Everybody Hates Me: Let's Talk About Stigma

Dr. Alex Abramovich is an Independent Scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at CAMH. He is an internationally recognized leader in the area of LGBTQ2S youth homelessness. Learn more about Alex's work here and read some of his work here.

We talk about the role of stigma in contributing to homelessness and mental health challenges among LGBTQ2S youth. Alex discusses the need for LGBTQ2S youth specialized services, such as the one he works with at Sprott House, Canada's first transitional housing program for LGBTQ2S youth. We talk about LGBTQ2S youth trying to live their authentic self and experiencing a lack of acceptance in families and shelter systems. Alex shares advice on how to ground yourself when feeling overwhelmed.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program. 

Yasmeen Persad is a trans activist who has been providing education and training around LGBT related issues for the past 10 years. Her experience ranges from working with trans youth, women living with HIV, sex workers and many diverse populations. She provides training to service providers around Trans community inclusion and support. Yasmeen has presented at many conferences across North America on various topics about access for trans people. She is currently a Research Coordinator at Women’s College Hospital, working with Trans Women and HIV as part of the Trans Women HIV Research Initiative. You can learn more about Yasmeen's TPOC (Trans People of Colour) Project. Find out more about our TRANScending Love research here.

We talk about stigma experienced by trans people, including in journeys to healthcare. Yasmeen provides suggestions of how people can use their voice to support trans people. We talk about stigma as a loaded word and misconceptions that all trans people, or trans women of colour, experience barriers and have a 'sad life'. We discuss celebration and the need for affirming one another. Yasmeen talks about some questions she would like to clear up with Jesus. Yasmeen shares the importance of staying humble, saying no, and taking care of yourself (however that looks for you).

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. 

Tonia Poteat, PhD, PA-C, MPH, is Assistant Professor of Social Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as core faculty in the UNC Center for Health Equity Research. Dr. Poteat’s research, teaching, and practice have focused on HIV and LGBT health disparities with particular attention to the health and well-being of transgender communities. Find more about Dr. Poteat here  And find more of her work here

In this podcast we talk about the courage, strength and safety needed to be your authentic  self in a stigmatizing world. We discuss stigma and its effects among transgender people, and the historical and current effects of racism. We talk about having a vision for building a functioning, healthy, loving, equitable and just society. We also discuss the importance of beloved community, collective work (and rest) inspired by Sweet Honey in the Rock's 'Ella's Song'.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation(CFI) and Canada Research Chairs program. 

Dr. Travis Salway is a social worker and social epidemiologist who tries to understand how and why queer people experience higher rates of mental distress (including suicide and anxiety) as compared with heterosexual people. He is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, where he is supported by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. He works in collaboration with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control  the Community Based Research Centre  and the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity.  In 2019, Travis gave testimony to the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Health, specifically calling for a reexamination of “conversion therapy” practices in Canada. He has since worked with conversion therapy survivors to better describe where, how, and why conversion therapy continues to occur in Canada. You can find more about Travis here and on Twitter. Here is an example of Travis' writing on conversion therapy. 

In this episode we talk about Travis' work on highlighting the harms of conversion therapy. We talk about queer mental health and suicide, how common conversion therapy is (answer: very!), and discrimination as the tip of the iceberg of how people are devalued. We talk about needing to move beyond 'tolerating' to celebrating LGBTQ persons. We plead for Dan Levy to come on this show as a podcast guest because we are in love with how Schitt's Creek's imagines and models LGBTQ acceptance. We talk about comprehensive sexuality education as an opportunity to reach LGBTQ youth and let them know they are wanted, seen and valued. We also discuss gems of wisdom Travis is inspired by, and shout out future dream podcast guests.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program.

Dr. Notisha Massaquoi is a highly respected expert in designing programs and services which aim to increase access to primary healthcare for racialized communities. During her lengthy career she has facilitated the development of several health organizations for Black communities in Canada including Africans in Partnership Against AIDS and the African Resource Centre. She is the Principal Consultant at Nyanda Consulting. She recently retired after 21 years as the Executive Director of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands which is the only community health centre in Canada that specifically provides primary healthcare for racialized women. Her research and numerous publications have focused on the use of health equity data to improve health outcomes for Black women as well as the impact of racism on the health and wellbeing of Black communities. She is the Co-Chair of the Anti-Racism Advisory Panel of the Toronto Police Services Board which was recently responsible for producing the first mandatory race-based data collection policy for a police service in Canada. You can follow Notisha here.  And find some of her research here. You can also learn more about Women's Health in Women's Hands here.

In this podcast we talk about the need for race-based data in COVID-19 health outcomes, and how this pandemic is highlighting the racial health disparities we already know exist. Notisha walks us through how stigma shapes the journey to healthcare, and how early experiences of racism in healthcare can shape health seeking across the life course. We talk about Notisha's work with LGBTQ African refugees and how she integrated her social work background to provide support in the immigration process. We talk about caring about the outcomes of racialized persons beyond the data, seeing people as worthy of living, and being invested in their survival. We also consider the importance of how you represent people you are working with, clarifying your intent, and the longevity of your commitment. Notisha talks about the need to move out of our own bubbles to make real changes. Finally we talk about the importance of mentorship and moving beyond the 'no's' to reach your goals and dreams.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program.

Dr. Anne Stangl is a social and behavioral scientist and President of Hera Solutions, an independent firm providing research and advisory services to organizations, companies and governments to strengthen health equity. Anne is also Associate Faculty with the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has 18 years of international public health experience in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean with a focus on stigma, qualitative and quantitative research methods, research design, statistical analysis, systematic reviews and monitoring and evaluation. Her research focuses on understanding and addressing the social and structural determinants of health that impede access to and uptake of health services among underserved populations globally. Anne is a leading expert on health-related stigma and discrimination and has contributed to theoretical understanding of how the stigmatization process operates in the context of health to inform stigma mitigation interventions and stigma measurement. She is also actively engaged in utilizing research findings to inform global policy and action. You can find more about Anne on twitter and here.

In this episode we talk about sex--and the need to talk more about sex with youth using comprehensive sexuality education. We also discuss stigma as infringements on human rights, stigma elements that are 'common to its core', and the need for structural approaches to address underlying drivers of stigma. Being able to recognize stigma is a critical first step so that you can stand up against it. We also talk about Anne's love of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and dream dinner plans with her (in case you are reading this RBG, there is a great Baltimore restaurant Anne would love to take you too...and we would love to host you on the podcast). Anne of Green Gables and kindness also pop up in our discussion.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program. 

Dr. Rosemary Morgan is an Assistant Scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of International Health, with a joint position in the School of Nursing. She has expertise in gender, gender analysis, and intersectionality. She currently leads the Sex and Gender Analysis Core for the NIH funded Sex and Age Differences in Immunity to Influenza (SADII) Center. In addition, she works as a gender advisor on RADAR, an initiative developing tools to assist in the implementation of measurement approaches for maternal, neonatal, and child health and nutrition programs.

Learn more about Rosemary's work here and find out about the Gender and COVID-19 working group, and where she is gathering data on the sex and gender dimensions of COVID-19 here.

In this podcast we talk about gender power relationships, who has a seat at the table on COVID-19 leadership, and how gender inequities impact all of us. We discuss how intersectionality helps us to see the nuances of gender, race and linkages with health outcomes, how gender is fluid and dynamic, and the impact of gender inequities on labour, decision making, and perceived worth. Most healthcare workers on the front lines working with patients are women, and women are disproportionately infected with COVID-19: could this be related to the lack of medical masks designed for women's bodies? We talk about the need for both policy and grassroots change and the slow moving nature of change. At the family level, showcasing examples of how caregiving, dishes, and vacuuming are adult (not gender specific) responsibilities can be combined with policy and procedural changes to level the playing field. We talk about COVID-19 as a window of opportunity to accelerate change on gender norms. Finally we talk about zombie movies as a different genre of horror, and cats--how many cats are ideal and how we can make a difference one cat at a time. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program. 

Muluba Habanyama is an experienced communications specialist who was born with HIV. She has written for Flare magazine, Huffington Post and more. She works with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) as a Social Media Specialist and is a Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) Youth Ambassador. She also works with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) HIV Clinical Trials Network (CTN). Read more about Muluba's work here and here.

Find Muluba on twitter and on her website and instagram.

In this episode we talk about Muluba's journey to giving herself her best chance by becoming open about her HIV status. We discuss experiences of stigma in childhood, her process of finding support as an adult, and her experiences cooking in Casey House's June’s HIV+ Eatery, a pop-up restaurant in Toronto with chefs living with HIV. Muluba also provides recommendations for allyship and how we all can take the initiative to educate ourselves about HIV and stand up against stigma.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program. 

Bergen Cooper, M.P.H., is the Director of Policy Research at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE). She develops and evaluates research and builds CHANGE’s institutional knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She leads forums, webinars, and workshops for global health advocates that focus on translating research into policy. Bergen also works with the World Health Organization, where her research since 2012 has focused on interventions within primary care to improve the sexual health of both adolescents and adults. She has evaluated, designed, and taught sexuality education for adolescents and young adults in Washington, D.C. and New York City.  Since 2014 Bergen has been researching the sexual and reproductive rights of women past reproductive age, and is widely considered an expert on gender-based violence and the sexual rights of older women. She is also the co-convener of a global network of nearly one hundred researchers on the Global Gag Rule. Learn more about Bergen's work here and find a recent interview with Bergen on pregnancy stigma here.

In this podcast, we reminisce about Salt-N-Pepa's groundbreaking songs about sex and HIV, and discuss the importance of recognizing stigma about sex across the life course, from adolescents to older age. Stigma around fertility (and infertility), pregnancy, abortion, and contraception are global issues. We talk about the continued need to talk about and remove the stigma surrounding sex, the need to critique public health messaging (using creative means including defacing signs when necessary), and the power of harnessing our various platforms to promote social change.

Find the SRHR Index we discussed here.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program.

Prof. LaRon E. Nelson is the Independence Foundation Associate Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean of Global Health & Equity at Yale University. He serves on the Yale Institute of Global Health’s Leadership Advisory Committee. Dr. Nelson is also a scientist with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He is the inaugural holder of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Research Chair in Implementation Science with Black Communities in Canada. Find out more about Dr. LaRon Nelson's work at Yale and St. Michael's Hospital.

In this podcast we travel back to the 1980's to learn about how early experiences of HIV stigma and LGBTQ stigma shaped the path that Dr. LaRon Nelson currently traverses regarding working to reduce multiple forms of stigma, including racism, LGBTQ stigma and HIV related stigma in diverse global contexts. We also discuss the importance of stigma solutions at structural levels, searching for our common humanity, and our shared love of giraffes (and what they can teach us).

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovationand Canada Research Chairs program.