Quebecers among the top in confidence levels
LGBT Quebecers are among the most comfortable with their sexual orientation and gender identity, according to a new Canada-wide survey unveiled in Montreal on Wednesday.
Quebec respondents were also those who reported the least discrimination against them, especially in the workplace, the survey found. Mandated by the Fondation Jasmin Roy, an anti-bullying and discrimination group, the CROP polling firm survey was answered by 2,697 people online between January and June this year. Of the respondents, 1,897 identified as LGBT.
“The feeling of belonging to the LGBT movement is slightly higher in Quebec than in other Canadian provinces,” a 300-page report based on the survey says, adding that the greatest proportion of LGBT respondents who “live very well” with their sexual orientation and identity was found in Quebec.
The report found 13 per cent of the Canadian population belongs to the LGBT community, nearly 10 per cent higher than figures on sexual orientation compiled by Statistics Canada in 2015. CROP president Alain Giguère couldn’t explain the difference, but said the results reveal a fundamental change in Canadian society.
“Younger respondents are saying it’s easier for them to express their sexual or gender identities,” Giguère said. “More and more people now live according to how they feel they should and not according to how society expects them to.”
But there’s still progress to be made, the survey found. More than half of the respondents said they haven’t come out yet to their work colleagues and 75 per cent of LGBT individuals said they’ve experienced “bullying, threats or hurtful or derogatory comments.”
Asked which resources were missing most in Quebec, the majority of respondents said support organizations and networks in schools and neighbourhoods.
The most common types of discrimination found in Quebec were “insults, slurs and verbal attacks.” Most of those incidents occurred in the workplace, but they also happened in places like bars, public washrooms and on public transportation. Jasmin Roy, the foundation’s creator, said he’s mostly worried by the 45 per cent of younger respondents who said they’re still afraid to express their sexual orientations or gender identities at school, fearing discrimination or intimidation.
In a statement, he said he hopes the results will help “organizations and governmental bodies implement action plans to better meet the needs of young people in this community and foster settings that are most positive.”
Attending Wednesday’s event, Liberal MP Marc Miller called the survey an important tool to guide policy making in the future.
“It’s a clear indicator that there’s still work to do,” Miller said.