Many of the Black seniors and elders of colour in our community have faced double discrimination. Both racial oppression and homophobia/transphobia have impacted many lives. Prior to 1969, it was against the law for people to engage in same-sex sexual behavior. Those that spent their formative years under this oppression faced threats to their livelihood, fear of being ‘outed’ and physical attack just for expressing their love for someone of the same sex. 

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual minority people are nearly 3 x’s more likely to report physical or sexual abuse than heterosexual Canadian’s’ according to (Stats Canada, 2018). Statistics that focus on the impact of discrimination towards black members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ are hard to find. What we do know is that racism in Canada is a problem. Stats Canada reported that 41% of Black people - report being discriminated against based on their skin color, in 2019. Black people are 6 x’s more likely to be accused of committing homicide based on justice.gc.ca findings. 

As we learn about Black History in February we hope that sharing these dismal statistics will advocate for much needed change. Human Rights laws have been in place since 1985 where Section 15 has been adapted and changed to protect people from discrimination against colour, sexual orientation, religion, ability etc., yet the discrimination experienced by our Black seniors and elders of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is real and painful.

If you are a Black senior and or elder of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, we want you to know that we are here to advocate for fair and equal treatment and protection of your rights. We collaborate with senior’s service providers and provide training to service providers, students, and members of the public. We partner on, promote and support research on the needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors and best practices on how to meet their needs.

If you are a community member, student, or service provider and want to provide services that meet the needs of Black seniors and elders in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, we offer training year round, about providing culturally appropriate non-discriminatory services to all seniors and elders of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. 

Sources

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/rights-lgbti-persons.html

https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/201383E#:~:text=Although%20the%20Charter%20became%20law,the%20Charter%20's%20equality%20provisions

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200909/dq200909a-eng.htm

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00002-eng.htm

https://epgn.com/2020/02/06/what-our-lgbtq-black-seniors-are-facing-today/

https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/obpccjs-spnsjpc/index.html#:~:text=In%202021%2C%2020%25%20of%20people,1.43%3B%20see%20Figure%201)