Egale Canada Trans Information
and Web Resource

Sex Inscription on the Canadian Passport – Egale Position Paper

Egale Canada, Canada’s national LGBT human rights organization, has undertaken an assessment of how best to accommodate and represent trans and gender diverse people in the Canadian passport, particularly in relation to the inscription of “sex”. Specifically, the following questions have been examined:

1. What are some of the primary concerns facing trans and gender diverse people in relation to the inscription of sex on the Canadian passport?
2. What are the problems associated with (A) travelling with a passport with a sex marker that doesn’t reflect one’s appearance and (B) travelling with a passport with a sex marker that doesn’t reflect one’s anatomical sex?
3. Would it be helpful to have the option of a gender neutral sex marker in the passport? If so, should this be an option for any applicant, or should it be available only to certain types of applicants?

For the purposes of this opinion, Egale Canada has reviewed the relevant standards and orders, as well as consulted widely with trans and gender diverse communities across Canada.

Click here to download the complete position paper.

Open Letter to the CBC Regarding the Documentary “Transgender Kids”

OPEN LETTER

January 27, 2012

Kirk LaPointe
Ombudsman, CBC
P.O. Box Station A
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6

By Email: ombudsman@cbc.ca

Dear Mr. LaPointe,

On behalf of Egale Canada’s Trans Committee, Board of Directors and Executive Staff, we are writing to express our shock and disappointment regarding CBC’s documentary “Transgender Kids,” aired January 7^th at 10:00 pm EST on The Passionate Eye on CBC News Network.

We applaud the CBC for recognizing the need to foster public awareness and discussions about sex and gender differences. However, the filmmakers’ decision to refer to all trans people featured in the documentary by their biological sex at birth, rather than their self-identified genders, was extremely disrespectful and dismissive. In addition, this was inconsistent with the guidelines for appropriate gender pronoun usage according to such respected media style guides as AP and GLAAD. It is our opinion that the CBC should not have aired this documentary without correcting this insensitive and incongruent narration.

This documentary was particularly damaging given the current political climate facing trans people in Canada. As you may already know, the federal Gender Identity Bill (C-279) is approaching second reading in parliament. This bill seeks to provide equal human rights protections to trans and gender diverse people across Canada in the areas of health care, education, housing, employment and legal and social services. As a result, it is particularly important at this time that trans identities not be misrepresented as “artificial” in respected media, such as the CBC.

Trans people in Canada have a long history of being demonized or rendered invisible. We have been unfairly pathologized as mentally ill, denied our true gendered identities and criminalized, leading to cruel and unusual punishments within the corrections system. Documentaries with insensitive and demeaning narration, such as “Transgender Kids,” although increasingly uncommon, perpetuate the misunderstandings that lead to further discrimination, harassment and violence towards members of our communities. Given the increasing incidence of trans youth being bullied at school and the alarmingly high rates of self-harm and suicide within this demographic, it is unconscionable to continue to exploit and ignore the legitimate experiences of vulnerable trans youth such as those featured in this documentary.

While the video footage and the interviews with trans children/teens, their families and friends demonstrated appropriate respect for those whose sex and gender identities do not correspond with that assigned at birth, the narration of the documentary served to undo this. Throughout, the narrator referred to these youth (and in one instance an adult mentor) by the wrong pronoun (e.g. the trans girls who spoke so candidly about their deep-seated feelings and knowledge of themselves as girls were referred to as “he” and vice versa for the trans boys). Otherwise poignant scenes of trans youth and their families struggling to grapple with, protect, embody and celebrate their gender identities were consistently undermined by de-legitimizing narration. Consequently, films such as “Transgender Kids” and the CBC’s decision to air this documentary do violence to these children and youth who represent thousands of Canadian youth in similar situations. It serves to justify the profound misunderstanding of transsexuality, transgender and Two-Spirit as being abnormal or illegitimate existences. Sadly, this significantly increases the likelihood that the viewing public will incorrectly view these children as victims of “gender confusion” and their parents as horribly misguided.

We respectfully request that the CBC issue a public apology for airing this documentary with the offensive and harmful narration. We also request that any future airings of this and similar documentaries be edited to correct the pronoun usage to correspond appropriately with the gender identity of the subject and in accordance with accepted media style guides. While the AP Stylebook provides a minimum standard for reporting on trans subjects, Egale recommends the Media Reference Guide published by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), freely available at www.glaad.org.

All responses to this letter may be directed to Helen Kennedy at 416-964-7887 ext. 21 or helen_kennedy@egale.ca.

Yours sincerely,

LGBT Community Stands Together Against Hate Crime

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 November 2011

Toronto: Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community will come together in Toronto to launch Courage in the Face of Hate, a new initiative by Egale Canada designed to combat the rising incidence of hate crime in Canada motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hate crimes based on sexual orientation more than doubled in 2008 and increased by another 18% in 2009, according to Statistics Canada. Further, three-quarters of hate crimes against the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) community in Canada are violent, with 63% resulting in physical injury to the victim—far more than any other identifiable group. Notably, the absence of legal protections on the basis of gender identity and expression means that police-reported hate crime data give no indication of the level and severity of hate crimes against trans Canadians.

These numbers stress the need for amplified education, training and prevention initiatives explicitly targeting homophobia and transphobia in our schools and communities. “It is clear that hate crime in Canada is a youth phenomenon,” said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of Egale Canada. “When youth ages 12 to 18 represent the highest volume of both victims and those accused of hate crimes, it is impossible to deny the urgent need for comprehensive anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia measures in every school in Canada.”

Courage in the Face of Hate will bring together educators, police services and those directly affected by hate crime to combat the rising trend of LGBT-targeted violence. The program will provide victims of hate crime with a forum in which to share their experiences and connect with other members of the community during focus groups and individual interviews, to be facilitated by Prof. Barbara Perry, an internationally renowned expert in hate- and bias-motivated violence. Using video footage of victims` testimonies to create an educational video and lesson plan for high school students, the project will reach out to youth across the country. By highlighting the human impact of hate and bias, the project will reduce fear and dispel prejudice, thereby decreasing the overall number of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity.

Courage in the Face of Hate will travel across Canada over the coming months to connect with LGBT Canadians from all walks of life.

This project has been made possible by a grant from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services in Ontario.

For more information: Helen Kennedy, Executive Director, 416-964-7887 ext. 21, www.egale.ca/courage

12 Months, 221 Murders: Horrifying Numbers a Wake Up Call on Trans Day of Remembrance 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18^th, 2011

Toronto: Fear and hatred have claimed the lives of 221 people around the world since the commemoration of Trans Day of Remembrance in 2010. This year, on November 20, we remember not only the 221 trans and gender diverse individuals who have been murdered in 26 countries over the past year, nor solely the 755 lives we have lost since the Trans Murder Monitoring Project (TMM) began documenting the deaths of trans people in January 2008. Rather, we turn our thoughts as well to the countless trans and gender diverse people whose names we do not know, and whose senseless deaths have passed silently and brutally without acknowledgement and without justice.

Within Canada, trans individuals frequently face discrimination, dramatically affecting their access to basic necessities such as housing, health care, employment and even education. Egale’s final report on homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in Canadian schools, Every Class in Every School, revealed that fully 78% of trans students feel unsafe at school, and 44% had skipped school because they feared for their safety. Moreover, 65% of trans students had been verbally harassed because of their gender identity and/or expression, and 37% had been physically harassed or assaulted.

To date, only six countries in the world have enacted legislation to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. In Canada, the Northwest Territories is the only provincial/territorial jurisdiction to have included “gender identity” in its human rights act, despite repeated calls by human rights commissions across the country for legislators to take action to promote and protect the rights of trans Canadians. Federally, a Private Member’s bill to include “gender identity” and “gender expression” in both the Canadian Human Rights Act and the hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code progressed as far as first reading in the Senate this year before it died on the Order Paper with the spring election call.

On November 20, 2011, over 140 countries will mark Trans Day of Remembrance with sombre reflection and an urgent call to action. Hatred grows on fear and it grows on silence, but it cannot grow unless we allow it to. “We call on all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, to stand in solidarity against fear and against hate,” declared Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of Egale Canada. “We cannot allow the continued silence and misinformation about trans lives to carry on unchallenged while violence against the community continues to escalate.”

The harrowing numbers from the Trans Murder Monitoring Project require immediate action from our communities, from our schools, and from all levels of government. Transphobic violence and murder are global phenomena and will remain our horrifying reality unless governments and communities around the world organize and educate to eradicate transphobia.

For more information:
Helen Kennedy, Egale Canada, 416-964-7887 ext. 21

Events to Commemorate Trans Day of Remembrance 2011 Across Canada

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Will hold a memorial for the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday, November 20, 2011 from 7-9 pm at the McDougall United Church, 10086-101 Street, Edmonton, AB

Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Will be holding a Transgender day of Remembrance event Sunday November 20, 2011 2pm — 4 pm, 1206-6 Ave S (Lethbridge HIV Connection) Along with an opportunity to remember lives lost due to transhobia and violence, there will be a round table discussion on issues of safety and violence for trans people. Contact: info@outreachsa.ca or www.outreachsa.ca

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Will be holding a Transgender day of Remembrance event on Sunday, November 20, 2011 from 5:30-8:30 pm. March begins at The Carnegie Community Center. 401 Main St. (corner of Main & Hastings) (Vancouver)

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project will be hosting a Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil on Sunday 20th from 7.00-9.00pm. doors opening at 6.30pm. At Veith House ( 3115 Veith St., Halifax Nova Scotia ) There will be Guest Speakers, Reading of the Names and a Social after. All are Welcome. Contact: Regina Lohnes at tdor.hlfx@gmail.com

Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada

Will be holding a Transgender day of Remembrance on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 7:00 pm at the Mount Allison University Chapel [15 Salem Street, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada]. Join us for a candlelight vigil, followed by a screening of “A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story”, hosted by Catalyst, Mt.A’s Queer Straight Trans Alliance and Activist Society. Staff, students, faculty, and community members are welcome. For more information, please contact Amelia at catalyst@mta.ca.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Will be holding a Transgender Day of Remembrance event on Monday, November 21, 2011. There will be a candlelight vigil at the University Pride Center. For more information conact: Emily Striker emilystriker87@gmail.com.

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Monday, November 21st, 7:30pm at Out On The Shelf, 141 Woolwich St, Unit 106. Presented by the paTio trans support group. For more information contact thepatiogroup@gmail.com

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Will be hosting a Transgender Day of Remembrance event on Friday, November 18th from 7:00 — 9:00 PM. At the 519 Church Street Community Centre at 519 Church St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For more information, please contact Morgan at mpage@the519.org.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Will be hosting a Transgender Day of Remembrance event on Monday, November 28th from 6:30 — 8:30 PM. At the William Doo Auditorium, 45 Willcocks St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Contact: tig.action.toronto@gmail.com

Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring project reveals 221 killings of trans people in the last 12 months

Transgender Europe: Press Release: November 16^th 2011

In total, since January 2008 the murders of 755 trans people have been reported

The 13^th International Transgender Day of Remembrance is being held on November 20^th 2011: Since 1999, the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), on which those trans people who have been victims of homicide are remembered, takes place every November. The TDOR raises public awareness of hate crimes against trans people, provides a space for public mourning and honours the lives of those trans people who might otherwise be forgotten. Started in the USA, the TDOR is now held in many parts of the world. In the past, the TDOR took place in more than 180 cities in more than 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

Sadly, this year there are 221 trans persons to be added to the list to be remembered, mourned and honoured as an update of the preliminary results of Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring project reveals.

The Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) project started in April 2009 and systematically monitors, collects and analyses reports of homicides of trans people worldwide. Updates of the preliminary results, which have been presented in July 2009 for the first time, are published on the website of the “Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide” project three to four times a year in form of tables, name lists, and maps:

http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/en_US/tvt-project/tmm-results.htm

Every year in November, Transgender Europe provides a special update of the TMM results for the International Transgender Day of Remembrance so as to assist activists worldwide in raising public awareness of hate crimes against trans people.

The TDOR 2011 update has revealed a shocking total of 221 cases of reported killings of trans people from November 20^th 2010 to November 14^th 2011:

http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/en_US/tvt-project/tmm-results/tdor2011.htm

In comparison to the TDOR updates of the last years (162 reports 2009, 179 reports in 2010), we are witnessing a significant increase, which points to the extreme level of violence many trans people continue to be exposed to. However, this increase may also reflect the TvT project’s intensified cooperation and data exchange with trans and LGBT organizations, which document murders of LGBT or trans people in local and national contexts such as Grupo Gay da Bahia (Brazil), Observatorio Ciudadano Trans (Cali, Colombia), Pembe Hayat (Turkey), or TVMEX – Travestis México.

The update shows reports of murdered or killed trans people in 26 countries in the last 12 months, with the majority from Brazil (97), Mexico (23), Colombia (19), and Venezuela (14) followed by Argentina (9),  Honduras (9), and the USA (9). In Asia most reported cases have been found in Pakistan (6), and the Philippines (5), and in Europe in Turkey (5).

As in the previous years, most reported cases were from Central and South America, which account for 80 % of the globally reported homicides of trans people since January 2008. In Central and South America, in 2008, 96 killings were reported in 13 countries, in 2009, 165 killings in 16 countries, in 2010, 174 killings in 13 countries. In 2011, so far 188 killings were reported in 15 Central and South American countries. The starkest increase in reports is also to be found in Central and South America, e.g. in Brazil (2008: 57, 2009: 69, 2010: 101, January-November 2011: 97) and Mexico (2008: 4, 2009: 10, 2010: 12, January-November 2011: 23). The data also show an alarming increase in reported murders in Turkey in the previous years (2008: 2, 2009: 5, 2010: 6, January-November 2011: 5).

In total, the preliminary results show 755 reports of murdered trans people in 51 countries since January 2008.

The new result update reveals that in the last 47 months, 57 homicides of trans people were reported in Asia (2008: 11, 2009: 14, 2010: 17, January-November 2011: 15), 48 in North America (2008: Canada: 1, USA: 17, 2009: USA: 13, 2010: USA: 8, January-November 2011: USA: 9), 45 in Europe (2008: 11, 2009: 17, 2010: 9, January-November 2011: 8), and 4 in Oceania (2008: 3, 2009: 1) as well as 2 in Africa (2008: 1, 2009: 1).

The TDOR update of the preliminary results also reveals that since January 2008 45 killings of trans people have been reported in 10 European countries (Albania: 1, Germany: 2, Italy: 14, Poland: 1, Portugal: 1, Russia: 1, Serbia: 1, Spain: 3, Turkey: 18 and, UK: 3). In Asia, since January 2008 57 killings of trans people have been reported in 12 countries (Azerbaijan: 2, China: 6, India: 8, Indonesia: 4, Iran 1, Iraq: 3, Malaysia: 6, Pakistan: 12, Philippines: 11, Republic of Korea: 1, Singapore: 1, and Thailand: 2). In Oceania, 4 killings have been reported since 2008 (Australia: 1, Fiji: 1, New Caledonia: 1, and New Zealand: 1) and in Africa 2 (South Africa: 1, and Algeria: 1).

Yet, we know, even these high numbers are only a fraction of the real figures; the truth is much worse.

These are only the reported cases, which could be found through internet research. In most countries, data on murdered trans people are not systematically produced and it is impossible to estimate the numbers of unreported cases. Another finding of these updates is that while Brazil has received special attention due to the elevated number of killings, the number of killings in other South and Central American countries like Venezuela, Honduras and in particular Guatemala is equally or even more worrying in view of the much smaller population sizes of these countries.

While the documentation of homicides against trans people is indispensable for demonstrating the shocking extent of human rights violations committed against trans people on a global scale, there is also a need for in-depth research of various other aspects related to the human rights situation of trans people. Therefore, Transgender Europe developed the Trans Murder Monitoring project into the ‘Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide’ (TvT) research project. TvT is a comparative, ongoing qualitative-quantitative research project, which provides an overview of the human rights situation of trans persons in different parts of the world and develops useful data and advocacy tools for international institutions, human rights organizations, the trans movement and the general public. A research team from Transgender Europe is coordinating the project, which is funded by the Open Society Foundations, the ARCUS Foundation, and partly by the Heinrich Boell Foundation. The TvT research team is assisted by an Advisory Board, composed of 20 international LGBT, trans and human rights activists and academics from Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, North America, and Oceania. It furthermore cooperates with 15 partner organizations in these six world regions. After having completed a survey on the social and legal situation of trans people in more than 50 countries in all six world regions, in November 2011, the TvT project research team together with 7 partner organizations from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Oceania, and South America start a new survey in form of a peer research on trans people’s experiences with Transrespect and Transphobia.

If you have further questions or if you want to support the research project, please contact the TvT research team:

Dr Carsten Balzer and Dr Jan Simon Hutta

research[at]transrespect-transphobia.org

www.transrespect-transphobia.org

Poland’s key transgender activist to become a member of the new parliament

Official results of the Polish parliamentary elections show that Anna Grodzka, the president of Trans-Fuzja Foundation, will become the world’s third transgender MP.

Grodzka, who decided to run in the elections from the new Palikot Movement party a couple of months ago, based her campaign on the needs of people who are constantly being ignored and silenced by society. This, of course, included the Polish transgender and intersex community, whose problems were for the first time fully and directly addressed by a parliamentary candidate.

When asked about what kind of issues she would like to work on, Grodzka replied that her priorities have not changed and that she sees a real chance in getting transgender and intersex matters to the parliament’s agenda.

“There are many things I would like to work on but to ease the gender recognition process seems to be our priority at the moment. We have already been discussing it in our organization and started to draft an actual proposal, which we think would be as much inclusive as possible. It would not only deal with gender recognition procedures traditionally associated with transgender people but also with the absolutely ignored matter of intersex newborns being subjected to surgeries they do not need.”

Trans-Fuzja’s both vice-presidents, Lalka Podobińska and Wiktor Dynarski, are extremely happy about the results and hope that a transgender MP will make a great change. If not in the law, then at least in people’s minds. “Ania got into the parliament, from one of the most conservative regions in the country” says Dynarski “Not only did she make it to the parliament, she also made history today.”

Podobińska, who was also Grodzka’s campaign manager says that her friend’s success was also made possible thanks to a great team of volunteers, most of them coming from the transgender community, who helped along the way. “It wasn’t just posters and flyers. We had incredible people to help us along the way. This is also their victory”.

According to the Polish law, the new Parliament should assemble no later than 30 days after the elections, which would mean that Grodzka would start her work no later than November 8^th.

Jack Layton: The LGBT community mourns the loss of a great ally

Toronto: Today the LGBT community in Canada mourns the loss of a great ally. The Honourable Jack Layton was a man whose principled and unwavering commitment to equality, love and human dignity shone through with every step he took. As a leader whose constant support of the LGBT community reflected nothing other than his staunch devotion to social justice, his voice, his tenacity and his determination will be deeply missed. Our thoughts today are with his family and friends, to whom we offer our heartfelt condolences on the loss of a man who was truly inimitable.

—— The Egale Canada Team

Egale Canada Announces Partnership with Dr. Barbara Perry, Internationally Renowned Hate Crimes Expert

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 July 2011

Toronto: Egale Canada is excited to announce a new partnership with the internationally renowned Dr. Barbara Perry, a specialist in hate and bias-motivated crime, in response to the terrible upward trend in hate crimes recently revealed by Statistics Canada’s analysis of 2009 police-reported hate crime in Canada. According to the report, published in Juristat on June 7, 2011, overall hate crime in Canada increased 42% between 2008 and 2009, and a disturbing 74% of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation were violent in nature. As such, hate crimes against lesbian, gay and bisexual Canadians were far more likely to result in injury to the victims than those motivated by any other factor.

Dr. Perry is Professor of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She has written extensively in the area of hate crime, including two books on the topic: In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crime; and Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader. Her work has been published in journals representing diverse disciplines: Theoretical Criminology; Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences; Journal of History and Politics; and American Indian Quarterly.

“Dr. Perry’s knowledge and expertise are invaluable assets to the fight against hate-motivated crime and violence against the LGBT community in Canada,” remarked Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of Egale Canada. “In our schools and on our streets, homophobic and transphobic bullying and violence have gone unchecked for far too long. This partnership will produce concrete strategies to combat hate crime and ensure the safety of our community.”

Given that gender identity and expression are not explicitly included within Canada’s hate crime provisions, there are currently no police-reported data on the incidence of hate crime against trans Canadians. As such, a key element of this partnership will be to eliminate the silence around hate incidents directed toward transsexual, transgender and gender variant Canadians.

At a time when two-thirds of LGBT students report feeling unsafe at school, and suicide rates among LGBT youth are far higher than any other demographic, this partnership will be an essential tool for developing safer and more inclusive communities for all Canadians.

###

Egale Canada is Canada’s LGBT human rights organizations: advancing equality, diversity, education, and justice.

For more information:
Dr. Barbara Perry, t: 905-809-5456. e: barbara.perry@uoit.ca
Helen Kennedy, t: 416-964-7887 ext. 21e: helen_kennedy@egale.ca

TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Transgender Youth

MCC Toronto and TD Canada Trust have partnered to start a new scholarship opportunity for transgender youth. The application is only open to TDSB students this year with eventual role out across the province and perhaps nationally.

Please use these links to download the application form for the TD Canada Trust Scholarship (English & French) for Transgender youth graduating from high school and pursuing post-secondary education. Please distribute widely it would be much appreciated. Deadline for application is July 15, 2011

The Triangle Program will be putting a link on its Website with the application download.

Every Class in Every School

The first national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools

Final Report – May 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report discusses the results of a national survey of Canadian high school students undertaken in order to investigate what life at school is like for students with sexual or gender minority status.¹ Our study sought to identify the forms and extent of students’ experiences of homophobic and transphobic incidents at school, the impact of those experiences, and the efficacy of measures being taken by schools to combat these common forms of bullying. The study involved surveying over 3700 students from across Canada between December 2007 and June 2009 through two methods. The first method was designed to reach as many sexual and gender minority youth as possible: students who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, Two Spirit, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ). To this end, we implemented an open-access online survey and advertised it widely through news releases and website and Facebook notices and by systematically contacting every organization across the country that we identified as having LGBTQ youth membership. The second method was implemented in controlled conditions using a login system through in-school sessions conducted in twenty randomly selected school districts in all regions of the country (with the exception of Québec where a parallel survey was conducted by Québec researchers). Fifteen school districts participated in sufficient numbers to permit statistically significant analysis. In-school findings were used to validate open-access findings. This report analyzes the aggregate data from both individual online participation and in-school sessions. In addition, we have submitted confidential reports to all participating boards that held in-class sessions comparing their own results to the results from all in-school sessions.

The study was commissioned by the Egale Canada Human Rights Trust (ECHRT) and funded by the ECHRT with additional support from the University of Winnipeg Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Grant Competition, and Sexual and Gender Diversity: Vulnerability and Resilience (SVR), a research team funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Fonds de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRSC) du Province de Québec.

The survey itself was a fifty-four item questionnaire made available online and in print, which consisted mostly of multiple-choice questions of three kinds: demographic (e.g., age, province, gender identity, sexual orientation), experiences (e.g., hearing “gay” used as an insult, being assaulted, feeling very depressed about school), and institutional responses (e.g., staff intervention, inclusive safer schools policies). Quantitative data were tested for statistical significance through bivariate analyses that compared the responses of various groups of students, e.g., LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning) and gender minority (transgender, transsexual, Two Spirit), and current and past. Crosstabulations with chi-square (X²) estimations, independent samples t-tests, and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted, depending on the classification or “level of measurement” of the variables/questions (i.e., whether they are dichotomous, ordered, or continuous). Effect sizes were calculated for all chi-square (used Cramer’s V), t-test (used Cohen’s d), and ANOVA (used Cohen’s d) significant tests. Future analysis will involve qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions in which students responded to questions about their perceptions and experiences.

The lack of a solid Canadian evidence base has been a major impediment faced by educators and administrators who need to understand the situation of LGBTQ students in order to respond appropriately and to assure their school communities that homophobic and transphobic bullying are neither rare nor harmless, but are major problems that schools need to address. We wish to express our deepest respect for the thousands of students, LGBTQ and heterosexual, who came forward to help with this important project. We thank you and hope that you will recognize your contributions and your voices in this report. While most of the information in this report will come as no surprise to members of the LGBTQ community, the study provides a systematically produced knowledge base that will provide educators and administrators across the country with the information they need to make evidencebased policy and programming decisions.

KEY FINDINGS: SCHOOL CLIMATES IN CANADA TODAY

HOMOPHOBIC AND TRANSPHOBIC COMMENTS

• 70% of all participating students, LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, reported hearing expressions such as “that’s so gay” every day in school and almost half (48%) reported hearing remarks such as “faggot,” “lezbo,” and “dyke” every day in school.
• Almost 10% of LGBTQ students reported having heard homophobic comments from teachers daily or weekly (17% of trans students; 10% of female sexual minority students; and 8% of male sexual minority students). Even more LGBTQ students reported that they had heard teachers use negative genderrelated or transphobic comments daily or weekly: 23% of trans students; 15% of male sexual minority students; and 12% of female sexual minority students.
• Hardly any LGBTQ students reported that they never heard homophobic comments from other students (1% of trans students; 2% of female sexual minority students; 4% of male sexual minority students). This suggests that if you are a sexual minority student in a Canadian school, it is highly likely that you will hear insulting things about your sexual orientation.

VERBAL HARASSMENT

• 74% of trans students, 55% of sexual minority students, and 26% of non-LGBTQ students reported having been verbally harassed about their gender expression.
• 37% of trans students, 32% of female sexual minority students, and 20% of male sexual minority students reported being verbally harassed daily or weekly about their sexual orientation.
• 68% of trans students, 55% of female sexual minority students, and 42% of male sexual minority students reported being verbally harassed about their perceived gender or sexual orientation. Trans youth may report experiencing particularly high levels of harassment on the basis of perceived sexual orientation because often trans individuals are perceived as lesbian, gay, or bisexual when they are not.
• More than a third (37%) of youth with LGBTQ parents reported being verbally harassed about the sexual orientation of their parents. They are also more likely to be verbally harassed about their own gender expression (58% versus 34% of other students), perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (46% versus 20%), gender (45% versus 22%), and sexual orientation (44% versus 20%).

PHYSICAL HARASSMENT

• More than one in five (21%) LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed or assaulted due to their sexual orientation.
• 20% of LGBTQ students and almost 10% of non-LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed or assaulted about their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
• 37% of trans students, 21% of sexual minority students, and 10% of non-LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed or assaulted because of their gender expression.
• Over a quarter (27%) of youth with LGBTQ parents reported being physically harassed about the sexual orientation of their parents. They are also more likely than their peers to be physically harassed or assaulted in connection with their own gender expression (30% versus 13% of other students), perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (27% versus 12%), gender (25% versus 10%), and sexual orientation (25% versus 11%).

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Levels of sexual harassment are high across the board for LGBTQ students. The following groups of students reported having experienced sexual harassment in school in the last year:

• 49% of trans students
• 45% of students with LGBTQ parents
• 43% of female bisexual students
• 42% of male bisexual students
• 40% of gay male students
• 33% of lesbian students

The higher levels of sexual harassment for gay male than for lesbian students may be attributable to greater exposure to sexual humiliation as a distinct form of unwanted sexual attention. Also, lesbian students may be less likely than gay male or trans students to perceive their experiences of harassment as sexual. Further analysis will explore the experiences included in this finding.

UNSAFE SPACES

• Almost two thirds (64%) of LGBTQ students and 61% of students with LGBTQ parents reported that they feel unsafe at school.
• The two school spaces most commonly experienced as unsafe by LGBTQ youth and youth with LGBTQ parents are places that are almost invariably gender-segregated: Phys. Ed. change rooms and washrooms. Almost half (49%) of LGBTQ youth and more than two fifths (42%) of youth with LGBTQ parents identified their Phys. Ed. change rooms as being unsafe; almost a third (30%) of non-LGBTQ youth agreed. More than two-fifths (43%) of LGBTQ students and almost two-fifths (41%) of youth with LGBTQ parents identified their school washrooms as being unsafe; more than a quarter (28%) of non-LGBTQ students agreed.
• Female sexual minority students were most likely to report feeling unsafe in their school change rooms (59%). High numbers (52%) of trans youth reported feeling unsafe in both change rooms and washrooms. It is notable that these places where female sexual minority and trans students often feel unsafe are gender-segregated areas. Not only does this contradict assumptions that most homophobic and transphobic incidents take place in males-only spaces, but it also points to a correlation between the policing of gender and youth not feeling safe.

SAFER SCHOOLS POLICIES

Generic safe school policies that do not include specific measures on homophobia are not effective in improving the school climate for LGBTQ students. LGBTQ students from schools with anti-homophobia policies reported significantly fewer incidents of physical and verbal harassment due to their sexual orientation:

80% of LGBTQ students from schools with anti-homophobia policies reported never having been physically harassed versus only 67% of LGBTQ students from schools without anti-homophobia policies;

46% of LGBTQ students from schools with anti-homophobia policies reported never having been verbally harassed due to their sexual orientation versus 40% of LGBTQ students from schools without anti-homophobia policies.

LGBTQ students in schools with anti-homophobia policies did not report significantly higher levels of feeling safe at school with regard to gender identity and gender expression: this indicates a need to explicitly address gender identity, gender expression, and antitransphobia in school and school board safer schools and equity and inclusive education policies.

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCES (GSAs) AND OTHER LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE STUDENT GROUPS

GSAs are official student clubs with LGBTQ and heterosexual student membership and typically one or two teachers who serve as faculty advisors. Students in a school with a GSA know that they have at least one or two adults they can talk to about LGBTQ matters. The purpose of GSAs is to provide a much-needed safe space in which LGBTQ students and allies can work together on making their schools more welcoming for sexual and gender minority students. Some GSAs go by other names such as Rainbow Clubs, Human Rights Clubs, or Social Justice Clubs. This is sometimes done to signal openness to non-LGBTQ membership (though, of course, some of these are not GSAs and might not address homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia), and sometimes because “Gay-Straight Alliance” seems problematic in that “gay” does not necessarily refer to lesbians or bisexuals and trans identities are not explicitly encompassed by the expression. However, using the acronym “GSA” to represent any student group concerned with LGBTQ matters has become commonplace. Very often it is LGBTQ students themselves who initiate the GSA, although sometimes a teacher will come forward. Such groups also function as safe havens and supports for youth with LGBTQ parents. Currently, more than 100 LGBTQ-inclusive student groups across the country have registered on Egale Canada’s safer schools and inclusive education website, MyGSA.ca.

• Students from schools with GSAs are much more likely to agree that their school communities are supportive of LGBTQ people, are much more likely to be open with some or all of their peers about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and are more likely to see their school climate as becoming less homophobic.
• Students from schools with anti-homophobia policies are significantly more likely to agree that their school administration is supportive of the GSA.
• Students in BC and Ontario reported much more frequently than students in the Prairies, the Atlantic provinces, and the North that their schools have GSAs.

KEY FINDINGS: HOMOPHOBIA, BIPHOBIA, AND TRANSPHOBIA AFFECT EVERYONE

INTERSECTIONALITY

“I think there’s a lot of work to be done in recognizing that lgbttq people come from various cultures and communities and breaking those myths and beliefs to allow all people identifying within those communities to be free of prejudice and oppression.”

Similarly to the point on a graph where lines cross being called a point of “intersection,” the fact that categories of identification—such as age, class, education, ethnic background, gender expression, gender identity, geographic origin, physical and mental ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors—are experienced simultaneously and cannot genuinely be separated from one another is referred to as “intersectionality.” Often, people are discriminated against with regard to multiple categories: for example, a racialized lesbian could be subjected to heterosexism, homophobia, lesbophobia, misogyny, racism, and transphobia or any other form of discrimination, such as ableism, ageism, and classism, depending on both how she identifies and how she is perceived to be. Further, each aspect of one’s identity can have an impact on other aspects. For example, a racialized lesbian may be exposed to different forms of sexism and homophobia from those experienced by a non-racialized lesbian.

The survey found that there was little regional or ethnic variation in levels of physical harassment for reasons related to gender or sexual orientation, but that Caucasian youth, both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, were far less likely to report having been physically harassed or assaulted because of their ethnicity: 8% compared to 13% of Aboriginal youth and 15% of youth of colour. Consequently, it is important to note the aggregate effects or “double whammy” here for both Aboriginal youth and youth of colour; these youth are not only being physically harassed or assaulted because of reasons related to gender and/or sexual orientation, but they are also much more likely to be physically harassed or assaulted because of their ethnicity.

YOUTH OF COLOUR

“Not only is it difficult to be LGBT in high school, but especially as a LGBT youth who is also a visible minority. The positive images and information out there for such a youth is very hard to come by.”

• Youth of colour, both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, are far less likely to know of any out LGBTQ students (67% compared to 81% of Caucasian and 87% of Aboriginal youth, LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ combined) or to know of any teachers or staff members who are supportive of LGBTQ students (48% knew of none, compared to 38% of Aboriginal and 31% of Caucasian youth, LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ combined).
• Almost one fifth (18%) of those students of colour who had experienced LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum reported that class discussions of LGBTQ people’s relationships had been negative (compared to 14% of Caucasian and 11% of Aboriginal youth). They were also less likely to see class representations of LGBTQ matters as having been very positive (17% compared to 26% of Caucasian and 31% of Aboriginal youth).
• Youth of colour, both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, reported the lowest rates of being comfortable discussing LGBTQ matters with anyone at all, including their coaches, their teachers, their classmates, their parents, and even with a close friend.

This high degree of isolation for youth of colour with regard to LGBTQ matters suggests that serious attention needs to be paid to finding means of reaching out to youth in ways that are appropriate and informed about cultural issues and taboos surrounding LGBTQ matters.

ABORIGINAL YOUTH

Very few statistically significant findings surfaced about the experiences of LGBTQ Aboriginal youth in Canadian schools in this report. In some instances, Aboriginal youth reported experiences similar to Caucasian youth, such as comfort levels in talking to school community members about LGBTQ matters. In other instances, Aboriginal youth reported experiences similar to youth of colour—for example, in reported rates of physical harassment based on race or ethnicity. Further work needs to be done in order to better understand and account for the needs of LGBTQ Aboriginal youth in Canada.

YOUTH WITH LGBTQ PARENTS

Not only do youth not want to have to hear their loved ones spoken about in cruel ways, but youth with LGBTQ family members also avoid disclosure to protect themselves from harassment. As one student wrote, “I am not out about my family members because people are so stupid that they think that if you know someone who is LGBTQ then that means you are too.”

• Youth with LGBTQ parents are more than three times more likely than other students to have skipped school because of feeling unsafe either at school (40% versus 13%) or on the way to school (32% versus 10%). These results are extremely important not only because of what they reveal about the degree of fear being experienced by youth with LGBTQ parents, but also because of the potential impact of missing classes on the academic performance of these students.
• Youth with LGBTQ parents are more likely to be aware of teachers making homophobic and transphobic comments: one-fifth of youth with LGBTQ parents said teachers sometimes or frequently make homophobic comments, compared to only 7% of other students, and a quarter of youth with LGBTQ parents said teachers sometimes or frequently make transphobic comments, compared to one tenth of other students.
• Students with LGBTQ parents are more likely to find homophobic comments extremely upsetting (23% versus 11% of other students) or very upsetting (29% versus 19%).

LGBTQ YOUTH

One in seven students who completed the survey during in-class sessions self-identified as LGBTQ (14%), which is consistent with the percentages of students identifying as not exclusively heterosexual in large-scale survey research of youth conducted in British Columbia (Saewyc & the McCreary Society, 2007). Further, youth who experience same-sex attraction often identify as heterosexual in research, even if they have had sexual contact with a same-sex partner, and research participants often under-report information such as being members of sexual minority groups out of concerns about confidentiality, even in anonymous surveys. This suggests that claims sometimes made that sexual minority individuals comprise only 2-3% of the population seriously underestimate the numbers. Our research would suggest that there are several sexual minority students in every class in every school in Canada, not to mention students with LGBTQ parents. Many of these students, of course, do not disclose their own or their family members’ sexual orientation and/or gender identity until they are safely out of school.

TRANS YOUTH

While youth who actually identify as trans are comparatively small in number, they are highly visible targets of harassment. Trans students may report experiencing particularly high levels of harassment on the basis of perceived sexual orientation because often trans individuals are perceived as lesbian, gay, or bisexual when they are not. The heightened sense of lack of safety at school experienced by trans youth is likely due to the rigid policing of gender conventions (male masculinity and female femininity), which can make trans youth highly visible targets for discrimination and harassment.

• 90% of trans youth hear transphobic comments daily or weekly from other students and almost a quarter (23%) of trans students reported hearing teachers use transphobic language daily or weekly. Almost three quarters (74%) of trans students reported being verbally harassed about their gender expression.
• One quarter of trans students reported having been physically harassed (25%) or having had property stolen or damaged (24%) because of being LGBTQ. Trans students were much more likely than sexual minority or non-LGBTQ students to have been physically harassed or assaulted because of their gender expression (37% compared with 21% for sexual minority students and 10% for non-LGBTQ students).
• When all identity-related grounds for feeling unsafe are taken into account, including ethnicity and religion, more than three quarters (78%) of trans students indicated feeling unsafe in some way at school. 44% of trans students reported being likely to miss school because of feeling unsafe and 15% reported having skipped more than 10 days because of feeling unsafe at school.

BISEXUAL YOUTH

A comparison of the responses of female and male bisexual youth with lesbian and gay male youth shows that often gender seems to be more of an influencing factor than sexual orientation in the experiences of female sexual minority youth; however, this is generally not the case for male sexual minority youth:

Physical Harassment about Being LGBTQ
26% of female bisexual youth 12% of male bisexual youth	25% of lesbian youth 23% of gay male youth
Mean Rumours or Lies about Being LGBTQ
56% of female bisexual youth 37% of male bisexual youth	52% of lesbian youth 47% of gay male youth
Skipping School Due To Feeling Unsafe
29% of female bisexual youth 19% of male bisexual youth	25% of lesbian youth 28% of gay male youth
At Least One Unsafe Location at School
71% of female bisexual youth 64% of male bisexual youth	72% of lesbian youth 74% of gay male youth
Feel Unsafe at School because of Actual or Perceived Sexual Orientation
63% of female bisexual youth 39% of male bisexual youth	67% of lesbian youth 51% of gay male youth
Feel Unsafe at School
75% of female bisexual youth 51% of male bisexual youth	73% of lesbian youth 62% of gay male youth

These findings are interesting in a few ways. First, popular understandings of bullying in school culture might lead one to expect that heterosexual males would be most likely to commit homophobic harassment and that their targets would be gay males, whom they would have the opportunity to bully in unsupervised gender-segregated spaces such as change rooms and washrooms. Second, it is sometimes said that lesbians have it easier than gay males, that society in general tolerates lesbians more than gay males, and that being a lesbian or a bisexual female is even trendy. These findings would refute both of these popular conceptions of life for sexual minority girls and women.

What male sexual minority youth, both bisexual and gay, seem to have in common, however, is a higher degree of social connectedness. Both of these groups are more likely to know of out LGBTQ youth and supportive staff members at their schools:

Don’t Know Anyone Out as LGBTQ at School
21% of female bisexual youth 13% of male bisexual youth	31% of lesbian youth 15% of gay male youth
Don’t Know of School Staff Members Supportive of LGBTQ Matters
36% of female bisexual youth 22% of male bisexual youth	28% of lesbian youth 26% of gay male youth

HETEROSEXUAL YOUTH

• One of the most striking findings of our study is that 58% of non-LGBTQ youth find homophobic comments upsetting. This finding suggests that there is a great deal of potential solidarity for LGBTQ-inclusive education among heterosexual students.
• One in twelve heterosexual students reported being verbally harassed about their perceived sexual orientation and one in four about their gender expression.
• Almost 10% of non-LGBTQ youth reported being physically harassed or assaulted about their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity and more than 10% reported being physically harassed or assaulted because of their gender expression.
• Any given school is likely to have as many heterosexual students as LGBTQ students who are harassed about their sexual orientation or gender expression.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This survey has provided statistically-tested confirmation of what LGBTQ youth, youth perceived as LGBTQ, youth with LGBTQ parents, and their allies as well as teachers and administrators working on anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia, and anti-transphobia and intersectionality education have known for some time about the realities of life at school in Canada. Consider the situation in many schools:

• LGBTQ students are exposed to language that insults their dignity as part of everyday school experience and youth with LGBTQ family members are constantly hearing their loved ones being denigrated.
• LGBTQ students and students with LGBTQ parents experience much higher levels of verbal, physical, sexual, and other forms of discrimination, harassment, and abuse than other students.
• Most LGBTQ students and students with LGBTQ parents do not feel safe at school.
• The situation is worse on all counts for female sexual minority students and youth with LGBTQ parents and even worse for trans students.
• Many students, especially youth of colour, do not have even one person they can talk to about LGBTQ matters.
• Many schools have a well-developed human rights curriculum that espouses respect and dignity for every identity group protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms except for LGBTQ people.
• Teachers often look the other way when they hear homophobic and transphobic comments and some of them even make these kinds of comments themselves.

Although the original title of our study named only homophobia, our findings demonstrate that school climates for bisexual and trans students are equally—and in some ways even more—hostile. The study has also demonstrated that the less directly students are affected by homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, the less aware they are of it. This finding has implications for the adult world as well: how many educators and administrators are underestimating the extent of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in their school cultures and the damage being done to the youth in their care? This study found that the more marginalized our participants were, the worse their experience of school climate was. Given the findings of this study, educators may need to work particularly hard at ensuring that lesbian youth, bisexual girls, trans students, students with sexual and/ or gender minority parents, and sexual and gender minority youth of colour are included in these efforts. To this end, policy, programme, and curriculum development needs to reflect an understanding of how school climate for sexual and gender minority youth is affected by intersecting systems of social power such as racialization and poverty that are at work in all schools.

LGBTQ-inclusive safer schools policies and curriculum are not the entire solution; we did not find that 100% of students anywhere reported never hearing homophobic or transphobic comments or that they could all talk to all of their teachers, for example. However, the findings of this study indicate that while the problem of hostile school climates for sexual and gender minority students is very widespread, it is perhaps not as deep as we might think. In schools that have made efforts to introduce LGBTQ-inclusive policies, GSAs, and even some LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, the climate is significantly more positive for sexual and gender minority students.

Based on the analysis presented in this report, we strongly recommend the following:

POLICY DEVELOPMENT

1. That provincial Ministries of Education require the inclusion of anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia, and anti-transphobia and intersectionality measures in safer schools policies and programmes, along with steps for the effective implementation of these policies, in order to provide support and motivation to district and school staff as well as a requirement that school divisions provide auditable evidence of meaningful implementation.
2. That school divisions develop anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia, and anti-transphobia and intersectionality policies to provide institutional authority and leadership for schools.
3. That schools implement anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia, and anti-transphobia and intersectionality policies and make these well known to students, parents, administration, and all school staff members as a part of their commitment to making schools safer and more respectful and welcoming for all members of their school communities.
4. That efforts begin with professional development workshops for all school division employees on intersectionality and the impact of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic language and how to address it in classrooms, hallways, and all other parts of the school as well as at all other school-related events, such as during bus transportation.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

5. That Ministries of Education and school divisions require the inclusion of respectful representations of LGBTQ people in courses and provide curriculum guidelines and resources for mainstreaming LGBTQ-inclusive teaching, including intersectionality, across the curriculum and auditable evidence of meaningful implementation.
6. That school divisions provide professional development opportunities to assist schools in the implementation of LGBTQ-inclusive and intersectionality curriculum.
7. That schools implement LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in designated
   courses such as Family Life and Social Studies and provide teachers
   with resources for mainstreaming LGBTQ and intersectionality
   education in their own subject areas.

TEACHER PREPARATION

8. That Faculties of Education integrate LGBTQ-inclusive teaching and intersectionality into compulsory courses in their Bachelor of Education programmes so that teachers have adequate opportunities to develop competence before entering the field.

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCES

9. That schools strongly support the efforts of students to start GSAs, or similar LGBTQ-inclusive student-led clubs, and that in schools where students have not come forward, administration should ask teachers to offer to work with students to start such clubs. It is not safe to assume that LGBTQ students and students with LGBTQ parents would prefer to go through school isolated from their peers and teachers.

VULNERABLE GROUPS

10. That particular attention be paid to supporting the safety and well-being of lesbian and bisexual female youth and trans youth in all of the above recommendations along with the needs of youth with LGBTQ parents and sexual and gender minority youth of colour.

APPROPRIATE CONSULTATION

11. That individuals and organizations with established expertise in intersectionality and LGBTQ-inclusive education be consulted in all of the above. Such expertise exists among educators in every region of Canada.

It is extremely unlikely that there is any class in any high school anywhere in Canada, public or private, religious or secular, that does not have students who are LGBTQ.

Being harassed, insulted, and told that their identities belong in the guidance office, not in the classroom, will not succeed in making LGBTQ students heterosexual and gender-conforming; it will only make them unhappy. What students have told us in the First National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools is that speaking up works and that they want the adults in their lives to do their parts. Many participants in our survey, LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, commented on their extreme disappointment with school staff who look the other way when disrespectful language is being used. The findings of our study provide ample reasons for educators and administrators across the country to take up the challenge of welcoming their LGBTQ students and students with LGBTQ parents into inclusive twenty-first century schools that explicitly and meaningfully oppose discrimination on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation and genuinely embrace safer and more respectful school environments for all members of their school communities.

Footnotes

1. For the purposes of this report, the term “sexual minority” refers to youth who did not identify as exclusively heterosexual and the term “gender minority” refers to youth who did not identify as either “female” or “male.”