Publications

Methamphetamine use among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) often traces back to early wounds. Using a feminist trauma framework, researchers conducted 33 semi-structured interviews with GBM across British Columbia between June and October 2018, covering sexual experiences, support services, and meth use. Thematic analysis surfaced developmental and insidious trauma alongside coping with trauma-related stressors. Participants described family- and peer-perpetrated heterosexism, childhood sexual abuse, and intersecting oppression, which fed internalized shame, interpersonal anxiety, and low self-esteem. In adulthood they used meth to manage emotions and connect with others, pointing toward trauma-informed care.

Feminist theory has shaped much of what is known about intimate partner violence, but it struggles to account for the experiences of trans and nonbinary people. This conceptual article supports an emerging trans theoretical framework by first tracing how Black, Indigenous and queer feminist thought explains gendered violence, then showing where those explanations fall short when applied to trans experiences of intimate partner violence. Re-examining trans IPV through a trans theory lens, the author argues that the complexity of trans identities and embodiment demands a fuller account of gender, and that trans theory supplies that needed nuance.

What should trans health research actually be asking? A group of trans and nonbinary researchers set the agenda themselves, with the first author interviewing every coauthor and circulating drafts until the group reached consensus. They call for long-term research on the risks and benefits of gender-affirming hormones and surgeries, and for a scope well beyond medical transition: routine and general healthcare, life before and without gender affirmation, sexuality, fertility, social determinants, legal gender recognition, and healing within trans communities. Researchers, they argue, must centre trans community expertise, work transparently and accountably. The authors note their group is mostly White and Global North-based.

Trans women living with and affected by HIV want better services, not just more studies. A national research priority setting process gathered semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 76 trans women across five Canadian urban centres, exploring how they navigate health and social service programming where they live. Participants offered practical fixes grounded in lived experience: trans-friendly and trans-specific services, integrated care with help navigating overlapping systems, and comprehensive community-based supports. Many suggested hiring trans women as care coordinators or case managers to build affirming environments. The authors also challenge the framing of trans women as a hard-to-reach population.

Social work scholarship increasingly recognizes transgender and gender diverse people, but evidence on what equitable practice actually involves remains scarce. This Canadian qualitative study interviewed 20 trans and gender diverse social service users and 10 social workers in the same province, using critical ecosystemic and intersectional lenses alongside constructivist grounded theory. Four components of equitable practice emerged: accounting for social and historical context, practising allyship through humility and reflexivity, challenging cisnormativity both interpersonally and organisationally, and promoting structural measures of trans inclusion. The authors urge scholars, educators, and practitioners to adopt reflexive, relational, organisational, and structural changes supporting equity and justice.