2STNBGN Perspectives on Access to Justice: A Legal Needs Assessment

JusticeTrans' project 2STNBGN Perspectives on Access to Justice is a mixed-method research study.It seeks to understand Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming (2STNBGN) people's access to justice needs across Canada, with a particular focus on the barriers faced by 2STNBGN people within formal legal systems. Research DesignThe research was designed by the JusticeTrans research team in collaboration with 5-8 community consultants consisting of 2STNBGN researchers, organizers, advocates, and artists who reviewed research tools and design, helped focus analysis through reviewing codebooks, and commented on this report, its findings, and its framing of issues. Data CollectionData was collected in two phases.The first phase consisted of a survey that was distributed over social media, and through community-based organizations between September 1, 2021 and November 15, 2021.The survey collected demographic information as well as whether participants had experienced any of 24 categories of legal issues.As part of the survey, participants were asked whether they would be interested in a follow-up interview or focus group.703 survey responses were collected and a total of 11 follow-up focus groups and 17 interviews were conducted, with a total of 61 2STNBGN people between October 21, 2021 and January 15, 2022.The focus groups and interviews asked participants about how they understood and navigated their legal issues, and what a more just, safe, and accessible world could look like. Key FindingsParticipants were asked whether they had experienced a series of legal issues at any point during their lifetime.It was found that over their lifetime, 93% of participants had experienced at least one legal issue, while 54% had experienced 5 or more legal issues in their lifetime.Of the legal issues surveyed, the most common issues were harassment and discrimination, both 2STNBGN specific (73%) as well as discrimination and harassment founded on other bases (56%) such as racism, ableism, classism, etc. Importantly, it was also found that harassment and discrimination were implicated in many other legal issues such as housing, employment, and medical treatment.The 10 most common legal issues are listed below. Executive Summary vThis report identifies significant themes amongst participants' experiences through a series of participant quotes collected as part of the survey, focus groups, and interviews.These experiences shed light on several social and legal issues currently faced by 2STNBGN people across Canada.Through both qualitative survey data, as well as interview and focus group transcripts, JusticeTrans identified several significant barriers faced by 2STNBGN people when attempting to access justice through formal legal systems.There is a significant lack of trust in legal processes, systems, and actors including lawyers, courts, tribunals, and importantly, police forces, including the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).This distrust is founded both on community knowledge of systemic discrimination embedded within these systems, as well as individual experiences that left participants feeling frustrated and powerless.Beyond a distrust of legal and justice systems, processes, and actors, 2STN-BGN participants faced several other barriers attempting to access justice including intersecting forms of systemic discrimination and harassment; the risk of taking legal action; material barriers including a lack of stable housing, employment, or finances; and feelings of exhaustion and powerlessness. vi Conclusion:Participants reported experiencing a high number of legal issues over their lifetime with the most common issue being harassment and discrimination.This issue was also found to impact and often act as the foundation of legal issues in many other categories.Despite experiencing high numbers of legal issues, 2STNBGN participants often felt powerless and dehumanized by the legal system, regularly avoiding legal and judicial processes, systems, and actors out of a sense of distrust, or a lack of the material conditions such as stable housing, employment, or income necessary to access and engage the legal and justice systems.When asked to imagine a more just world, some 2STNBGN participants spoke directly to how they believed existing systems could be improved or reformed through increased education and funding.Reforms that can provide immediate harm reduction for 2STNBGN people include the decriminalization of sex work, removing police from mental health calls, and expanded healthcare coverage.Other participants drew on Black and Indigenous frameworks of abolition and decolonization and joined calls for the full abolition of prisons and police and the decolonization of the legal system.These calls build on the literature that states that while funding, education and reform can act as temporary measures to address acute situations and reduce harm, nothing short of abolition and decolonization will lead to the liberation of all 2STNBGN people (and indeed all people) and address the systemic racism, colonialism, and transphobia upon which the legal and justice systems are built.vii Despite positive legislative developments in Canada concerning Two Spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming (2STNBGN) people -such as the inclusion of gender identity and/or expression in human rights legislation and the ability to change one's name and gender marker on government documents without having to undergo gender affirming surgery -recent data suggest that 2STNBGN people continue to suffer significant injustices.Additionally, a global rise in far-right extremism over the past several years has led to a notable increase in transphobic rhetoric across Canada, mirroring a similar increase in transphobia seen in many other countries, notably the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).This has highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of 2STNBGN communities across Canada, in order to better promote 2STNBGN liberation and justice, and aid in the fight against anti-trans hate. "Right now [participating in research] is my only way to make valid my rights, because I'm not allowed to vote… this is my only way to express myself and share this, and make my opinion valid, at least a little bit."Another participant, a refugee, also shared the political nature of this research, noting the importance of research in creating political power for those who cannot access such power through mainstream methods, like voting.More details about the research process can be found in the Methodology section.This project was conducted by the research team at Justice-Trans, a trans-for-trans, national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to increase access to justice for people who do not identify with the sex or gender they were assigned at birth.This project was also conducted in collaboration with several community members and community organizations, who significantly improved the project.Details of the project team can be found on page i.

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