Bringing Queer and Trans Voices Into Creating Safe Inclusive Communities

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Bringing Queer and Trans Voices Into Creating Safe Inclusive Communities LGBTQ2+ Experiences of Public Safety in the Urban Form: Bringing Queer and Trans Voices into Creating Safe Inclusive Communities by Jen Roberton Honours B.A., University of Toronto, 2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PLANNING in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Planning) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2016 © Jen Roberton, 2016 Abstract The Master’s thesis, “LGBTQ2+ Experience of Public Safety in the Urban Form”, seeks to find out how LGBTQ2+ inclusive cities can be planned and designed. Geographies of identity around visibility and passing are used to frame perceived safety in public spaces. Using the City of Toronto as a case study, the thesis unpacks the current state of perceived and experienced public safety as articulated by LGBTQ2+ people. Focus groups, interviews, an online survey and secondary readings are the data sources used. Quantitative and qualitative data on hate crimes and discrimination in Toronto are also triangulated to contextualize queer and trans experiences of harassment, physical assault, discrimination, microaggressions, verbal harassment and sexualized violence. This study challenges conventional feminist safety planning and the concept of normal/abnormal uses espoused by proponents of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) by bringing queer intersectionality to the forefront of discussion. Recommendations stemming from the collected data include sensitivity and inclusivity training for authority figures, poster campaigns on inclusivity, gender neutral bathrooms, better programming, and the breakdown of systemic barriers faced by LGBTQ2+ communities. ii Preface The research is conducted in partnership with METRAC, a Toronto based consulting non-profit that conducts safety audits with the goal of creating safer spaces for women and youth. METRAC was involved in the qualitative data collection for this thesis. A METRAC staff member co-facilitated with the researcher the focus groups conducted for this thesis. The interviews and online survey were conducted by the researcher alone. The data collected from the focus groups and interviews were coded and used to inform a report compiled by the researcher for METRAC. The UBC Behavioural Research Board at the UBC Office of Ethics Research approved this study on April 29th 2015 under the project title ‘Embodied Mobility Differences and Safety in the Urban Form: Participatory Planning and Design Strategies in Toronto’. An amendment to the study to include the online survey was approved July 14th 2015. The study was assigned the UBC BREB Number H15-00314. iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface............................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................................x Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xiii Dedication .................................................................................................................................. xviii Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Background and Research Problem Context ............................................................................... 1 Research Goals and Significance ................................................................................................ 3 Organization of the Thesis .......................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 – Toronto Case Study Context: Safer City, Safer Spaces ............................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 Mobilization and Polarity: Toronto LGBTQ2+ Context ............................................................10 Contemporary LGBTQ Safety Issues in Toronto ...................................................................... 20 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 3 – Understanding CPTED, Gendered Identities and Queering Safety in Urban Spaces ....................................................................................................................................................... 26 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 26 Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) ................................................... 27 Feminist Intersectional Analyses of Gendered Spaces ............................................................. 33 Gendered Spaces ................................................................................................................... 33 Intersectional Analysis .......................................................................................................... 35 Feminist Critiques of Planning and Designing for Safety ..................................................... 37 Queer Interventions .................................................................................................................. 38 Queering Planning ................................................................................................................. 38 Enclave Anxiety ..................................................................................................................... 40 Queering Safety ..................................................................................................................... 42 Trans Inclusive Safety ........................................................................................................... 45 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 47 iv Chapter 4 – Methodology: Using Mixed Methods Research on LGBTQ2+ Perceptions and Experiences of Safety .................................................................................................................... 48 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 48 Interviews .................................................................................................................................. 49 Focus Groups ............................................................................................................................. 51 Online Survey ............................................................................................................................ 53 Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................. 60 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 62 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 63 Chapter 5 – Perceptions of Public Safety: Framing Safety, Framing Identity ............................. 65 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 65 Feeling Unsafe Defined ............................................................................................................. 68 Passing and Visibility ................................................................................................................ 80 Spatiality and Perceptions of Public Safety............................................................................... 87 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 96 Chapter 6 – Discrimination and Reporting .................................................................................. 97 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 97 Discrimination: A Comparative Analysis .................................................................................. 98 Reporting ................................................................................................................................. 102 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 102 Reporting to Police .............................................................................................................
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