This summer, CBRC’s Our Bodies, Our Health survey will be hitting the road to collect data at Pride events and other Two-Spirit, queer, and trans community spaces across the country. To provide greater accessibility, the survey is also available to complete online!
Our Bodies, Our Health explores different aspects of our communities’ sexual and reproductive health, such as gender-affirming care, sexual behaviour & health, sex & pleasure, family planning, abortion, cancer prevention, and sexual violence. With this community survey, we aim to better understand 2S/LGBTQIA+ community priorities for sexual and reproductive health care across Canada. The results of this survey will help us to work towards addressing barriers and gaps in sexual and reproductive health. We know that accessing sexual and reproductive health care can be challenging for many of us, particularly for 2S/LGBTQIA+ people who are Indigenous, Black, and People Of Colour (IBPOC); immigrants, newcomers, refugees, and people with precarious immigration status; disabled folks and people living with a disability; youths; sex workers; rural and remote people; people who are on the asexual spectrum; and trans, non-binary, and other gender expansive people. Barriers to accessing safe and appropriate care have also increased due to recent policies in some provinces.
The survey is being done in close collaboration with Investigaytors and Knowledge 2eekerS, which are community-based research capacity-building programs. These programs run across the country with partners in Vancouver (Health Initiative for Men), Edmonton (Queer and Trans Health Collective), Winnipeg (Village Lab, University of Manitoba, Rusty Souleymanov), Toronto (CRUISELab, University of Toronto, David Brennan), Montreal (Qollab, Université de Montréal, Olivier Ferlatte), and Halifax (SHaG Lab, Dalhousie University, Matthew Numer). Investigaytors and Knowledge 2eekerS participants have been involved with the development of the survey, such as identifying community priorities in sexual and reproductive health data. They will play a key role throughout in-person data collection this summer. Once data are collected, our research team as well as the Investigaytors and Knowledge 2eekerS participants will analyze the data to better understand sexual and reproductive health gaps and needs among 2S/LGBTQIA+ people.
There are major gaps in knowledge about sexual and reproductive health because of a lack of 2S/LGBTQIA+ representation in research and public health data. We need strong evidence of the current challenges 2S/LGBTQIA+ people face in terms of getting the care they need tailored to their experiences, bodies, sexual practices, and reproductive desires. The answers you provide will be confidential, and the overall survey results will be widely used by community, public health, research, and policy stakeholders to make change.
How does participating in Our Bodies, Our Health help 2S/LGBTQIA+ people in our community?
We use data that 2S/LGBTQIA+ folks share to advocate for program, policy, and service changes that strive to make things better for our communities. The answers you provide go a long way in working to improve the sexual and reproductive health and wellness of our communities. For example, after data analysis, we will develop different kinds of publicly available outputs, such as reports. This research will support community-driven, evidence-based advocacy and policy change efforts.
We still have much more work to do! By taking part in Our Bodies, Our Health, you will add your voice to the thousands of others who are also advocating for the health and wellbeing of our communities. Survey participants can receive a small honorarium for completing the survey.
We can’t wait to see you online or on the road! Our tour schedule is below. Please note that Pride dates are subject to change, so be sure to check the Pride organization’s event pages directly to confirm dates.
- Winnipeg Pride - May 31 - June 1
- 2-Spirit Pow Wow (Toronto) - June 7
- Nanaimo Pride - June 8
- Brandon Pride - June 14
- Saskatoon Pride - June 22
- Lethbridge Pride - June 28
- Beausejour - June 29
- Toronto Pride - June 27-29
- Victoria Pride - July 6
- Prince George Pride - July 12
- St. John’s Pride - July 19-20
- Pride PEI - July 26
- Lac du Bonnet Pride Out Loud - July 27
- Whitehorse Pride Festival - August 1-3 (pending)
- Vancouver Pride - August 2-3
- Fierté Montréal - August 8-9
- Yellowknife Pride - August 9-10 (pending)
- Edmonton Pride - August 22-24
- Capital Pride (Ottawa) - August 23-24
- Fête Arc-en-ciel de Québec (Quebec City) - August 30
- Calgary Pride - August 31 - September 1 (pending)
- Sherbrooke Pride - September 8-13 (pending)
