Trans inclusion
Sharon Doty and Chloe Seguin at the Moving Trans History Forward conference 2018.
Dr. Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, at the Moving Trans History Forward conference 2018.
Morgane Oger at the Moving Trans History Forward conference 2018.
UVic is committed to providing a safe and inclusive living, working and learning environment for all people in our community. This commitment reflects our values of equity, diversity and inclusion. It also reflects our responsibilities under federal and provincial legislation. We are working to create a welcoming environment for people of all gender identities and expressions.
Gender identity and expression are protected aspects of identity under the Canadian Human Rights Act and BC’s Human Rights Code (see Bill 27). These laws provide protection from discrimination and harassment because of gender identity and gender expression in employment, housing, facilities and services, and other arenas. Each member of the campus community also has responsibilities and protections under UVic policies.
Here we pull together information on gender diversity inclusion at UVic. We designed it for multiple audiences: transgender, Two-Spirit, non-binary, and all other gender diverse people, and for everyone on campus to learn how to make UVic safe, accessible, and inclusive for people of all gender identities and expressions. We hope that all members of the UVic community become familiar with these resources. We encourage you to use them to remove barriers to access within your work, learning, living or social environments.
We recognize that there is a wide range of identities and of terminology used to describe gender. Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible. We respect individuals’ rights to self-determination and self-description. We use the terms “trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary people.” Please reach out to us if you have other terms to suggest.
UVic’s work in this area is ongoing and continues to evolve. We recognize that UVic has not always been supportive of trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary members of the campus community and that some members of the community have experienced harm on campus. This page represents some of the learning from those experiences. We also recognize and appreciate the advocacy and support work that have been done and continue to be done by students, faculty and staff. We hope that this resource site reflects some of the work and experiences of the past, both positive and harmful. We hope that you will use this information in your areas so that our university can avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
We have consulted with a wide number of groups and individuals in drafting these resources, and this work is not complete. We always welcome your feedback, resource suggestions, and other ideas for this page. UVic continues to consider ways that it can harmonize efforts between the different offices, units and advocacy groups on campus to create a truly and meaningfully inclusive campus for Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Indigenous students.