Trans Awareness Week is a time to celebrate trans, nonbinary, Two Spirit, and genderfluid people, as well as many others who identify as part of trans communities. It’s also a time to raise awareness of discrimination, violence, and adversity that continues to impact trans people.
While we’ve come a long way in recent years when it comes to inclusion, we still have much work left to do if we want to ensure the safety, happiness and inclusion of 2SLGBTQI students, in Canada’s education system. Our recent report, Still in Every Class, revealed harassment, bullying, and exclusion are still rampant for 2SLGBTQI students in Canadian secondary school, even more so for those who are trans.
79% of trans students who have been victims of harassment reported that teachers and staff were ineffective in addressing transphobic harassment.
Trans Awareness Week comes to a close each year with Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20th, a date observed to honour those who have paved the way and to remember the trans individuals who had their lives taken from them due to anti-trans violence. Together, we can take steps to ensure that the lives, dignity and human rights of trans people are valued, protected and uplifted in our society.