Vivian Dowding (1892–1987) was a Canadian activist based in British Columbia who worked to improve birth control access for working class women. Representing the Parents' Information Bureau, and based in Kamloops, Dowding started travelling around the British Columbia's Southern Interior in 1937[1] to educate doctors about contraception[2] and to help low-income women avoid unplanned pregnancy.[3] Dowding operated in defiance of Canadian laws criminalizing birth control; birth control was not removed from the Canadian Criminal Code until 1969.[4] Dowding was influenced by the work of Margaret Sanger and saw birth control access as a necessary step to women's liberation and to lifting low-income women out of poverty.[5] She was an active member of Canada's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then Canada's New Democratic Party until her death in 1987.

Despite facing obstacles, such as being thrown out of doctor's offices and having her birth control supplies being held by disapproving postmasters,[1] Dowding persisted in her feminist mission.

References

  1. 1 2 Not just pin money : selected essays on the history of women's work in British Columbia. Latham, Barbara, 1943-, Pazdro, Roberta Jane. Victoria, B.C.: Camosun College. 1984. ISBN 978-0969184409. OCLC 12550657.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ↑ Brown, Debra J. (2000). The Challenge of Caring: A History of Women and Health Care in British Columbia (PDF). Vancouver: BC Ministry of Health. p. 49. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  3. ↑ Bishop, Mary F. (Spring 1984). "The Early Birth Controllers of BC". BC Studies. 61. doi:10.14288/bcs.v0i61.1177. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  4. ↑ Converse, Cathy (1998). Mainstays: Women who Shaped BC. Touchwood Editions. p. 116. ISBN 9780920663622. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ Diamond, Sara. "Vivian Dowding Interview". BC Archives. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
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