The Representative for Children and Youth Jennifer Charlesworth has released their report The Right to Thrive: An Urgent Call to Recognize, Respect and Nurture Two Spirit, Trans, Non-Binary and other Gender Diverse Children and Youth. In Representative Charlesworth’s own words, “Let’s be clear: young people have the right to be who they are and to thrive…The hate speech and anti-trans legislative efforts we have seen recently in Canada and the United States is alarming and is causing great harm. As you will read in the report, the negative impacts of this on 2STNBGD children and youth are enormous, and they are paying the price in increased critical injuries and suicidality. I’m calling on the government and ministries to work together and make this a priority.”

SARAVYC is proud to have contributed to the findings and recommendations in The Right to Thrive. The Representative for Children and Youth commissioned research from the Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre to understand how stigma, trauma, violence, and discrimination impact the lives of gender diverse children and youth in care and/or accessing government support. As part of this research, we at SARAVYC conducted two literature reviews, a series of analyses using data from the 2019 Canadian Trans Youth Health Survey (CTYHS) and the 2018 BC Adolescent Health Survey (BCAHS), and interviewed gender diver young people with experiences in care or government services. The results of these research projects are included in The Right to Thrive. You can also find them on our website in our section of the report titled Trans, Nonbinary and Two Spirit Young People’s Experiences of Government Care and Health Services in BC.

Critically, The Right to Thrive outlines multiple urgent steps needed to ensure the safety and well-being of gender diverse youth in British Columbia. You can also find the recommendations SARAVYC compiled through our research in our section of the report. 

Thank you to our tremendous researchers, our Two Spirit Indigenous Advisory, and, most importantly, the youth who participated in this study. 

Read the Representative for Children & Youth’s report here.

Download our section of RCY’s report, Trans, Nonbinary and Two Spirit Young People’s Experiences of Government Care and Health Services in BC.

To learn more about the results of the 2018 BC Adolescent health survey, you can read our reports Not Yet Equal: The Sequel and Gender-Diverse: A Spotlight on the Health of Trans and Non-Binary Young People in B.C.

To read more about the 2019 Canadian Trans Youth Health Survey and provincial results, you can read Being Safe, Being Me and check out our 2019 CTYHS resources page for regional fact sheets for your province.