SWERV Research Project

SWERV, the “Social Well-being, Empowerment, and Resilience in the Face of Victimization” research project, focuses on the positive development, well-being, empowerment, and social participation of young LGBTQIA+ individuals in Canada.

The project seeks to understand the factors that support positive development, such as social support or resilience, as well as the factors that limit it, such as bullying, homophobia, transphobia, racism, or poverty.

Phase 1 – Survey among Canadian LGBTQIA+ youth:

The survey will allow us to document the situation of young LGBTQIA+ individuals, identify their strengths (resilience, social and community participation), and examine the events they experience that may hinder these strengths. The study explores their experiences within their families, in sports, at school, in the workplace, and on the internet. These findings will help us better understand how specific forms of oppression influence young people, such as oppressions based on sexual orientation, identity, gender expression, racism, poverty, or disability. This intersectional approach shows how multiple forms of oppression simultaneously influence people’s experiences.

Phase 2 – Sharing results

The knowledge generated by the Canadian survey can inform LGBTQIA+ youth, their parents, supporting organizations, as well as decision-makers. Through this knowledge, the BRAV project aims to paint a picture of LGBTQIA+ youth and their living conditions. The knowledge produced about their most important environments will also identify the main obstacles that compromise their development and the environments where intervention is urgently needed. This knowledge will allow a better choice of programs or policies to develop in order to support positive development and well-being for LGBTQ+ youth. It will also support the training of those working with LGBTQIA+ youth and the activism of organizations by providing a detailed and up-to-date portrait of these young people, including information about their use of community resources and access challenges they may face.

To this end, we will create:

• Summary reports addressing community concerns.
• Free webinars and short videos presenting the project’s findings.
• Presentations at conferences and seminars.
• Scientific articles addressing research questions.

Principal Researcher: Martin Blais, Ph.D.
Co-researchers: Marie-Aude Boislard , Ph.D. (UQAM), David Brennan (Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto), Trevor Hart (Ryerson University), Nathan Lachowsky (School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria), Melanie Morrison (University of Saskatchewan), Todd Morrison (University of Saskatchewan), Matthew Numer (Dalhousie University), Sylvie Parent (Laval University), Mathieu Philibert (UQAM).
Funding: This project receives financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Knowledge Mobilization).

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Website: https://swerv-brav.uqam.ca/wp/
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