Pate, Kim

Since 1992, Kim Pate has served as Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, an umbrella body bringing together Elizabeth Fry societies nationwide. The societies provide support and advocacy for women who are currently or who have been in prison, including members of some of the most vulnerable groups in society. Additionally, she has worked with scholars, sociologists, front-line workers and others on the broader issues facing women in the correctional system. She has been active on matters such as the inquiry into the conditions at the Prison for Women in Kingston, which highlighted, among other things, questions of discrimination, and Judge Lynn Ratushny’s Self-Defence Review of the cases of women convicted for killing violent male partners. In 2003, Kim Pate received Dalhousie Law School’s Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service, and in 2009, she received the Canadian Bar Association’s Touchstone Award for furthering equality in the legal community in Canada. Currently, she is a part-time professor in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law.