The Airdrie Pride Society is very pleased that the City of Airdrie is recognizing Transgender Awareness Week from November 14th to 20th, which culminates with today's (November 20) Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Council voted unanimously to recognize the week and special day and the Transgender Pride flag is flying for the week over Main Street, something Airdrie Pride board member Kiersten Mohr says the group was ecstatic about.

"Speaking on behalf of the Pride Society for sure we were beyond ecstatic that they, not just voted to accept it, but the fact that city council voted unanimously to support this was an amazing thing for us. The other aspect was the willingness and energy quite frankly of the city and the city operations to get that flag up and leave it up for the whole week.  I would say that, as far as a city council showing a ton of leadership in something like this, you can't point to a lot of other places that are doing this much. I've lived in Airdrie for over 13 years and I have to say I've never been prouder of this community."

But, Mohr says, that doesn't mean that there still isn't a lot of work to do in Airdrie and across Alberta and Canada for that matter.

"We've made big strides for this (transgender) community.  That being said, there's still a lot of work to do.  The trans-community still faces a host of challenges that, until recently, weren't quantified in Alberta.  Dr. Chris Wells at the University of Alberta published a study this year on trans-health in Alberta.  Being a member of the trans-community and being very aware of the issues and the challenges facing this province, I have to say that it was still a very heart-breaking thing to read."

Mohr says the study focused on youth and much of the study results can be found on Airdrie Pride's website.  Some of the results were that, in the last year, 68 percent of the population has considered suicide and 40 percent have attempted it. Over 70 percent of trans-youth report experiences of sexual harassment while 73 percent report self harming behaviours.  Mohr says the reality is that there is still a lot of work to do.

Transgender Awareness Week is designed to let transgender individuals and their allies educate and advocate about some of the issues which transgender people face, including discrimination and violence.

The Day of Remembrance is meant to bring awareness to the fact that many transgender people, throughout the world, have been murdered, simply for being transgender.  

"That number is actually 295 people in the past year who were murdered for being exactly who they are. The day is about taking a moment to realize that this is a problem and a lot of people in places in this world are still really threatened to just walk down the street and be themselves."

The Province of Alberta is also recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance. Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda will raise the Transgender Pride Flag at a ceremony at the McDougall Centre in Calgary this morning.  

 

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