Standing Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

By Dawn Lemieux

Canada is becoming increasingly diverse. According to Statistics Canada, one million Canadians identify as belonging to the 2SLGBTQ+ community (2022). While Canada has made moves toward equality, such as same-sex marriage and new protections for gender identity and expression written into the Canadian Human Rights Act, we still have a long way to go in combatting the homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia that is prevalent in society, schools, and other institutions.

Statistically, 2SLGBTQ+ people experience real danger on a daily basis since they are more likely to be physically or sexually assaulted or to sustain injuries as a result of aggression than those who are not 2SLGBTQ+. Alarmingly, 59% of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Canada have been physically or sexually assaulted since age 15, a drastically larger proportion than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts (Statistics Canada, 2022). Homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia can also take on more subtle forms of discrimination, including microaggressions and online harassment. Folx with intersecting identities, particularly those from racialized groups, can face double or triple forms of discrimination. One of the most vulnerable groups in our society are 2SLGBTQ+ youth who make up between 25% and 40% of unhoused youth in Canada (Statistic Canada, 2022). Whether overt or subtle, all forms of discrimination have negative and lasting implications on an individual’s mental health and well-being. When a person’s mental health and wellness declines, they are more likely to turn to alcohol and other substances to cope with feelings of stress, anger, loneliness, and sadness.

May 17^th marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. On this day, people around the world band together to celebrate diversity, disrupt hate, and stand against injustice toward 2SLGBTQ+ people. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and to live a life free of fear. What next steps can you take to help create a safer, more inclusive society?

• Commit to developing a critical consciousness. Begin by reflecting on your own positionality in relation to dominant culture and the power and privilege that comes from your identity markers. An essential part of becoming more critically conscious is understanding that everyone has prejudices or biases due to the stereotypes they’ve absorbed during their upbringing and through consuming media. These prejudices are not always conscious, and it takes real work to unpack them in order to identify misconceptions about folx from the 2SLGBTQ+ community. You can also commit to learning more about the International Day of Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia and 2SLGBTQ+ identities by browsing the resources on https://may17.org. Learn more about queer topics by exploring books, shows and documentaries, and podcasts by people from the community. Consider grabbing a friend or two to attend Calgary’s queer film festival in June, hosted by the Calgary Queer Art Society.

• Break free of your comfort zone. In an increasingly divided society, it can be tempting to stay quiet and take a neutral stance when complex issues come up in conversation or when you witness an act of discrimination. Remember that standing against injustice is almost never a comfortable experience. Bravely challenge hate-filled comments by reorienting them to focus on equality and equity. Staying silent is what allows injustice to continue.

• Break down binaries and use inclusive language. It often seems that we live in a ‘two-choice’ society, where binaries such as hot/cold, up/down, Black/White, male/female, and gay/straight are the norm. Embrace fluidity by bending, blurring, or breaking society’s binary codes and welcoming words, actions, and people who do not fit neatly into categories. Language matters! A simple way to use inclusive language and help others feel safe and validated is by respecting their pronouns. Do not feel overwhelmed by the terminology related to gender identity and sexual orientation. If you aren’t sure about a person’s pronouns – just ask. A thoughtful way to go about this is to share your pronouns first. Do not use the term ‘preferred pronouns’, as it suggests that using a person’s pronouns is optional. If you make a mistake with a pronoun, apologize quickly, and move on.

• Celebrate the heroes of equality-seeking groups and observe days of awareness. Take time to learn about and acknowledge 2SLGBTQ+ leaders and heroes of past and present, such as Harvey Milk, and pay tribute to the important days of awareness for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including the International Day of Trans Visibility (March 31^st) and the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17^th).
• Consider donating to 2SLGBTQ+ organizations and charities. Calgary’s End of the Rainbow Foundation is one organization that creates sponsorship circles, hosts support groups, and provides education to help 2SLGBTQ+ people settle into their homes and communities. Donations to the End of the Rainbow Foundation directly assist 2SLGBTQ+ people, including refugees, in emergency scenarios to obtain safety and support. Check out https://endoftherainbow.ca for more information.

When we embody love and acceptance, we can disrupt the intolerance, discrimination, and violence directed toward 2SLGBTQ+ people in our local and global communities. We all have a role to play in creating safe and caring communities for everyone.

References:

Statistics Canada. (2022). Standing against homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia. Ottawa, On. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/1294-standing-against-homophobia-transphobia-and-biphobia

Alpha House is so very lucky to work with a cohort of nurses in our Shelter, Detox, and Permanent-Supportive Housing programs. Our in-house nurses provide care, comfort, compassion, and critical medical supports for a group historically underserved and oft discriminated against in healthcare. Check back here to hear from some of our incredible nursing staff about their work for National Nurses Week 2023!

Angela Shanahan

How long have you been a nurse? Since 2012

What drew you towards pursuing nursing as a profession? I wanted to work in the public, in a healing position, so it just seemed to fit.

What inspired you to focus your work on homelessness and addictions support? I’d been working in long-term care my entire career and just wanted a change, so I applied at Alpha House and I love it here. I love this demographic.

What do you love the most about your work? Seeing success is the most rewarding. And my team! I work with an amazing team.

Can you share a favorite story or impactful moment you’ve had with a client since you’ve been with Alpha House? I guess just seeing everyone who leaves Detox and moves onto a treatment center. They change so much in 10 days, it’s like they’re a completely different person. I think it’s very rewarding to see them getting healthy, and they’re always very thankful for all that we’ve done for them

Evelyn Nyangaresi

How long have you been a nurse? I just started. I graduated in December, so this is my first job as a nurse.

What drew you towards pursuing nursing as a profession? To be able to take care of people, to help people, to get them from one point to another and to nurse them back to health.

What inspired you to focus your work on homelessness and addictions support? I was already a case worker with Alpha House at the Vet’s building, and I’ve always been a humanitarian. Back home I worked in a refugee camp. I’ve always worked with the vulnerable population, so I love always helping people.

What do you love the most about your work? To see how clients progress. Seeing them get from one point to another. When I see them come in, and am able to help nurse them back to health, that is my most rewarding moment. Even if it’s a minimal improvement, it is still a plus for me.

Can you share a favorite story or impactful moment you’ve had with a client since you’ve been with Alpha House? That’s tough because there’s so many. There was one client who came, and he had just been admitted when all of a sudden, he overdosed. We were able to Narcan him because he had already started turning purple, just like with all overdoses. But to be able to actually save someone’s life and to be able to help them in that capacity, that’s really the most rewarding part of my job. Just knowing that you really are able to make a difference, however minimal that is, that’s what counts for me.

 Shweta Sobti Sharma

How long have you been a nurse? For 3 years.

What drew you towards pursuing nursing as a profession? I was a dental technician before, but I didn’t like the timelines, and I always wanted to work with people. That’s why I went into nursing.

What inspired you to focus your work on homelessness and addictions support? When I started here, I wasn’t sure whether or not I would like it. This was my first job, but I ended up really liking it, and I never went anywhere else.

What do you love the most about your work? The clients. Helping them get clean and getting them onto Suboxone or Methadone so they don’t go back. Just helping them live a better life and getting to a better quality of life with the clients.

Can you share a favorite story or impactful moment you’ve had with a client since you’ve been with Alpha House? When I see them sober, that’s a special moment. Even if they end up coming back, when they tell me that they didn’t use for 6 or 7 months…we did have a client who was here for almost two months. She did relapse, but she had been clean for 7 months and we would always make sure that she was receiving her treatment from CUPS. It made us really happy to see that her treatment was successful.

Sam Dziuba

Can you tell us a little bit about your nursing background, and what drove you to become a nurse? I’ve spent the past 10 years working as a nurse.. I was raised by a hippie who always told me to never do a job for money, only do what makes you happy. And nursing seemed to have chosen me.

What led you to working with people struggling with homelessness, and substance use issues?  I lived on the streets when I was a youth from 16 till 20 years old…I also fought my own addictions. To me, I am not working with the homeless or people with substance use disorders…I’m just working with people just like myself…they are my people.

What do you like about working with this population? I like working with people who are down to earth and nonjudgmental…and the thing about addiction is that it lets you reach a point in your life where you learn what’s really important, material things come and go…but the people in your life are what really matters. I like the raw feeling of connecting to others based on respect, not what you have or where you live.

What’s your favourite part about being a nurse? I like learning, and people always teach me something new everyday. I love that.

Is there any advice or words of wisdom you would give to someone who is considering a career in health working with marginalized populations? Just be yourself…living on the streets makes you learn real quick on spotting who is being real and who is not.