Project 445908

Over the course of recent decades, Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial governments have enacted laws to protect the rights and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2) people. We do not yet understand how these laws have resulted in improvements in the health of LGBTQ2 people. Therefore, we will compile information about laws and policies that have been put in place. These laws and policies will be counted in a score, calculated for each province/territory, by year, from 1975 to 2020. We will apply that score to health data collected by Statistics Canada, in order to see whether some laws or policies are associated with improvements in health for LGBTQ2 people or sub-groups of LGBTQ2 people (e.g., women, racial minorities. youth). We will interview 75 LGBTQ2 people from across Canada, including people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and ages, and ask these individuals about the laws that have been enacted or proposed to protect LGBTQ2 people. The results from this sequence of studies will be compiled into policy briefs that can be used by our elected leaders and infographics and reports that can be used by LGBTQ2 community organizations, healthcare providers, and the public.