Claire McMenemy
PhD Student
| Degrees: | MSW (University of Calgary), LL.B. (University of Toronto), B.A. (Cambridge University) |
About Me:
As well as being a PhD Candidate, I am a practising lawyer. I currently work at a Community Legal Clinic and journey with clients living on a low income in understanding and fighting for their rights. This includes representing clients before tribunals and courts, public legal education, and advocacy for law reform. I am also a team leader for the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) project Your Way Forward which provides legal support for survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence. This complements my previous legal work with the Public Prosecution Service and Global Affairs Canada. I am also a MSW RSW and have provided counselling to survivors of trauma, and worked in health care, including palliative care.
My Research:
A big part of my life is also as a caregiver. For the last 20 years, I have provided direct, intensive care for family and community members who experience cognitive and physical difference. My research is focused both on my own and other intensive caregivers’ experiences, including related to our diverse cultural and social contexts. My supervisor is Dr. Susan Braedley. My research examines what it means, and what its like to be a caregiver in Canada, at personal, family, community, and societal levels. I am particularly interested in the ways that legal, social and health systems interact to frame the experience of diverse caregivers in Canada, and the ways that care policy is developed, implemented, and experienced in different regions of Canada, as well as in other countries. I am also interested in the ways that concepts and experiences of care bump up against, but can also work alongside, concepts of justice and rights.
I have a strong interest in knowledge mobilization to ensure that people who “do” and “share” care, including family caregivers and practising professionals, have the knowledge they need to do their work and advocate for change. I regularly present at academic and professional conferences about my research and professional work. For example, I presented at the 2023 Ontario Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee Annual Conference and at Queens’ University’s 2024 Feminist Legal Studies Conference. I have published in many areas related to social work and legal practice, including on family caregiving, and on the diverse forms of care social workers provide for complex care patients. As well as my PhD research, I am currently engaged in research on bail reform with community partners who support survivors of GBV.
I look forward to opportunities to share knowledge and experience, and to build connections with others interested in interdisciplinary practice, caregiving, and gender-based violence. Outside of work, I love to spend time outdoors with family and friends (including those who have four legs).
Research Interests: Critical Rights, Care Justice, Interdisciplinary Practice, Community Practice, Knowledge Mobilization, Advocacy and Law/Policy Reform