August 2023, Community, News, Opinion

Op-ed: The bully, the bullied, and the bystander

"Trans rights are human rights T-shirt in the 2022 Capital Pride parade. (Stephen Thirlwall/The BUZZ)
“Trans rights are human rights T-shirt in the 2022 Capital Pride parade. (Stephen Thirlwall/The BUZZ)

Deborah Cumming (Board Member)
Michelle Hurtubise (Executive Director)
Centretown Community Health Centre

The Centretown CHC is appalled about the ongoing attacks and violence against members of our community. Individuals who are trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse are disproportionately targeted with verbal and physical threats and online harassment merely for asserting their human rights.

We have continued to see increasing transphobic reactions over simple things like drag queen story time at public libraries. These reactions are significantly affecting access to basic health care.

This is unacceptable. We believe that we all have a role to play in stopping it.

What can you do?

Patterns of violence and bullying always involve bullies, people who are bullied, and bystanders. Some of us may have experienced bullying and various forms of violence at different times in our life, at school or at work. Despite the feeling of helplessness we may all feel from time to time, we all have role to play in fostering a safe and healthy community for everyone.

What can you do as a member of our community to help create a safer community? Work with us to become better allies to trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people as well as all the 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual plus) community.

Here are some simple things you can do in your daily life to be a better ally:

  • Share your pronouns when you introduce yourself – “Hi, I’m Jane and my pronouns are she/her;”
  • When a person shares their pronouns, use them. If they don’t share their pronouns, don’t assume that you know them;
  • Report vandalized property and submit incident reports to the organization, businesses that are impacted;
  • Remove community posters that have been defaced with anti-trans/2SLGBTQIA+ messages, and let the owners of the posters know that they have been defaced and removed so that they can chose to replace them;
  • Be mindful when retweeting in social media and ensure you’re not “retweeting the trolls.” If you want to call attention to a negative tweet, screenshot it and link the image to your tweet rather than boosting the tweet by retweeting it. When addressing a “troll,” don’t tag the person being targeted by the hate – it only fuels more negative engagement on their twitter feed;
  • Ensure you are undertaking your own education on the issues facing 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. If you are a member of an organization, ensure education is taking place within your own organization. Some resources are shared below.
  • Encourage your community groups and boards to increase representation from members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities (but first ensure you undertake education to ensure a safe and welcoming space);
  • Show up for community events such as supportive counter-protests for drag queen story time, and when transphobic protesters target school boards and their inclusive policies.

These are the most basic first steps that anybody can take to start showing solidarity with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

As a community health centre, CCHC provides a wide range of health and social supports for individuals in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. As part of this work, we believe it is important for us to support and advocate with clients, community members and our community partners.

We will not be silent on violence against the trans community and we will speak out in support on social media and other platforms against this abuse. Please join us in these efforts.

Resources