Dawn Onishenko teaches social work at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. She is a social justice activist in the areas of gender, women in conflict with the law, anti-poverty, housing and homelessness, HIV/AIDS and queer rights. Dawn has engaged in research and published in the area of social movements, equality rights, and the role of jurisgenerative politics/praxis in bringing about social change. Her specific area of interest is LGBTQ rights, identity and liberation. Her current research explores the experiences of gender and sexual minority youth in the care of the state and how the perception of increased access to human rights for sexual minorities has created a precarious situation for sexual minority refugees seeking refuge in Canada. Dawn and her partner, Julie, were one of 6 couples who launched the Equal Marriage Charter Challenge against the Government of Ontario.