Compile a portrait of the realities of the LGBTQ+ community of Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine and promote their social inclusion and their well-being.
Partner: Association LGBT+ Baie-des-Chaleurs
Area of intervention: Community vitality and well-being
Service: Applied research
Year: 2014
Researcher: Laurence Lépine
The project was split into two main stages. The first involved meeting with several community interveners in contact with people from the LGBTQ+ community in order to learn about their realities and the issues they see in their practice. The second was to develop a questionnaire to understand how LGBTQ+ people in the region feel about different aspects of their lives, with the aim of compiling a portrait of the realities experienced by this community.
The objectives were to:
- Raise public awareness of the issues experienced by people in the LGBTQ+ community
- Know the needs and challenges of first-line interveners consulted by LGBTQ+ people or their loved ones
- Make accessible the results of the study in order to promote, through better knowledge, acceptance and social inclusion
- Collaborate, with other community interveners working with the LGBTQ+ community and with the UQAM Chair on homophobia, in the creation of action plans and the development of popularized tools based on the results of the surveys
- Have a better knowledge of the differences between LGBTQ+ men and women in the region as well as between the French-speaking and English-speaking communities
One of the most striking aspects of this study is the very high level of solitude reported by LGBTQ+ people. Social isolation is linked to a lack of opportunities to meet in the territory’s public spaces and to the difficulty of meeting a romantic or sexual partner. In addition, there is reason for concern over the mental health situation of LGBTQ+ women and young people in Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine as their self-reported mental health is significantly lower than the average of the population.
