E Case鈥 (2002) 2 Queensland University of Technology Law and Justice Journal 157-174.
- *鈥淏attered Women and Mandatory Minimum Sentencing鈥 (2001) 39 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 529-554.
- *鈥淔rom Women鈥檚 Duty to Resist to Men鈥檚 Duty to Ask: How Far Have We Come?鈥 (2000) 20 Canadian Woman Studies 98-104.
- *鈥淩eview of the Self-Defence Review鈥 (2000) 12 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 197-234.
- *鈥淟egalizing Justice for All Women: Canadian Women鈥檚 Struggle for Democratic Rape Law Reforms鈥 (1996) 6 Australian Feminist Law Journal 87-113.
- *鈥淭he Intoxication Defence in Canada: Why Women Should Care鈥 (1996) 23 Contemporary Drug Problems 595-630.