As the rallies and counter-rallies take place across the country today, the Child Trauma Research Centre strongly encourages a reconsideration of the “Use of Preferred First Name and Pronouns by Students” policy. The Saskatchewan Advocate For Children and Youth recently released their comprehensive evaluation entitled Review of Ministry of Education Policy – Use of Preferred First Name and Pronouns for Students, which has identified multiple potential infringements on the fundamental rights of children. Local, national, and international experts and researchers offer much to consider in relation to the real and unintentional harms experienced by 2SLGBTQIA+ children and youth, and can provide the research and evidence-based tools supporting a primary focus on safeguarding children at all times. We encourage active engagement with this evidence-based literature and lived expertise as a means of emboldening our commitments to supporting children and youth.
Below we have gathered a list of resources and references on the subject to support you in your learning journey.
The Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth Review of Ministry of Education Policy – Use of Preferred First Name and Pronouns for Students.
Egale is a Canadian-based advocacy group that works to advance the rights of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. They have resources covering a wide variety of areas, such as Back To School, and Adults Supporting 2SLGBTQI Youth.
It Gets Better Canada is an organisation that focuses on uplifting 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, and fighting for the advancement of the rights of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
The Centre For Suicide Prevention has created an infographic about the disproportionate rates at which transgender youth are affected by suicide.
A report from Statistics Canada on the rates of bullying among sexually and gender-diverse youth in Canada.
Veale, J. F., Peter, T., Travers, R., & Saewyc, E. M. (2017). Enacted stigma, mental health, and protective factors among transgender youth in Canada. Transgender Health, 2(1), 207-216. http://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2017.0031
Rutherford, L., Stark, A., Ablona, A., Klassen, B.J., Higgins, R., Jacobsen, H., et al. (2021) Health and well-being of trans and non-binary participants in a community- based survey of gay, bisexual, and queer men, and non-binary and Two-Spirit people across Canada. PLoS ONE, 16(2), e0246525. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246525
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