To begin, a homosexual is defined as an individual that is “sexually attracted to people of one’s own sex” (“Homosexual”, 2015). Compared to transgender that is described as changing one’s gender from male …show more content…
(“Bisexual”, 2015). The reason this specific group was chosen to be examined is due to social policy. Social policy are the laws and regulation that mold Canadians lives, therefore, these policies ensure that LGTB people are getting the necessities for their well-being (Rice, 2013).
One of the biggest problems gays currently face is acceptance from others. It is difficult to accept oneself when there is no acceptance from friends, family or community members. There has been approximately a ten percent increase in accepting homosexuality here in Canada, but that still leaves twenty percent that disagrees, thus creating social policy issues such as discrimination, neglect and abuse towards LGTB individuals (Huffington, 2013). In Sudbury, Ontario there is a program called Sudbury Pride, this program is non-profit and is designed to take donations from the public in order to create events in the community where homosexuals can gather together in support of their sexual orientation. (Fierté, 2014). In continuation, another social policy issue that LGTB may face is bullying. At any age an individual can be bullied and even though there are consequences such as assault and harassment …show more content…
To begin, before 1969, being homosexual was illegal. The gays were affected by this due to the severe punishments some of them received such as, being arrested, and the death penalty (Rau, 2015). An act that benefitted this group was first brought to light in 1996 when Canada added sexual orientation to section 15 of the Canadian charter of rights and freedom (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982). With this new addition to the law, homosexuals in Canada were then able to live in equality with everyone else in the country. This allowed Canadians to under-go several years of adapting to the new era where the public began to understand more and more that homosexuals are just like anyone else. As a matter of fact, study shows eighty percent of Canadians polled think that homosexuality should be accepted (Huffington, 2013). Finally, in 2005 Canada made it legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married (Timeline, 2012). Although this caused a lot of controversy with some of the religious folk in Canada, many of the homosexual supporters were extremely satisfied with this decision by the Canadian government. (Landolt, 2015) Also, a new program called “It Gets Better Project” has made movement in Canada with their campaign to let the LGBTQ youth community know that life does get better as it goes (IGB, 2014). This company was brought to life in