Trans Community Outreach Survey
This survey was conducted in 2020 by Alex Heigh-Roper. The survey aimed to provide data about the needs of Trans individuals living in Peterborough, asking participants to rank their needs in terms of urgency. The results below are a portion of the data, showing the six most urgent identified needs.
Our survey was filled out by just under fifty Trans people of various identities. Common themes include: access to housing, access to medical care and access to cosmetic services needed to help with their transition. Participants also identified a need for more robust mental health services for Trans people and Trans-led peer support.
One issue that almost all participants identified that they would use, is assistance in navigating the legal name change system. This process is often deemed inaccessible due to financial and legal barriers.
The Centre has created the Gender Affirming Care Grant to help cover the costs of the name change process for those in financial need and will be providing an information session in Fall 2021 to help answer FAQs associated with the name change process. Check our events page for more information regarding this event.
Laser hair removal was identified as a major issue affecting primarily Trans-Feminine respondents. What has been identified is that persistent, highly visible facial and body hair is something that creates a great deal of gender dysphoria and also creates potential safety concerns when accessing women’s spaces or simply existing in public. Trans-feminine individuals face a high level of street harassment and violence due to perceptions of femininity and who “passes” for “female”. This body hair can be hard to manage in a permanent way, as shaving every day can create ingrown hairs and cuts and waxing is not a permanent solution. Laser Hair Removal is the most permanent solution for hair removal, but also the most expensive.
Respondents also identified concerns as to creating Trans-affirming spaces to receive these hair removal services without being misgendered or discriminated against since the majority of these spaces are not explicitly welcoming to Trans-feminine folks.
Our Gender Affirming Care Grant will partially cover some of the costs of laser hair removal for a limited number of applicants. We are currently working on outreach in the community to create explicitly affirming spaces for Trans folks to access these kinds of hair-removal services without fear of transmisogyny and discrimination.
By far the greatest issue identified by the respondents was a lack of safe and affordable housing Peterborough. This issue is known in our community and goes far beyond the Trans community. Peterborough’s lack of affordable housing creates a culture where marginalized people are particularly at risk for discrimination in rental agreements and often find themselves in precarious housing situations.
Respondents all agreed that the best practice would be to have affordable housing created with their needs in mind.
The Centre continues to advocate for better affordable housing in Peterborough and firmly believes that homelessness is a feminist issue. We will continue to work with community groups focused on ending homelessness wherever we can and advocate for better, fairer access to housing in our community.
Survey respondents identified that they felt there are not enough support services offered in our community that are facilitated by and for Trans people. Respondents identified issues with existing support services, citing issues of intersectionality and ideological disconnects between service providers and the needs of clients. Respondents identified feelings of isolation and cited the lack of accessible, affirming mental health services with robust understandings of the needs facing the Trans community. Respondents said they are often unable to afford mental health care privately and that finding service providers locally who are competent on Trans issues is very challenging. Respondents with access to the University’s mental health services cited long wait times and lack of Trans competency training as reasons why they are not accessing these free services.
Respondents agreed that the best practice is to provide peer support spaces where community members can support one another and share their experiences, as this eliminates issues with financial barriers and competency.
Respondents were very clear: a peer support service to discuss the unique challenges and experiences associated with being Trans in Peterborough is highly urgent and necessary for addressing mental health and feelings of isolation. The Centre is currently in the process of creating a robust peer support program which is set to launch in September of 2022. In the meantime, community pods have been created to help community members meet around common interests and goals. This aims to address some of these feelings of isolation mentioned by respondents.
Respondents identified that accessing Trans-competent healthcare in Peterborough is an extremely urgent community need. Respondents cited issues accessing OHIP funded transition support and a lack of knowledge on behalf of Peterborough healthcare providers when it came to the Trans experience.
The Centre is currently working in partnership with The TCSA to create community resources on accessing health care in Peterborough. This project will include information sessions on topics like how to access hormones in Peterborough and what health care services are provided in the community. Beyond this, we are working to provide educational training for health care providers and nursing students in Peterborough from a 2SLGBTQ+ perspective, in the hope that this will improve competency. We are also hoping to host town halls with members of Trent University’s health care team in order to create a dialogue between marginalized students and care providers. More information will be provided on these events on our events page closer to the date.
For Trans-masculine respondents, the issue of chest binding and top-surgery was a primary concern. Respondents identified the need for a binder exchange program that would allow them to access affordable binders. There are often financial barriers to accessing chest binders, which can be between $60-100 on average. These financial barriers can lead to unsafe chest binding practices, such as tenser bandage wrapping, and this has been documented to produce negative health outcomes such as trouble breathing, bruising and even damage to the ribcage. Using binders is often a way to combat gender dysphoria and allow Trans-masculine individuals to “pass” in public spaces, and thus avoid harassment and violence.
The Gender Affirming Care Grant provides funding for Trans folks to purchase their own binders online, as there is no current service provider located in Peterborough who sells binders. The grant will cover the full cost of a binder for applicants in financial need. This program is designed to eliminate the financial barriers identified by respondents.
Our team is in the process of creating a more sustainable binder exchange program set to launch in the upcoming year. Please send us an email at trentcwtp@gmail.com to get involved.
