The Trans Legal Needs Assessment (Ontario) is a three-year province-wide project to:
- assess the legal needs of transgender (trans*) community members, and the needs of lawyers/legal service providers in serving trans* clients;
- conduct education and information sessions with trans* community members as well as lawyers/legal service providers in cities around Ontario; and
- identify barriers to accessing justice and make recommendations to improve access to justice and substantive justice for trans* Ontarians.
While the project is focussed on the needs of the broader trans* community, a specific component will be dedicated to trans* people living with HIV. Data will be collected through surveys that will be distributed to trans* communities in Ontario, and through focus groups that will be held across the province.
Trans* Community Consultation and Outreach Committee (TCCOC)
The project is seeking 15 trans* identified individuals to join the Trans* Community Consultation and Outreach Committee (TCCOC). TCCOC will make an important contribution to the project by ensuring that the project captures trans* legal needs across areas that are relevant and meaningful for the diverse trans* communities. Members of TCCOC will provide input into the design of surveys and focus groups/ workshops, promote the participation of trans* people across Ontario, and assist with the interpretation of the research results and direction of the project report. The committee will ensure that the project is directly informed by trans* Ontarians. Trans* persons living with HIV are encouraged to indicate their interest in joining a distinct advisory committee that is focussed on the legal experiences of trans* people living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, please see the TCCOC Call for Participants and Application Information document on our website: www.halco.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014Aug-Trans_Community_Consultation_and_Outreach_Committee-Call_for_Participants_and_Application_Info-Trans_Legal_Needs_Assessment_Ontario-HALCO.doc (short link: https://www.halco.org/?p=4155).
Research, Legal and Social Service Provider Committees
The project’s research committee will ensure that the research is effective, rigorous and undertaken in an ethical manner. The research committee has been established. Two legal and social service provider committees will ensure that the project achieves results that are useful and can be implemented, both within the legal system, and within community agencies that service client needs that may have legal components. These committees are currently being established. For more information, please see the Research, Legal and Service Provider Committees document on our website: www.halco.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014-08-14_Legal_and_Service_Provider_Committee_Description-Trans_Legal_Needs_AssessmentOntario-HALCO.pdf.
The project is funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), with additional funding provided by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network to better meet the needs of those living with HIV. Project partners include HALCO, LAO, The University of Western University and the University of Toronto. HALCO is lead organization on the project, and N. Nicole Nussbaum, is the project lead.
For more information about the project, please:
- visit the Trans* Legal Needs Assessment page of our website: www.halco.org/our-services/trans-legal-needs-assessment-ontario.
- send an email to: transneedsassessment@lao.on.ca.