Project description:
Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q), also known as Québec Trans Health Action, is a project of CACTUS-Montréal which was founded in 1998. ASTT(e)Q was started largely in response to the need for access to health care and social services that were sensitive to trans people's needs. The project aims to promote the health and well-being of trans people through peer support and advocacy, education and outreach, and community empowerment and mobilization.
ASTT(e)Q exists within a long history of organizing for improved access to health care and social services, decent working conditions (in particular for sex workers) and housing, HIV prevention, and an overall greater quality of life for trans people in Quebec. This history, however, has all too often been ignored by more recent efforts to address these issues. This research project would help to shed light on some of this history, primarily through documenting oral history and through archival research.
Final product:
The outcome of this project will be a 15-20 page booklet written in accessible language (Eng or Fr). The text will also be made available on our website, along with recorded interviews, if possible.
Skills & time commitment required:
An upper-level undergrad student or a grad student with an interest in trans studies/oral history/community organizing. Comfortable in conducting interviews (current and former staff of ASTTeQ will be interviewed). Must be fluent in French and English, and have background knowledge of basic trans issues, as well as related themes (sex work, HIV/AIDS, harm reductions, public health, etc).
About the organization:
Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q), also known as Québec Trans Health Action, is a project of CACTUS-Montréal which was founded in 1998. ASTT(e)Q was started largely in response to the need for access to health care and social services that were sensitive to trans people's needs. We aim to promote the health and well-being of trans people through peer support and advocacy, education and outreach, and community empowerment and mobilization. We understand the health of trans people and our communities to be interrelated to economic and social inequalities, which have resulted in trans people experiencing disproportionate rates of poverty, un(der)employment, precarious housing, criminalization and violence. We believe in the right to self-determine our gender identity and gender expression free from coercion, violence and discrimination. We advocate for access to health care that will meet the many needs of our diverse communities, while working collectively to build supportive, healthy and resilient communities.