Request for Quotation

Research Lead to Develop and Implement a Research Project

Ontario-Wide Religious-based Homophobia and Transphobia Research Report

I.Background

Rainbow Faith and Freedom (“RFF”) is a Toronto-based charity that directly confronts and ends religious-based discrimination to make the world safer for LGBTI people and their allies. To do this, RFF advocates to change the hearts and minds of religious communities to be affirming and inclusive of LGBTI people and their allies. Led by Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes, a former Senior Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, RFF is committed to inspiring faith communities and families to be safe places for LGBTI people by changing the hearts and minds of individuals, specifically people of faith, around the world.

RFF is a unique Canadian organization because it recognizes that religious-based discrimination is a problem in Canada. RFF, in contrast to most other LGBTI human rights organizations, does not believe that religious belief can be ignored any longer in the fight to end homophobia and transphobia. Because religious institutions continue to weaponize belief to perpetuate discrimination of LGBTQI people, and because religious belief is a human right, religious-discrimination must be confronted from a religious perspective that both affirms and is inclusive of LGBTI identity and faith.

II. Project Description

The Problem

Although Canada is a leader in LGBTI legislation, many people in different sectors of Canadian society still experience homophobia and transphobia. Equality in law does not mean equality in lived experiences. LGBTI discrimination in Canada exists despite progressive legislation. This has led to higher rates of suicide, addictions, and mental health issues in these communities. It has also led to higher rates of unemployment, hate crimes, and marginalization. LGBTI discrimination is often justified by religious belief by different faith traditions in communities. RFF is a unique Canadian organization because it recognizes that religious-based discrimination is a problem and is the most powerful and influential source of homophobia and transphobia in Canada. Even though conversion therapy is officially banned in Canada, other less “official” or institutionalized approaches to shame LGBTI people and demand they repress their sexual or gender identity will likely become a powerful mode of religious-based LGBTI discrimination that will directly harm Canadians, especially youth. Religious-based homophobia and transphobia must be confronted in order that all Canadians can feel that they belong.

The Opportunity

Religious-based discrimination has a direct impact on the beliefs and social attitudes of Canadians, despite the progress in legal protections that we have here. RFF wants to ensure that all sectors of Canadian society are inclusive of LGBTI people, specifically for this project, that faith-based institutions and organizations (the faith sector) in Ontario are equipped to take action to confront and end religious-based discrimination. Canada is currently at an important juncture: now that conversion therapy has been banned, other, more insidious and invisible efforts could take their place in faith-based communities to force individuals to repress their sexual and gender identity. RFF will help faith-based institutions and organizations develop approaches to reduce and eliminate religious-based anti-LGBTI discrimination and/or harmful practices, and engage them with the resources to help them affirm LGBTI people and reduce social isolation. For this project, RFF aims to offer research, resources, and support to help drive community awareness and engagement to end religious-based LGBTI discrimination in the faith sector of Ontario.

The Project

RFF will work towards ending religious-based discrimination in the faith sector of Ontario through the following initiatives: Research, Community Consultation, and an Awareness Campaign. These initiatives will ensure that faith-based institutions and organizations in Ontario understand the issues and are equipped with the best practices to take action in addressing and ending religious-based discrimination against LGBTI people. This will be achieved by connecting them with research, resources, and support to help to affirm LGBTI people, reduce their social isolation, and ultimately drive community awareness and engagement to end religious-based LGBTI discrimination in the faith sector of Ontario. Funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) will enable RFF to engage more fully with faith-based institutions and organizations across Ontario. Though RFF has a global mandate to end religious-based discrimination, this particular project is focused on Ontario, Canada and achieving inclusion and equality for LGBTI people in Ontario.

III. Objectives and Deliverables

RFF’s project includes the following objectives:

· Carry out research, in collaboration with LGBTI individuals and other members of affirming faith-based institutions and organizations across Ontario, to obtain hard evidence (both qualitative and quantitative) of the extent of religious-based homophobia and transphobia in faith communities in Ontario.

· Carry out research into the LGBTI human rights interventions currently being undertaken by faith-based institutions and communities to provide the groundwork for establishing best practices to confront and end religious-based discrimination. (Initial research completed).

· The results of the research will be published on our website, in our newsletter and on social media, and shared with everyone who has participated.

· Support the awareness campaign that publishes the results of our research. The awareness materials will be distributed online, for faith-based institutions such as places of worship and community organizations across Ontario.

Information Needs:

Collect stories of hurt, disenfranchisement, and loss from those who have been harmed by religious-based homophobia and transphobia from within places of worship.
Collect data on how many LGBTI people have experienced harm from religious-based homophobia and transphobia in Ontario
Collect data on how many places of worship currently are not inclusive nor affirming of LGBTQ people and their allies.
Collect information on best practices of places of worship which are inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ people and their allies.

Deliverables:

A final report (between 10 and 20) pages including an executive summary that will be shared with WAGE and the RFF Community.
Educational materials that guide places of worship in their efforts to be inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ people and their allies.
An archive of stories of hurt, disenfranchisement, and loss of those who have been harmed by religious-based homophobia and transphobia from within places of worship.

Budget: Maximum $20,000 inclusive of HST

Timeline of work: September 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023

Proposal requirements:

Please describe how you would undertake the activities mentioned above and any additional activities within the required timeline and budget.
Please describe previously completed contracts/experiences that have prepared you for this project.
Please provide contact information of a previous client for whom you have undertaken similar work.
Please keep your submission to under 3 pages (not including CV).
Please submit to smcclark@rainbowfaithandfreedom.org by 5:00 PM Wednesday, August 3rd