(TransPulseCanada.ca screenshot)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

learning about the trans community

National survey seeks new data on transgender demographics

Aug 5, 2019 | 8:30 AM

Ahead of the 2019 edition of Central Alberta Pride Week, the Trans and Non-binary Aid Society (TANAS) is hopeful a new national survey will help educate society about the lives of transgender people.

The project is called the Trans & Non-binary People Count and is being facilitated by Trans Pulse Canada. Other partners include the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Western University, and St. Michael’s Hospital.

In a Facebook post, Trans Pulse Canada states that the survey will help gather data on, “groups within trans and non-binary communities for which we either have very little information or have specific policy-related information needs.”

TANAS President Bobbi-Jo L’Hirondelle says the survey is worth taking.

“It’s beneficial to have these numbers because then we can have something to look at and show people the stats on what’s actually happening in the trans community. It also opens that window to see the sheer number of individuals who identify as trans or non-binary without having to out themselves,” she says.

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“It’s definitely good that these organizations are taking an interest and putting surveys like this together. I’m sure it took a lot of work and dedication to put a survey this large together, and from a trans person’s perspective, it’s great that they put their time and effort in to see where our community stands.”

L’Hirondelle warns the survey may not address the transgender spectrum entirely, but encourages those interested not to write it off. Respondents can choose a longer version which takes 70 minutes, or a shorter 10 minute questionnaire.

In 2013 and 2014, universities and researchers collaborated on the first of its kind Canadian Trans Youth Health Survey, which garnered 923 respondents.

Key findings included figures such as two-thirds of trans youth reporting self-harm within the past year, with more than one-third attempting suicide.

It also found that seventy per cent of participants reported sexual harassment, while two-thirds reported discrimination because of their gender identity. Results for Alberta showed more than one in three participants had been physically threatened or injured in the past year.

One in three youth across Canada who took the 2014 survey stated they did not have an adult in their family they could talk to about problems.

More information on the Trans Pulse Canada survey being conducted now for those aged 14 and older is at TransPulseCanada.ca.