Fae Johnstone says 鈥渘othing ever could have prepared鈥� her for the barrage of online harassment she endured after being featured in an International Women鈥檚 Day campaign for Hershey Canada.
The 27-year-old transgender activist was one of five women featured on limited-edition chocolate bars in March.
She said that within 72 hours of the campaign鈥檚 launch she became the subject of mass online hate that included death threats, encouragement of suicide and self-harm.Her personal information was released online.
Hershey hired private security guards to stand watch outside her home for seven days, she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 had a horrifying impact on my mental health,鈥� Johnstone said in an interview.
鈥淚t鈥檚 staggering to realize that my simple existence as a trans woman in public spaces, and with somewhat of a platform in the eyes of Canadian public and in the media, triggers an ongoing onslaught of hateful comments and rhetoric that (creates) ongoing concerns about my everyday safety.鈥�
She鈥檚 not alone in her concern.
Experts and LGBTQ community members worry about the normalization of hate and its impact on mental health and safety, as online rhetoric spills into the real world. Advocates say more needs to be done to address LGBTQ safety amid the rise of hate.
鈥淲e need to meet this moment head on because it says something about who we are as a country if we let this hate take hold just like we鈥檙e seeing it begin to,鈥� said Johnstone.
There鈥檚 been a surge in police-reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Statistics Canada data released in March revealed an almost 64 per cent increase from 258 incidents in 2020 to 423 in 2021.
But Olivier Ferlatte, professor at the University of Montreal and a research scientist at the Community-Based Research Centre, said such statistics likely understate the scale of the problem.
鈥淢any people and the LGBTQ community, for various reasons, will not feel safe to go to the police to disclose hate crimes,鈥� he said, citing lack of trust in police.
Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity, said hateful sentiment surrounding LGBTQ people is 鈥渘ot new.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 just elevated and feels new because we have new tools at our disposal, including the internet,鈥� she said.
Johnstone said much of the hate she receives is online and, while such comments may not be meaningfully represented in police data, the rhetoric has real effects.
鈥淎ll of this comes together to increase the prevalence of hate and harassment in trans and queer people鈥檚 everyday lives from greater scrutiny of gender nonconformity and gender diversity, just like what we saw in Kelowna recently with slurs and hate directed at a young cis-girl for having a pixie haircut of all things,鈥� she said.
Johnstone was referring to an incident earlier this month where a man interrupted a B.C. elementary school track meet to wrongly suggest that a nine-year-old competitor was transgender and he demanded proof she was born biologically female.
The confrontation, which received international news coverage, resulted in the man being banned from school premises and events. His behaviour was condemned by politicians including B.C. Premier David Eby, and complaints triggered an investigation by police.
Heidi Starr, one of the girl鈥檚 mothers, said herdaughter was born female and uses she/her pronouns. She asked that the girl not be identified.
Starr said she believes anti-LGBTQ rhetoric online 鈥渆mboldened folks in the anti-queer community to the point that they feel as though they have every right to interfere with events such as the track and field event.鈥�
Owusu-Akyeeah agreed.
鈥淲hat decision makers aren鈥檛 doing very well is trying to understand and address what is happening online because it definitely is having real-world impacts, which makes it much scarier to be out and loud as queer and trans people,鈥� she said.
Mental health professionals warn that anti-LGBTQ hate is having an impact beyond individual victims.
Sarah Kennell,the national director of public policy with the Canadian Mental Health Association, said the organization is 鈥渞eally concerned about the ripple effects鈥� that the normalization of hate crimes is having on LGBTQ communities across Canada.
鈥淎s a mental health organization, you see the impacts of what that rising shame and stigma and discrimination contributes to, and we鈥檙e sounding the alarm bell,鈥� she said in an interview.
It may manifest as 鈥渋ncreased rates of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidality, panic attacks, sleeplessness, and a range of other physical and emotional symptoms that come with not being able to live your true identity,鈥� Kennell said.
Canadian Social Survey data released by Statistics Canada in March said that in the fourth quarter of 2022, nearly 42 per cent of LGBTQ2+ identifying persons reported having 鈥渇air or poor perceived mental health鈥� in comparison to about 19 per cent for non-LGBTQ2+ people.
鈥淲e need to ensure that trans folks in particular have access to the health resources that they need to be well and be safe and be supported,鈥� Kennell said.
While some strides are being made to combat anti-LGBTQ sentiment, experts and advocacy organizations say more needs to be done.
Michael Kwag, director of policy development at the Community-Based Research Centre, cited a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision to dismiss a defamation suit brought in 2018, calling it 鈥渁 significant win for queer communities.鈥�
The lawsuit had been brought by Barry Neufeld, a former school board trustee in Chilliwack, B.C., against the former president of the British Columbia Teachers鈥� Federation, Glen Hansman.
Hansman, a gay man and teacher, called Neufeld鈥檚 views bigoted, transphobic and hateful, after Neufeld said on Facebook that allowing children to 鈥渃hoose to change gender is nothing short of child abuse.鈥�
Kwag said the decision to throw out Neufeld鈥檚 case 鈥渋s affirming the right and public benefit in speaking out against transphobic and homophobic rhetoric.鈥�
鈥淎t this time, when we鈥檙e seeing a lot of increased prejudice and misinformation that鈥檚 targeting LGBTQ+ people and communities, this decision is really a cause for celebration,鈥� Kwag said.
The federal government announced last week that it would be investing $1.5 million in emergency funding to ensure Pride festivals across the country remain safe.
Kwag said this marked another step forward but will also requirelonger-term investment.
鈥淲e need solutions and support and responses that carry us into the future beyond just this pride season,鈥� he said.
Johnstone, who is president of the Society of Queer Momentum, said the organization has launched a campaign calling on the federal government to better address queer safety.
It seeks the appointment of a special representative to address anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate, funding to combat disinformation targeting the community, and community representation in the government鈥檚 upcoming National Action Plan on Combatting Hate.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know a single trans person, or even a single gay person, who doesn鈥檛 have a story of a hate incident that they personally experienced,鈥� Johnstone said.
鈥淭he trauma and coping with hate is a heartbreakingly defining feature of queer and trans existence and that鈥檚 just the tip of the iceberg.鈥�
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