LGBTQ2 Equity through Public Health Policy and Practice

Presenter: Travis Salway is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, where he teaches and conducts research in affiliation with the BCCDC, the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, and the Community-Based Research Centre. Through research, community networking, and public health collaboration, Travis works to describe patterns of unjust and avoidable harms to sexual and gender minority populations (i.e., LGBTQ2 people) and then identify policies and practices that can prevent these harms. Travis holds a Michael Smith Foundation Scholar Award (2019-2024). He has worked at and with the BCCDC in various capacities since 2008. Summary: In 2019, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health undertook a historic four-month study to understand why, despite decades of incremental legal protections and improved social attitudes in Canada, LGBTQ2 people continue to face a substantially higher burden of poor health outcomes than our heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. In this talk, I will attempt to answer this question, presenting two case studies from contemporary research with thousands of LGBTQ2 people living in Canada. The first case study concerns so-called conversion therapy—organized attempts to deny or suppress LGBTQ2 identities—and the recent efforts of the Canadian government to ban these practices. The second concerns the role of public health in connecting LGBTQ2 people to accessible and safe mental health supports. I suggest that we need comprehensive, public health-led or supported strategies that affirm LGBTQ2 lives across the life-course; and, while we are waiting for the long-term benefits of these strategies (i.e., health equity for LGBTQ2 people), we need tailored secondary prevention strategies to address the elevated rates of anxiety, depression, suicide, and substance use that this population experiences.

BC CDC Presenters

2/9/2021 8:00:00 PM