For gender variant high school students in British Columbia, facing harassment and ignorance at school is a regular occurrence. 90% of gender variant youth in Canada reported hearing transphobic comments from other students, and almost a quarter (23%) reported hearing it from teachers, daily or weekly. Overall, more than three quarters (78%) of gender variant students indicated feeling unsafe at school - with a quarter having been the victims of physical harassment due to their gender expression - causing nearly half (44%) to skip class out of fear or anxiety. In British Columbia, no student should feel at risk while getting an education. Not only does it discourage regular attendance, but also, it can cause mental illness, suicide, and general dissatisfaction rates to rise in our province.

Attending school doesn't have to be this difficult for gender variant students in British Columbia. As A.G.E.A.S. (Advocates for Gender Education, Awareness, and Safety), and concerned citizens of British Columbia, we are calling on the B.C. Ministry of Education to help promote education and awareness on gender in high schools province-wide. We demand the incorporation of a unit on gender into a Grade 10 mandated course such as Planning 10, in order to help prevent ignorance and, therefore, harm to gender variant youth. The unit would briefly summarize gender, types of gender, gender expression, proper pronoun usage, how to be accepting of oneself/others, available resources, etc.. Today, the recognition and safety of gender variant high school students is compromised due to the lack of education and resources provided in BC. A small amount of education can make a huge difference. 

We, the undersigned, call upon the B.C. Ministry of Education to integrate a unit on gender into a Grade 10 mandated course, in order to secure the safety and well-being of gender variant youth in B.C..