This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(March 2021) |
Formation | 2005 as Jer's Vision |
---|---|
Legal status | active |
Purpose | Anti-Bullying, Gay rights in Canada |
Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario |
Location | |
Website | CCGSD-CCDGS |
The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) is a charitable organization whose programming works to stop bullying, discrimination and homophobia in schools and communities in Canada, and abroad. Through workshops, presentations, training conferences, and by supporting youth initiatives, they engage youth in celebrating diversity of gender identity, gender expression, and romantic orientation and/or sexual orientation.
The CCGSD, originally known as Jer's Vision, was founded by a six-member board in 2005. [1] Started originally as a scholarship, the organization grew to a range of programs that engage schools in examining the culture of their school and providing them with programming to address challenges around bullying, homophobia, transphobia and discrimination. [2] [3] [4]
In March 2015, Jer's Vision changed its name to the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity.
The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity works with schools to develop and provide programming that engages students, staff and community to understand bullying, discrimination, homophobia and transphobia. This includes presentations, workshops, conferences, training, professional development and efforts that support youth initiatives and clubs. The organization works across Canada, especially in rural communities, and in the Northern United States. [5]
In 2007, youth from Jer's Vision were inspired by David Shepherd and Travis Price to start the International Day of Pink. [6] The initiative supports youth actions to stop bullying in schools and communities. [7] [8] [9] In 2012, over 8 million people participate in the International Day of Pink. [10]
The organization sits on a variety of committees and contributes to work across Canada. They have participated in activism and activities with the Parliament of Canada, the Senate of Canada, Government of Ontario, Ontario Chiefs of Police, and the City of Ottawa. [11] [12] [13]
Starting in 2006, Jer's Vision began recognizing individuals and groups with the Youth Role Model of the Year award. The award recognizes persons who have done exceptional work to stop bullying, discrimination in their communities at their annual gala. Past recipients of the award include Rick Mercer, [14] Jack Layton, [15] Lori Taylor and Brandon Timmerman, [16] Stephen Lewis, [17] Brian Burke, [18] Elder William Commanda, Libby Davies, Hedy Fry, [19] Adamo Ruggiero, [20] Matthew Good, [21] Audrey Wolfe, and Sheila Copps. [22]
On March 24, 2015, the CCGSD launched The Gay Sweater. The campaign, aimed at reclaiming the phrase "that's so gay" by creating an actual gay object - namely a sweater knit from yarn made from 100% human hair donated by the LGBT community - was timed to coincide with Toronto Fashion Week. The Gay Sweater received widespread coverage and the YouTube video had 45,000 views in the first 48 hours. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It includes both violence against LGBT people and LGBT bullying. The term covers violence against and bullying of people who are LGBT, as well as non-LGBT people whom the attacker perceives to be LGBT.
A gay–straight alliance, gender-sexuality alliance (GSA) or queer–straight alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organization, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the United States and Canada. Gay–straight alliance is intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all (LGBTQ+) sometimes being referred to as "alphabet soup", children, teenagers, and youth as well as their cisgender heterosexual allies. In middle schools and high schools, GSAs are overseen by a responsible teacher. The first GSAs were established in the 1980s. Scientific studies show that GSAs have positive academic, health, and social impacts on schoolchildren of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Numerous judicial decisions in United States federal and state court jurisdictions have upheld the establishment of GSAs in schools, and the right to use that name for them.
Xtra Ottawa was a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was launched in 1993. Xtra Ottawa, started as a monthly, and was later published 17 times a year, with a publication schedule of every three weeks. The Ottawa edition had a circulation of 20,000 copies which reached 36,000 readers.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transgender topics.
Egale Canada is an advocacy organization founded in 1986 by Les McAfee to advance equality for Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families, across Canada.
Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. Same-sex sexual activity was made lawful in Canada on June 27, 1969, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 was brought into force upon royal assent. In a landmark decision in 1995, Egan v Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada held that sexual orientation is constitutionally protected under the equality clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 2005, Canada was the fourth country in the world, and the first in the Americas, to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. In 2022, Canada was the third country in the world, and the first in North America, to fully ban conversion therapy nationwide for both minors and adults.
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and may sometimes be related to religious beliefs.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Albania face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, although LGBT people are protected under comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. Both male and female same-gender sexual activities have been legal in Albania since 1995, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-gender couples, with same-sex unions not being recognized in the country in any form.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Laos go unreported and unnoticed. While homosexuality is legal in Laos, it is very difficult to assess the current state of acceptance and violence that LGBT people face because of government interference. Numerous claims have suggested that Laos is one of the most tolerant communist states. Despite such claims, discrimination still exists. Laos provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the rights that opposite-sex married couples enjoy, as neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions are legal.
Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.
Kind Space is an LGBT community centre located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are the oldest registered LGBT-specific charity in Canada, becoming registered in 1984. The organization serves gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, Two-Spirit, non-binary, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, QTBIPoC, of all ages within the National Capital Region. They provide a number of services including support groups, education, research, advocacy and community space.
This article gives a broad overview of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history in Canada. LGBT activity was considered a crime from the colonial period in Canada until 1969, when Bill C-150 was passed into law. However, there is still discrimination despite anti-discrimination law. For a more detailed listing of individual incidents in Canadian LGBT history, see also Timeline of LGBT history in Canada.
Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBT individuals come from lack of education around the LGBT community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.
The International Day of Pink is a worldwide anti-bullying and anti-homophobia event held annually during the second week of April. Though similar to Pink Shirt Day in that it also seeks to end all bullying, the Day of Pink is more specifically aimed towards anti-LGBTQ+ bullying.
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics.
Homophobia in ethnic minority communities is any negative prejudice or form of discrimination in ethnic minority communities worldwide towards people who identify as–or are perceived as being–lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), known as homophobia. This may be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, irrational fear, and is sometimes related to religious beliefs. A 2006 study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK found that while religion can have a positive function in many LGB Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, it can also play a role in supporting homophobia.
Maurice Tomlinson is a Jamaican lawyer, law professor, and gay rights activist currently living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has been a leading gay rights and HIV activist in the Caribbean for over 20 years and is one of the only Jamaican advocates to challenge the country's 1864 British colonially-imposed anti gay Sodomy Law. This law predominantly affects men who have sex with men (MSM) and carries a possible jail sentence of up to ten years imprisonment with hard labour.
Education sector responses to LGBT violence addresses the ways in which education systems work to create safe learning environments for LGBT students. Overall, education sector responses tend to focus on homophobia and violence linked to sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, and less on transphobia. Most responses focus in some way on diverse expressions of gender and support students to understand that gender may be expressed in a different way from binary models. Responses vary greatly in their scope ; duration ; and level of support that they enjoy.
Bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people, particularly LGBT youth, involves intentional actions toward the victim, repeated negative actions by one or more people against another person, and an imbalance of physical or psychological power.