History

The trans-LINK Canada Network is the evolution and expansion of the Ontario trans-LINK Network (June 2019 to June 2023). Below you can read about the development of the provincial network, its achievements, and access project newsletters and acknowledgments.

Development of the Provincial Network

Established an intersectoral Ontario network on trans-affirming practice to support sexual assault survivors

Context

In Ontario, approximately 20% of trans persons report lifetime experiences of sexual and/or physical violence as a direct result of their gender identity (Bauer & Scheim, 2015). Despite this, many trans persons delay or avoid seeking the care they need due to past and/or anticipated experiences of stigmatization, discrimination, and mistreatment in healthcare settings (Bauer, Scheim, Deutsch, & Massarella, 2014). Furthermore, while most trans services and supports are located in metropolitan Toronto, a reported 68% of trans Ontarians reside outside this region (Bauer, Michelle, Todd, Matthias, Scanlon, & Travers, 2010).

There was a clear and pressing need for province-wide, intersectoral action to address the issue of sexual violence against trans persons.

Dr. Janice Du Mont of Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital collaborated with Egale Canada and the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres (SA/DVTCs) on early stages of the trans-LINK Project – a multiphase initiative devoted to the development of a provincial intersectoral network on trans-affirming practice to better support sexual assault survivors.

Between June 7 and July 11, 2019, 106 representatives from Ontario’s SA/DVTCs and trans-positive community organizations attended one of seven regional Knowledge Mobilization and Community Engagement (KM-CE) meetings held in Toronto, Mississauga, North York, London, Ottawa, Sudbury, and Thunder Bay. A primary objective of these sessions was to connect service providers across sectors and regions in the hopes of establishing longer-term referral relationships, increasing collaboration, and enhancing the continuum of care for trans survivors across the province.

Central, Toronto Meeting

June 7, 2019
Central West, Mississauga Meeting

June 11, 2019
Central East, North York Meeting

June 19, 2019
Southwest, London Meeting

June 24, 2019
Eastern, Ottawa Meeting

June 27, 2019
Northeast, Sudbury Meeting

July 2, 2019
Northwest, Thunder Bay

July 11, 2019

References

Bauer, G., & Scheim, A. (2015). Transgender people in Ontario, Canada: Statistics to inform human rights policy. Retrieved from: http://transpulseproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Trans-PULSE-Statistics-Relevant-for-Human-Rights-Policy-June-2015.pdf

Bauer, G., Scheim, A., Deutsch, M., Massarella, C. (2014). Reported emergency department avoidance, use, and experiences of transgender persons in Ontario, Canada: results from a respondent-driven sampling survey. Annals of emergency medicine 2014;63(6):713-20.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2013.09.027

Bauer, G., Michelle, B., Todd., Matthias, K., Scanlon K., Travers, R. (2010). Who are trans people in Ontario. Trans PULSE e-Bulletin 1, no. 1. Retrieved from: https://www.ohtn.on.ca/Documents/Publications/didyouknow/july28_10/E-Bulletin.pdf

Team

Janice Du Mont, Project Director

Senior Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital (she/her)
Sheila Macdonald, Principal Knowledge User

Director, Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres (she/her)
Jakki Buckeridge, Collaborator

Family Services Manager, Indus Community Services, Mississauga (she/her)
Allie Dafoe, Collaborator

Program Coordinator, Quinte West Youth Centre, Trenton (she/her)
Brittany Jakubiec, Collaborator

Director of Research, Egale Canada (they/them)
Yasmeen Persad, Collaborator

Facilitator, Education & Training, The 519, Toronto (she/her)
Brigitte Richard, Collaborator

Care Facilitator, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa (she/her)
Jasper Smith, Collaborator

Education Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Resources & Community Health (ARCH), Guelph (they/them)
Jessica St. Peter, Collaborator

Manager, Public Education, Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, Kitchener (she/her)
Michelle Turner, Collaborator

Manager, Mental Health and Addictions Program, Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre, Sioux Lookout (she/her)
S. Daisy Kosa, Staff

Project Coordinator (she/her)
Emily Dickson, Staff

Outreach and Communications Coordinator (she/her)
Megan Saad, Staff

Research Assistant (she/her)
Joseph Friedman Burley, Staff

Research Assistant (he/him)
Emma Kelly, Staff

Research Assistant (she/her)

Trainees

Mechaela Alfonso

MSW (Social Work) Student (she/her)
Joseph Friedman Burley

MPH (Public Health) Student (he/him)
Rachel Cheung

MSW (Social Work) Student (she/her)
Madelaine Coelho

PhD (Sociology) Student (she/her)
Gabrielle Gonsalves

JD (Law), accepted (she/her)
Shilini Hemalal

MSc (Medial Science) Student (she/her)
Nicholas LeBel

MD (Medicine) Student (he/him)
Megan Saad

MPH (Public Health) Student (she/her)
Hyuna Seo

BHSc (Health Sciences) Student (she/her)
Nathalie Villalba

Dip (Health Informatics) Student (she/her)

Peer Leaders

Sydney Brouillard-Coyle

(ney/nem/nir)
Angelina Grace

(she/her)
Suru

(he/they)

Achievements of the Provincial Network

Collaborated with ≈130 trans-led/positive community organizations and violence treatment centres to plan, form, and mature the provincial intersectoral network.

Highlights

Key milestones of provincial trans-LINK Network

Articles

Planning an intersectoral network of healthcare and community leaders to advance trans-affirming care for sexual assault survivors

March 2020
Citation

Full Article
Formation of an intersectoral network to support trans survivors of sexual assault: A survey of health and community organizations

July 2020
Citation

Full Article
The promise of an intersectoral network in enhancing the response to transgender survivors of sexual assault

November 2020
Citation

Full Article
Advancing trans-affirming practice to recognize, account for, and address the unique experiences and needs of transgender sexual assault survivors

April 2021
Citation

Full Article
Promoting awareness to counter damaging attitudes, beliefs, and reactions related to sexual assault against trans people: A social media campaign for health and social service providers

March 2022
Citation

Full Article
Addressing the need to educate service providers on trans-affirming postsexual assault care: An e-learning curriculum

June 2022
Citation

Full Article
Development of a webportal to advance and mobilize knowledge relevant to trans-affirming care for sexual assault survivors in Ontario, Canada

August 2022
Citation

Full Article
Advancing community-engaged research during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a social network analysis of the trans-LINK Network

November 2022
Citation

Full Article
Recommendations to improve the nature and extent of relationships among organizations within a network to enhance supports for transgender survivors of sexual assault

March 2023
Citation

Full Article
Bridging gaps in collaboration between community organizations and hospital-based violence treatment centers serving transgender sexual assault survivors

November 2023
Citation

Full Article
Enhancing care for transgender and gender diverse survivors of intimate partner violence: An Ontario-wide survey examining health and social service providers’ learning needs

February 2024
Citation

Full Article

Abstracts

Preview of abstract for Building an intersectoral network to champion supports for trans survivors of sexual assault: Survey findings from health and community leaders

To view the full abstract, click here.

Du Mont, J., Daisy Kosa, S., Saad, M., & Macdonald, S. (January-December, 2020). Building an intersectoral network to champion supports for trans survivors of sexual assault: Survey findings from health and community leaders. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 7. doi: 10.1177/ 2333393620932494

Research Briefs

Preview of research brief Building a provincial intersectoral network on trans-affirming practice to support sexual assault survivors: Planning stage

To view the full brief, click here.

Friedman Burley, J., Miljanovski, M., Saad, M., Macdonald, S., Bradley, C., & Du Mont, J. (2019, September). Building a provincial intersectoral network on trans-affirming practice to support sexual assault survivors: Planning stage [Research Brief]. Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Egale Canada, and the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres. Available from: Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital

trans-LINK Network Ontario Directory

This directory was created as part of ongoing efforts to foster connection and collaboration across trans-LINK Network health and community organizations in Ontario. Listings included a brief summary of services as well as up-to-date contact information to aid in consolidating partnerships and making safer and more seamless referrals across sectors and regions. The resource was designed to be of use to those providing services and other supports to trans survivors of sexual assault as well as to survivors themselves.

To view the directory, click here.

History

Development of the Provincial Network

Established an intersectoral Ontario network on trans-affirming practice to support sexual assault survivors

Context

There was a clear and pressing need for province-wide, intersectoral action to address the issue of sexual violence against trans persons.

Central, Toronto Meeting

Central West, Mississauga Meeting

Central East, North York Meeting

Southwest, London Meeting

Eastern, Ottawa Meeting

Northeast, Sudbury Meeting

Northwest, Thunder Bay

References

Team

Janice Du Mont, Project Director

Sheila Macdonald, Principal Knowledge User

Jakki Buckeridge, Collaborator

Allie Dafoe, Collaborator

Brittany Jakubiec, Collaborator

Yasmeen Persad, Collaborator

Brigitte Richard, Collaborator

Jasper Smith, Collaborator

Jessica St. Peter, Collaborator

Michelle Turner, Collaborator

S. Daisy Kosa, Staff

Emily Dickson, Staff

Megan Saad, Staff

Joseph Friedman Burley, Staff

Emma Kelly, Staff

Trainees

Mechaela Alfonso

Joseph Friedman Burley

Rachel Cheung

Madelaine Coelho

Gabrielle Gonsalves

Shilini Hemalal

Nicholas LeBel

Megan Saad

Hyuna Seo

Nathalie Villalba

Peer Leaders

Sydney Brouillard-Coyle

Angelina Grace

Suru

Achievements of the Provincial Network

Collaborated with ≈130 trans-led/positive community organizations and violence treatment centres to plan, form, and mature the provincial intersectoral network.

Highlights

Articles

Planning an intersectoral network of healthcare and community leaders to advance trans-affirming care for sexual assault survivors

Formation of an intersectoral network to support trans survivors of sexual assault: A survey of health and community organizations

The promise of an intersectoral network in enhancing the response to transgender survivors of sexual assault

Advancing trans-affirming practice to recognize, account for, and address the unique experiences and needs of transgender sexual assault survivors

Promoting awareness to counter damaging attitudes, beliefs, and reactions related to sexual assault against trans people: A social media campaign for health and social service providers

Addressing the need to educate service providers on trans-affirming postsexual assault care: An e-learning curriculum

Development of a webportal to advance and mobilize knowledge relevant to trans-affirming care for sexual assault survivors in Ontario, Canada

Advancing community-engaged research during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a social network analysis of the trans-LINK Network

Recommendations to improve the nature and extent of relationships among organizations within a network to enhance supports for transgender survivors of sexual assault

Bridging gaps in collaboration between community organizations and hospital-based violence treatment centers serving transgender sexual assault survivors

Enhancing care for transgender and gender diverse survivors of intimate partner violence: An Ontario-wide survey examining health and social service providers’ learning needs

Abstracts

To view the full abstract, click here.

Research Briefs

To view the full brief, click here.

trans-LINK Network Ontario Directory

To view the directory, click here.

Blog Posts

TRANSforming care for survivors of gender-based violence

“It’s important we team up together”: Strengthening relationships to better support transgender survivors of sexual assault

Clinical Summaries

Case Study: Initial Assessment

Case Study: Medical Care

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone Replacement Therapy and Medications

Information Sheets

Key Terms

Pronouns and Language

Safety Planning

Transition-Related Surgeries

Infographics

Presentations