Human Rights & Equity

EQUITY CHAMPION BCNU LGBTQ Caucus chair Jessy Dame addresses union members and the public during a May 9 candlelight vigil in Victoria.

Nurses in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community can often encounter unique challenges professionally and personally, such as homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. All too often, support is absent in the worksite. This reality has been identified and acknowledged by BCNU's LGBTQ Caucus, which works to address and advance the concerns of 2SLGBTQIA+ union members.

Jessy Dame currently serves as LGBTQ Caucus provincial chair. Proudly Two-Spirit and Métis, Dame graduated from the Thompson Rivers University nursing program in 2015. In 2021, he completed his master of nursing degree at UBC. His first nursing job was in the NICU at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. He later worked as a remote nurse with the First Nations Health Authority. Today, he works for Vancouver Coastal Health on the STOP HIV/AIDS outreach team.

Update Magazine sat down with Dame to learn what's new with the LGBTQ Caucus.

UPDATE How has your master's degree special project informed your practice?

DAME Within current society queer and Indigenous identities are typically labeled as a risk factor– so, my queerness and Indigeneity are seen as something that puts me at risk for negative health outcomes. Yet, the actual risk factors are homophobia and racism, and in turn my identity protects me.

Within my master's, I looked at queer and Two-Spirit men who have attempted suicide and what protective factors they had in place to decrease further suicide attempts. A major theme that was identified was the difference between connecting "to" health care and connecting "with" health care. When you connect "to" it's an exchange, it's extractive. When you connect "with" something, like health care, it's a mutually beneficial relationship. And that was the protective factor – to be connecting with health-care providers, with the health-care system. When we build relationships with our patients, within our health-care system it's very different than "to" our patients and "to" our health-care system. This is the perspective I bring into every aspect of my practice and work within my role as caucus chair.

UPDATE How, why and when did you become involved with the LGBTQ Caucus?

DAME In my second year at nursing school, I started attending BCNU regional meetings and then became a caucus member. The reason was visibility: I'm very proudly queer and wanted to express that within my profession. I wanted to advocate for safety among queer nurses and within our union. Visibility and advocacy to create a better world! Less homophobia benefits everybody.

UPDATE How can the LGBTQ Caucus improve nurses' lives and working conditions?

DAME Visibility is an extremely beneficial piece for oppressed communities – it's essential to promote health and leadership growth. The caucus advocates for queer rights within our union, our employers, and within our health profession. This year we've been very successful in joining large events like the provincial bargaining conference and convention, and having conversations at big tables about queer health and rights. There's a direct correlation to improved working conditions.

UPDATE How often does the caucus meet? And what's on the agenda?

DAME Officially we meet twice a year, spring and fall, but we actually meet four to six times a year or more! Earlier this year we met weekly to develop our gender diversity survey that explored the experiences of Two-Spirit, transgender, and non-binary members. We also drafted multiple resolutions and bylaws for convention, which meant even more weekly meetings. We collect agenda items from each region for updates from around BC.

UPDATE What items is the caucus currently focused on?

DAME The survey I mentioned just wrapped up and we're finalizing its results for release soon. We had a beautiful response! We hoped for a couple hundred responses but had about 600. We hope the findings increase visibility and can help address safety concerns at work for members since we now finally have a document that validates those concerns.

We're also working on resolutions and bylaws to increase human rights and equity representation within the Bylaws, Resolutions and Provincial Bargaining committees. We're fighting for equity, not equality. We want additional seats at these major tables to ensure a critical equity lens is applied.

UPDATE Why does the difference between equality and equity matter?

DAME Our history is fighting for equal rights but, because it's mass majority, smaller groups get eliminated. When there's an issue of homophobia, what's the priority in an equality system? When there's an equity-based system, concerns are heard because it's not based solely on numbers – all voices, regardless of number, are prioritized. Some folks need extra access to become equal eventually. That's my approach as caucus chair. An equitable approach helps ensure access for everybody.

UPDATE How many LGBTQ Caucus members are there?

DAME Nine of 16 regional chair positions are filled. A lot of it is volunteer work done off the sides of our desks. But we're passionate! It's not just my work – this is my life, my partner's life, and my friends' lives when we're talking about queer issues, concerns, and health.

UPDATE Why is it important for more members to join the LGBTQ Caucus?

DAME If we decrease discrimination and challenge homophobia, it benefits all. The more allies involved, the better. Visibility is extremely important to health outcomes. We need to hear all voices to create a kinder space. •

If you're interested in joining the LGBTQ Caucus, please email the chair at lgbtq@bcnu.org. For more information, contact Hanif Karim, BCNU human rights, equity and health policy officer.

UPDATE (Fall 2022)