Filipino lawyer honored with Medal of Good Citizenship by British Columbia, Canada

Winston Sayson was cited as “a pioneer in combining wellness practices with legal work and has taught attorneys trauma-informed practices to minimize re-traumatization.” FACEBOOK

The provincial government of British Columbia, Canada awarded the 2022 Medal of Good Citizenship to a Richmond, BC lawyer who immigrated from the Philippines as a teenager.

Winston Sayson received the medal awarded to “British Columbians who have acted in a particularly generous, kind or selfless manner for the common good, without expecting any reward,” Canada Today reported.

The citation described the now-retired Sayson as an exceptional Trial Crown Counsel (Prosecutor) “whose trials were conducted to the highest standards. Winston recognized that crime victims often come from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds with many intersectional vulnerabilities.”

It said further that Sayson was “a pioneer in combining wellness practices with legal work and has taught attorneys trauma-informed practices to minimize re-traumatization.”

Sayson practice as lawyer had brought him face to face with violence, including cases of vehicle homicide, domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse and he even suffered PTSD from this and threats he received, according to the Canada Today report. After healing, he taught self-care and resilience to attorneys, criminology students and victims.