LGBTQ Discrimination in British Columbia Education Systems

Introduction

Definition of LGBTQ

LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender/transsexual, queer or questioning. It is not a term used world wide and is a historically and cultural specific term that is used to identify sexual difference. The use of this term is to label sexual and gender identities and is very recent and has evolved from the gain of homosexuality rights.

Summary of LGBTQ Rights in Canada

There has been many changes across Canada concerning LGBTQ equality rights, in 1978 the majority of provinces and territories included sexual orientation to their Human Rights Codes. Below are dates from the BC Teachers' Federation , concerning Canadian government bills and court decisions affecting federal laws:

Federal

1969: Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau states that "there is no place for the State in the bedrooms of the nation". This lead to Bill C-150 which decriminalized "gross indecency" and "buggery", if it was between two consenting adults over the age of 21.

1977: Changes to the Immigration Act to allow homosexuals to immigrate to Canada, which previously had been

1992: Parliament remove the barring against lesbians, gays and bisexuals serving in the military.

1996: Parliament made changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act, prohibiting the discrimination based on sexual orientation.

1996: Adoption act came into place enabling same-sex couples to be able to apply for adoption for the first time in Canada.

2001: The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was passed. It allowed the law to consider "common-law partners", including same-sex couples as members of the family class. Therefore same-sex partner of an LGBT Canadian can now immigrate to Canada.

Summary of LGBTQ Rights British Columbia

As provided by the BC Teacher's Federation , below are dates associated with LGBTQ rights:

Provincial

1992: BC changes its Human Rights legislation to include sexual orientation as a being prohibited from discrimination, including the workplace, medical benefits and government employees.

1997: BC altered the definition of "spouse" to accord the same custody, support rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples, as those of heterosexual couples in the Family Relations Act and the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act.

1998: BC became the first province to legislate pension benefits for same-sex partners for the public sector employees.

2000: Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act granted lesbians, gays, bisexuals to make medical decision on behalf of a same-sex partner who is incapacitated.

2002: The final decision regarding the case of BC College of Teachers vs. Trinity Western University was released by the Supreme Court of Canada. Previously the BC College of Teachers did not approved the private evangelical school's teacher training program because it required that students sign an anti-homosexual document. The Supreme Court of Canada eventually approved the program, stating that the graduates from the university are allowed to have their "sexist, racist or homophobic beliefs", but could not act on them.

2002: In the case of Chamberlain et al v. Surrey School board, in April 1997 the school board had prohibited the use of three children's books because they had topics concerning same-sex parents. The Supreme Court made various decisions along the years but ultimately resolved in December 2002. The resolution was that the school board had been in the wrong to ban those books because of the use of same-sex content and were encouraged to reconsider their decision.

2007: Azmi Jubran was a victim of anti-gay bullying at the Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver, despite being straight. He filed a complaint against the school that failed to protect him from the bullying, but he was prevented from suing because he wasn't gay. British Columbia's highest court overturned the lower court ruling that claimed that he could not sue the school because he was straight. The BC Court of Appeal stated that Handsworth Secondary School failed to stop the homophobic bullying from other students and Azmi was awarded a $4,500 set by human rights tribunal. It was also ruled that the North Vancouver School Board would pay for all his legal costs.

Discrimination against LGBTQ alumni in British Columbia's Education System

LGBTQ rights has been a constant struggle throughout Canadian history and this is no exception today. Even with the legislations and bills put in place in British Columbia, there is still constant discrimination, specifically for youth.

Trinity Western University has been the subject of controversy and criticism. Several former TWU graduates have come forward to share their experiences of the intolerance and discrimination because of their LGBTQ identities. TWU is a school that claims to be driven to develop "Godly Christian Leaders", and to create an environment of "inspiring hearts and minds" . However, it appears that the exception to this is if the alumni is in a non-heterosexual relationship.

Experience of Ashlee Davison

Ashlee contributed to TWU's first Canadian university championship in women's soccer, but lost her scholarship and was put on "behavioural probation". The reason for this was due to her alleged relationship with another woman. According to the university, she broke the "community covenant agreement" which forbids "sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman" .

When Davison was disciplined for her non-heterosexual relationship, she remembers the emphasis was made on realizing that "the right way to be was with a guy", and not that she broke the schools covenant. She was eventually allowed to continue being a part of her soccer team, but this experience altered how she was viewed.

Davison makes a good point that "if [TWU] is going to claim to be a diverse university, which they have several times in their posting online...then let's work to make the campus more inclusive".

Experience of Megan Jespersen

Megan was in a secret lesbian relationship for three years while at TWU, where she constantly felt shame and fear of being outed. At some point she states that she "hated her heart", and many times she tried to "pray the gay away", because she felt conflicted by her feelings that went against religious upbringing. Megan described the attitude towards homosexuality at TWU as being intolerant; they considered 'Gay' as a verb because it was not a fixed identity but a choice that could be controlled. Lindsay, Bethany.

Response and Progress towards LGBTQ Rights

Many media outlets have covered the following response:

Despite the controversy surrounding TWU, there are still many Christian elementary and high schools that share the same discriminatory beliefs as TWU. Due to the fact that they are a part of the Society of Christian Schools in BC (SCSBC), Canadian legal procedures protect the rights of religious schools to create their own policies.

TWU administration are claiming that they are taking LGBTQ students seriously and are willing to listen . However, their website still upholds the view that a relationship (and any sexual acts) should be between a married man and woman.

As for the BC Education Ministry, Education Minister Mike Bernier announced that by the end of 2016 all public and private schools in British Columbia must include LGBTQ protection policies against bullying.