It’s interesting how seemingly disconnected events intersect at certain times to create a ‘snapshot’ of how a community – in this case, our community – is treated or perceived.

A small article in the Calgary Sun on October 27th, 2004 detailed how a gay male couple staying at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, one of Calgary’s homeless shelters, were being actively discouraged from showing affection toward each other on the premises. Meanwhile, all around them heterosexual couples could at any time be seen "kissing, holding hands, cuddling on the couch, and hugging..."

One of the men was even asked to transfer to a different floor than his partner.

Executive Director Dermot Baldwin who, incidentally, has done some excellent work over the years on homeless issues, was quoted as saying, "These guys think they’re bringing attention to their cause, but if someone says they’re going to hurt them...because they see them being affectionate with each other – we have to take that very seriously."

Suddenly, the onus is on those at risk for being victimized to alter their behaviour, rather than on those who threaten or do actual harm to someone.

The day before the article appeared in The Calgary Sun, my partner and I attended a small meeting of individuals involved with the Community Life Improvement Council (CLIC) to review a final draft of a commissioned study on problems in the Connaught-Beltline area.

The study focused on issues of drug trafficking, prostitution, homelessness, and related issues but while it focused on the Connaught-Beltline neighbourhood – Calgary’s primary gayborhood – there was no mention of, and no consultation with the gay community.

In the opening sections of this 71-page study, a profile of the Connaught-Beltline neighbourhood is given. The section talks about how 37% of the area’s 18,000 residents live alone; 56% are male; twice as many residents are 25-34 years of age than the city as a whole; and the area has "roughly the same proportion of adults over 35 years as the remainder of Calgary, but far less school age children". To me, that clearly indicates this is a predominately gay neighborhood, especially if one knows Connaught-Beltline is what passes for the Gay Village in Calgary; yet no mention is made of our community.

The only reference was to the hustler strip, and even that was mentioned only in the context of similar problems of prostitution in other areas of Connaught-Beltline-Victoria Park. Recommendation #20 suggests directing special attention to male prostitution and what the report consistently calls ‘the stroll’ (a term for heterosexual or female prostitution areas). The recommendation goes on to say:

"While small in number, the male prostitutes that congregate on 13th Avenue, near 6th Street SW, should not be overlooked. We have only limited knowledge about the male prostitution problem in Calgary and, for that matter, in Canada. Research is, however, under way that should prove helpful to our understanding."

Certainly services need to be developed to address males, many of whom are gay-identified (although not all are) and some of who are also part of the homeless youth population (although not all), who work as hustlers. Currently, there are no services whatsoever that focus on this population.

Previous Canadian and American studies have, in fact, indicated that residential care is highly dangerous for gay, lesbian, and trans-identified youth. They point out that many agencies that deal with street youth – and do an excellent job I hasten to add – rarely have any concrete indication that they are "queer friendly".

The recommendation goes on to say:

"While our current knowledge suggests that there are significant differences between male and female prostitution, poverty does appear to play a role in their circumstances. Youth, who have left their homes often in response to familial difficulties, have limited means of support and some rely upon prostitution to survive.

A special task force is recommended to address this problem. While the issue presents itself as a local issue, it really is a city-wide problem of unknown proportions. Police and social agencies will be key to gaining a better understanding of these problems and how best to intervene to reduce male prostitution in Calgary."

When I suggested the gay community needed to be consulted as well, I was met with resistance by some social workers who kept insisting that the issue had "nothing to do with sexuality" (by which, I assume, they meant sexual orientation). The chair of the meeting proceeded to engage with me in a debate when none of the other suggestions or feedback was met with debate. The author of the study, thankfully, understood my point and will take steps to rectify the lack of consultation.

In both instances, situations or circumstances that actually involve or affect the GLBT community did not involve the GLBT community in consultation or solution finding. I doubt there was any malice intended or any conscious effort to minimize or marginalize our communities. However, the end result is marginalization and a further reduction of the importance GLBT communities play in civic life.

Granted, the report (due out by 2005) was not designed to focus on GLBT issues. The report quite correctly focuses on community crime and social disorder reduction, with an emphasis on drugs issues, prostitution, problem houses (i.e. those used to sell drugs or used by prostitutes), problem bars/rowdyism, homelessness and street youth issues, and graffiti.

Likewise, the Calgary Drop-In Centre concerns itself with supplying much needed services to Calgary’s estimated 2,400-plus homeless; No small task given the lack of resources. That a percentage of the 2,400-plus individuals are gay, lesbian, bi, or trans-identified – and therefore face unique issues on the street as well as in shelter and when accessing other services – does not seem to be a focus at this time. It needs to be.

Of course, when various agencies dealing with homelessness and other poverty issues are struggling to simply keep their collective heads above water, some would argue that such "niceties" as studies on GLBT client populations are a luxury such agencies can ill-afford. With all due respect to the challenges faced by such agencies, I would disagree.

Estimates vary as to the number of GLBT folk accessing such services, just as estimates of GLBT folk in the general population vary. However, depending on which study you put your faith in and what statistics you adhere to, estimates range from 1.5 to 10 percent of any given population. Those figures, by the way, don’t reflect the total of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transfolk combined...figures for gay men vary from figures for lesbian women. Figures for trans-identified folk are different again, and are often not included in percentages that try to measure the number of people identifying with a homosexual orientation. Being trans-identified has nothing to do with sexual orientation, but rather, is concerned with gender identity and expression. The percentage of bisexuals depends on how one defines ‘bisexual’ just as it does on how one defines ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’. Most studies don’t even tackle the issues around bisexuality because it is so often viewed as too nebulous to track.

Clearly, studying GLBT clients who access services, or try to, would be a challenge.

However, several studies have been done in the States and more such studies need to be done in Canada. In the meantime, there needs to be a recognition that the GLBT community exists, and when issues that affect us and where we live arise, we need to be consulted just as any other population would be consulted about issues that affect it. We should expect no less.

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Contributor Stephen Lock |

Topic Politics |