“We just want to be treated equally”
While members of the transgender community support new federal rights bill, more work still needs to be done
Miranda Schritt, who came out as transgender in 2012, says she is happy to see federal action on guaranteeing equal rights for those who are transgender. She adds, however, that there is still a lot of work to be done both in Canada and abroad to guarantee equal rights.
By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express
The recent introduction of federal legislation to guarantee legal and human rights to transgender people is a step in the right direction – but there is still a long way to go.
Miranda Schritt, with PFLAG Durham – an organization that provides education and support on sexual orientation and gender identity – says the bill is sorely needed in Canada.
“There’s only one other province (aside from Ontario) that has protections (for transgendered people), but any federally run institution inside of Ontario isn’t covered. So there is still transgendered people being discriminated against,” Schritt tells The Oshawa Express, referring to Ontario’s 2012 amendment to the province’s human rights code.
“For example, a transgender woman going to a woman’s shelter that is federally funded, they can be turned away. And that happens in many different provinces, where it can be difficult for people who are gender fluid…to get employment or seek shelter or aid.”
British Columbia is the only other province in Canada that specifically bans discrimination against transgender people.
Under the proposed legislation, Bill C16 would extend those rights to all under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
These changes are especially important to Schritt who is herself trans.
First coming out in 2012, Schritt says she knew that she was trans since she was a child but had tried to hide it. While she has been “one of the lucky ones” in the past three and a half years, she says she is no stranger to discrimination.
“Most of my experiences have been good, although I have had rude and derogatory statements yelled at me. I’ve almost been followed into the bathroom once or twice by a group of guys, but someone else intervened. I was lucky there. I know others have been assaulted or thrown out for using the washroom they identify with when they’re presenting that way,” she says.
“All in all, though, Durham Region has been good. I live in downtown Oshawa and, for the most part on a day-to-day basis, I don’t have any problems, but that’s not the same for everyone.”
While the struggle for equal rights for trans people has taken a step forward in Canada, Schritt says other parts of the world are taking steps backwards.
Earlier this year, North Carolina passed the Public Facilities and Privacy Act, which stripped anti-discrimination protections for those in the LGBTQ+ community and, most notably, said people can only use the washroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate. In other words, a trans woman such as Schritt would be forced to use the men’s washroom.
“There’s some people that really want to make it look like trans people are going into washrooms to spy on women,” Schritt says of the argument used by some proponents of the law, who say that men, including sexual predators, might say they are trans just so they can go into the women’s washroom.
“I just don’t understand what the rationale is. We just want to go pee like everyone else. Everyone’s got to pee and everyone’s got to poop. Just like the book says.”
The bill has come under heavy criticism since it was signed into law in March by Governor Pat McCrory, with the Justice Department filing a lawsuit, saying the law is in violation of several federal laws, including Civil Rights Act and the Violence Against Women Act. Several institutions, including the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team, Charlotte Hornets basketball team and the University of North Carolina have said they will not enforce the new bill. As well, several musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Maroon 5, have cancelled performances in the state in response.
With the totally different views of trans rights between Canada and other parts of the world, Schritt says that all people in the trans community want is to be treated the same as anyone else.
“No one chooses to be trans. The only choice is whether they accept themselves and try to live their life fully, or stay in the closet,” she says.
“Ultimately, we just want to be treated equally, just like any other person. Nothing special, we just want to be treated like everyone else, and shouldn’t have to live in fear every day.”