Should the RCMP offer LGBTQ2 awareness training to its employees?

Rielly Knock

A regular member who works in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Rielly is a transgender man who identifies as bisexual.

Do you think it's important for the RCMP to provide education and awareness about the LGBTQ+ community?

In my experience, so much perceived mistreatment and discrimination come from not knowing how to say or do the right thing. When we promote education and share our personal knowledge with police officers who have no experience dealing with members of the LGBTQ+ community, it helps them understand how to do things in a sensitive way that makes everyone feel respected.

The RCMP's new 2SLGBTQ+ awareness course is really helpful. Anyone can take it and benefit from it, but it's geared more towards police officers than civilians because we tend to be the ones who interact most often with people in marginalized communities. Intersectionality is definitely a factor. Some members of the LGBTQ+ community wind up homeless or marginalized in other ways. Those overlapping factors can bring someone to a place where they're vulnerable and interacting with the police more often than members of the larger population. Anything that helps police officers make marginalized people feel safe is definitely worth doing. Training is essential because when we know better, we do better.

For the past three years, I've given a "Trans 101" presentation to RCMP employees across the country. I knew most people didn't have experience dealing with the trans community because we're a small percentage of the population. I wanted to put information directly in front of people so they wouldn't be saying, doing or asking the wrong things just because they were worried about offending someone. When I'm on stage talking to an audience, I try to personify the issues I'm talking about. It helps a lot of people understand more easily than they might if they were taking a course or watching a video.

What does the acronym LGBTQ+ mean to you?

To me, it's about community and about being seen and accepted. The acronym says that no matter who you are, there's a place for you in the community, you know you're not alone.

I use the acronym 2SLGBTQ+, which was originally promoted by the organization OUTSaskatoon. Recognizing that Canada's Indigenous people were here first, they put the "Two-Spirit" people at the beginning of the acronym.

As an RCMP employee, what's been your experience as a member of the gender diverse community?

It's been overwhelmingly positive. When I joined the RCMP fourteen years ago, I was out as a lesbian. The RCMP was at a stage where my colleagues seemed to think they had to tell me about all of the gay and lesbian people they knew, they wanted to demonstrate that they were okay with it. Now, generally speaking, that's not an issue.

When I started my transition, I was already eight years into my job, well established in Saskatchewan and working in a small division where everybody knew everybody. I was a bit worried about how people would react. It didn't think it would be harder or easier, but I knew it would be a more public experience than transitioning in a big city. I started by telling a senior manager who was also a trusted friend. They talked to their manager and I received their full support. They told me the RCMP had no official policies about gender transition and they didn't know exactly what I might need, but they were totally behind me.

The only negative I encountered were people who were afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, so they said or did nothing. Since trans people are a small proportion of the population, not many people have personal experience with it. Many of my co-workers just didn't know what to say. I was open and forthcoming and eventually everyone just relaxed and supported me.

What's the importance of allyship?

To me, there's a difference between allyship and championship. Allies help us gain visibility and acceptance in the wider community. But allyship is passive. If you truly want to help, the best way to do it is to be a champion. Speak up against discrimination and harassment. Speak up when someone says or does something that's wrong or hurtful. When we have people around us who help lessen the burden of education, it helps us gain acceptance. Championship doesn't happen only in the upper echelons, it happens in day to day life and anyone can do it.

Date modified:

2021-06-25