assisting lgbtq clients powerpoint

April 2018

@VanAlias

Adrienne.smith@mac.com

Solidarity Includes Everyone

Overview

• Trans 101 (Who are trans people? Common terms and words not to say)

• Types of challenges, legal and otherwise, that trans people face

• The law

• Safer-space strategies like using appropriate pronouns, and increasing safety and inclusion for trans people.

Trans 101

Important Terms

• Sex and gender

• The gender binary

• Transgender

• Transexual

• Cross-dresser

• Intersex

• Non-binary

• Gender-non-conforming, gender creative

• Two-spirit

• cisgender

Terms

• Biological sex

• Assigned sex

• Sexual orientation

• Gender identity

• Gender expression

• MTF Transition

• FTM Transition

• Gender Affirming medical care

• Transphobia

Offensive terms

Transition

• Surgical

• Medical

• Social

• Best practice: self-identification

• No requirement for medical

intervention of certificate

Famous transwomen:

Famous transmen

Famous non-binary people

Dawson v. Vancouver Police Board (No. 2), 2015 BCHRT 54

Barriers

Legal Barriers

• Discrimination and Harassment in:

• Housing,

• Education,

• Health care,

• Employment,

• Daily life.

Trans people and the law

Basic Protection

• The Canadian Charter or Rights and Freedoms (s 15, s

7)

• Human Rights Act (Canada) (“sex” “disability” “gender

identity and gender expression)

• BC Human Rights Code (“sex” “disability” “gender

identity and gender expression)

• The Criminal Code

• Workers Compensation regulations (bullying,

harassment)

• Collective Agreements

• Local trans inclusion policies

Charter 7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security

of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof

except in accordance with the principles of

fundamental justice.

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the

law and has the right to the equal protection and

equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in

particular, without discrimination based on race,

national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or

mental or physical disability.

Charter Exceptions

Affirmative action programs

15(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Federal Human Rights Act

Prohibited grounds of discrimination

3 (1) For all purposes of this Act, the prohibited

grounds of discrimnation are race, national or

ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual

orientation, gender identity or expression, marital

status, family status, disability and conviction for an

offence for which a pardon has been granted or in

respect of which a record suspension has been

ordered.

Federal exemptions Special programs

16 (1) It is not a discriminatory practice for a person

to adopt or carry out a special program, plan or

arrangement designed to prevent disadvantages that

are likely to be suffered by, or to eliminate or reduce

disadvantages that are suffered by, any group of

individuals when those disadvantages would be

based on or related to the prohibited grounds of

discrimination, by improving opportunities respecting

goods, services, facilities, accommodation or

employment in relation to that group.

Federal exemptions

Universality of service for Canadian

Forces

15 (9) Subsection (2) is subject to the

principle of universality of service under

which members of the Canadian Forces

must at all times and under any

circumstances perform any functions that

they may be required to perform.

BC Human Rights Code Freedom from discrimination in accommodation, service

and facility; purchase of property, tenancy, employment,

wages, or by unions

“because of the race, colour, ancestry, place of origin,

political belief, religion, marital status, family status,

physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation,

gender identity or expression, or age of that person or

because that person has been convicted of a criminal or

summary conviction offence that is unrelated to the

employment or to the intended employment of that

person.”

Provincial Exemptions

Exemptions

41 (1) If a charitable, philanthropic, educational, fraternal,

religious or social organization or corporation that is not operated

for profit has as a primary purpose the promotion of the interests

and welfare of an identifiable group or class of persons

characterized by a physical or mental disability or by a common

race, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or

expression, marital status, political belief, colour, ancestry or

place of origin, that organization or corporation must not be

considered to be contravening this Code because it is granting a

preference to members of the identifiable group or class of

persons.

Provincial Exemptions Special programs 42 (1) It is not discrimination or a contravention of this Code to plan, advertise, adopt or implement an employment equity program that: (a) has as its objective the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups who are disadvantaged because of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, and (b) achieves or is reasonably likely to achieve that objective.

Not Exemptions

X Other employees’ discomfort

X Customers’ or clients’ discomfort

Workers Compensation

• Bullying and harassment language

• Psychological or physical injury claim

Local policies

• Vancouver Park Board

• Vancouver School Board

• City of Vancouver

Collective Agreement Language

• Right to a harassment-free workplace

• Benefit plan and leave provisions

Explicit protection

Explicit protection

BC Human Rights Code (Bill-27)

Human Rights Act (Canada) – (Bill C 16)

Criminal Code (Bill C-16)

Workers Compensation

Collective Agreements

Local policies

This is an issue for us:

• Solidarity includes EVERYONE!

How can we help?

Trans inclusion to do list

• Appropriate pronouns

• Accessible offices and activities

• Better collective agreement language

• Privacy and respect

Be an ally

Trans people are disproportionately victims of violence and social ostracism. Be a good human.

• Use your privilege for good!- stand up for us, call people on their remarks and jokes

• work in your practice to make room for all genders, in space and in language.

• Include trans people in crafting policies that affect them

• Respect Privacy and safety! Someone’s trans status is not your news to tell.

• Educate yourself. • See trans people as people rather than

objects or oddities. It is not a trans person’s job to explain themselves to you.

• Accept trans people for who they say

they are, including their name and pronoun-and if you don’t know, ask!

Be an ally

Be an ally

• Remember that transgender women are women and transgender men are men

• Remember some people prefer to exist

somewhere in between or outside of the gender binary.

• Don’t assume anything- gender, pronoun,

orientation, bathroom preference, surgical plans, legal matter, etc.

Be an ally

• Use appropriate language

• “born a boy” or “born a girl,” assigned male or female at birth.

• Don’t use offensive terms or prefixes such as “real” or “bio-“ when describing someone who is not trans (it’s best to use “cis-”). Although trans people may use these terms in self- reference, cisgender people should avoid this language.

• If you don’t know, ASK!

Recognize Barriers

• Don’t require legal name changes before you will use a person’s name

• Don’t ask about sex or gender on forms • Don’t charge an unnecessary user fee,

announce people’s names, or require a key or ID for access to basic services.

• Pay an honorarium!

Change policies to make:

• Spaces more accessible

• Signage more inclusive

• Gender neutral language standard

• Change gender-segregated spaces

(bathrooms, change rooms) into all gender

spaces

Other inclusion efforts

• Describing union activities without gendering them

• Include trans women explicitly in women activist

committees and events, and elect them to womens’

officer positions

• Don’t assume any member’s gender

• Hold Trans Day of Remembrance events

• Support legislative change to protect trans workers

• Hold employers accountable for including trans

workers and bargain more inclusive collective

agreements

Mourn

Organize

Group exercise

• Asking pronouns

Group exercise

• Apologizing for misgendering someone

Adrienne Smith @VanAlias:

Why am I late? Because our seat of

government doesn't have a nongendered

bathroom for me

9:23 AM - 25 Jul 2016

Bad

Better

Best

Result?

Scenario- supporting a member

You are a shop steward. A member approaches you for help:

"Michael" would like her boss to call her Melanie, and she would like to change in the womens’ change room. How would you help Melanie?

Scenario - Landlord problems

• You are a community advocate. Your first client of the day is Argenta.

• Argenta rented an apartment midway through her transition, but now she is dressing as herself, most of the time. Her landlord keeps cashing her cheques, which are printed with her old name on them.

• Yesterday, the landlord saw her coming home wearing a dress. He comes by at supper time and asks her to move out because she is "not normal". Is this ok? What would you do?

Scenario – health clinic

• Joey thinks he might be pregnant. He

needs an STI test and to talk to someone

about his options regarding the pregnancy.

There is a Planned Parenthood clinic in his

neighbourhood but he doesn't know if he

can go there. How would you help Joey?

Scenario- the local election

• Your union has a womens’ representative,

and elections are happening at your next

meeting. Pavan, a member who has

served as treasurer for the last two years

ask you if you will nominate them for the

position. You think they would do a great

job, but you are not sure whether they

count as a woman. What do you do?

Resources • Google

• Transgender Law Centre: peeing in peace http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/public-accomodations/peeing-in-peace

• Dean Spade: Normal Life. New York: South End Press, 2011.

• BC Law Institute: Gender Free Legal Writing http://www.bcli.org/sites/default/files/GenderFree.pdf

• Transgender health information program http://transhealth.phsa.ca/

• Trans Rights BC http://www.transrightsbc.ca/

• Canadian Labour Congress- Workers in transition guidebookhttp://canadianlabour.ca/sites/default/files/media/Wor

kersInTransitionGuide-2011-04-EN.pdf

Notable cases

• Charter:

• CF .v Alberta, 2014 ABQB 237

• XY .v Ontario (Minister of Government and Consumer Services), [2012] OHRTD No 715, 2012 HRTO 726

• Human Rights Code

• Vancouver Rape Relief v. BC Human Rights2000 BCSC 889 (CanLII)

• Kavanagh v. Canada (Attorney General), [2001] CHRD No. 21 at para 135 (sex and disability);

• Sheridan v. Sanctuary Investments Ltd. (B.J.’s Lounge), [1999] BCHRTD No. 43 a para 97 and 110 (sex and disability)).

• Cunningham c CB (sex)

@VanAlias

Adrienne.smith@mac.com