Jade Naraine
Nominated for the award: Community Activism
Company: Jade Naraine
Position: Singer
Biography: Not only is Jade a Country singer but she’s also a women’s rights activist and soon to be women’s rights lawyer, fighting for change in the area of a better and more fair justice and legal system for women who are victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment in Canada.
Inspired by many powerful figures in women’s rights like; Gloria Allred, Jade aims to fight fearlessly for change. With years of experience representing herself in successful actions, where a judge told her during a hearing for her own sexual assault case, that she should consider becoming a lawyer, Jade knew she had to.
Inspired by her own barriers when she tried to report her sexual assault to the police and bring forward a private prosecution, she knew she was not alone and that the heartbreaking reality was that thousands of women just like her, face difficulty holding their perpetrators liable.
She found that sometimes just a judge providing a judgment can help lift an abused woman's spirit and self esteem, but that many women don't have the financial resources to hire a lawyer or strength to represent themselves. As a result, Jade says she will take all her cases on a contingency or probono basis. She is actively making change in the Canadian legal system for women, as well as promoting women's rights through her musical career. Jade plans to do what she can to reinstate women’s rights here in Canada.