TORONTO – Egale Canada, a trust that works to improve the lives of LGBTQI2S people in Canada, has announced that, following a successful and revealing first national school climate survey, it will be partnering once again with Dr. Catherine Taylor and Dr. Tracey Peter to do a second national inquiry on the state of homophobia, transphobia and biphobia in Canadian schools. This next inquiry will measure what’s working and what needs to be done for LGBTQI2S students in schools across Canada.
“At Egale we recognize a need across Canada for more inclusive schools,” said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director at Egale Canada. “The first report we did is evidence of that need and has lead Egale to create nationwide programs to support safer and accepting school environments.”
Ten years ago, Egale partnered with Dr. Catherine Taylor, Director of the RISE Research program on LGBTQ-inclusive Education at the University of Winnipeg and Dr. Tracey Peter, Professor and Associate Head of Sociology at the University of Manitoba, to undertake the first Canadian survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in our schools.
“We are looking forward to partnering with Egale for the second national inquiry, said Dr. Peter, who will lead the project. “Following up on our original report will help establish any progress we’ve made and identify what still needs to be done to make Canadian schools safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQI2S youth.”
From the survey, Egale produced the report, Every Class in Every School, released in 2012. Among many other statistics, the report showed that 74% of trans students and 55% of sexual minority students in Canada reported being verbally harassed because of their gender expression compared to 26% of non-LGBTQ students. Following the outcomes of this survey, Egale developed a Safer and Accepting Schools program, which is now implemented nationwide to promote safer environments for students through educational workshops and resources. The second national inquiry will be an extension of the work Egale has done to promote more inclusive school environments.
“The need for research like this is imperative,” said Dr. Taylor, who led the original study. “The statistics we found the first time around were appalling and there has been a great deal of work by educators and school officials across the country to improve the situation. We have a responsibility to follow up and ensure that changes are being made.”
