Our History

Barbra Teena Schlifer

The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic was created in memory of Barbra Teena Schlifer.

Barbra was an idealistic young lawyer who was murdered in Toronto on the day of her call to the Bar of Ontario, April 11, 1980. She was returning home from celebrating this milestone when she was brutally sexually assaulted and killed in the basement stairwell of her apartment building.

Barbra’s death changed the lives of those who were close to her and they resolved to use her tragedy as a springboard for changing the world. Frances Rappaport and Patricia Ashby, who had once planned to be her law partners, decided to establish a clinic in Barbra’s honour to make the difference that Barbra had hoped to make as a lawyer.

The Clinic is Born

Out of this terrible event, a new dream was born. Barbra’s friends (who were to be her law partners), Frances Rapaport and Patricia Ashby, established a clinic in her honour that would commemorate her life and make the difference that she had hoped she would have as a lawyer.

Four women who became instrumental in opening the doors of the Clinic were Elizabeth Stewart, Jennifer Sunley, Helen LaFountaine, and Mary Bruce Dauphinee. As months grew into years of visioning and planning, these four women never relented, never wavered, and never lost sight of their goal.

On April 11, 1985, five years after Barbra’s death, then Mayor of Toronto, Arthur C. Eggleton proclaimed April 11th “Barbra Schlifer Day,” and in September 1985, the Clinic opened its doors at 188 Dupont Street in Toronto.

Initially, the Clinic provided a unique combination of free legal and counselling services for women who had experienced partner assault, child sexual abuse and sexual assault.  In 1987 an interpreter service for non-English speaking women who had experienced violence was introduced. Since then, the Clinic has added innovative programs and grown in size and significance. In addition, the Clinic has become an expert in a range of gender violence that goes beyond domestic violence, partner assault, and child sexual abuse. Increasingly, we are active in such issues as forced marriage, honour-related violence, and gender persecution from state perpetrators and non-state actors in the international context.

Since February 1995, the Clinic’s major fundraising event has been “A Tribute to Friendship” (The Tribute).  In addition to raising funds, this annual special event helps the Clinic to enhance its public image, increase contact with its supporters, and provide public education.

The Clinic currently receives referrals from countless community-based agencies, as well as medical, legal and justice professionals, religious organizations and individuals concerned about violence against women and gender diverse people.

To see more historical pictures, view our Historical  Photo Album on Facebook.