At the June 27, 2022, Call to the Bar ceremony in Toronto, the Law Society will present a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD) to Professor Elaine Craig, an advocate for the improved treatment of survivors of sexualized violence in society, and in particular by legal systems and its actors.
The Law Society awards honorary doctorates each year to distinguished individuals in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice.
The Supreme Court of Canada has identified eliminating myths, stereotypes and sexual violence against women as one of the more pressing challenges we face as a society and Professor Craig is at the forefront of remedying this challenge.
As a Professor of Law at Dalhousie University, Dr. Craig teaches and researches in the areas of constitutional law, evidence law, law and sexuality, feminist legal theory and queer legal theory.
She has researched and published extensively on sexual assault law in Canada. Professor Craig is the author of two books Putting Trials on Trial: Sexual Assault and the Failure of the Legal Profession (2018 McGill-Queen’s University Press) and Troubling Sex: Towards a Legal Theory of Sexual Integrity (2012, UBC Press) and numerous law journal articles. She has testified before Senate and House of Commons Standing Committees on proposed law reforms to the criminal law of sexual offences and is a regular public commentator on legal responses to sexualized violence.
Named one of Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential in 2019*, her work was described as:
“In one of society’s most significant failures, the treatment of victims of sexual violence, Professor Elaine Craig has done more in her professional career than almost anyone else to shed light on those failures. Craig’s research and writing, specifically her 2018 book Putting Trials on Trial, has caused the most honest and widespread discussion ever held in Canada on the topic of how victims of sexual violence are treated during trials. Her research has directly led to better education for judges and lawyers and widespread discussions across the country about the need for better law and practices and a heightened sensitivity to victims.”
She received her doctorate in law from Dalhousie University in October 2010. Her doctoral research focused on legal conceptions of sexuality and the role of sexual integrity in law.
She also holds a master’s degree in law from Yale University, a bachelor’s degree in law from Dalhousie Law School and a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Alberta. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2005 and articled with the law firm Paliare Roland.