White privilege constructs whiteness as normative and central to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) identities and is reproduced through social norms, media representations, and daily interactions. We aimed to enhance understanding of the processes by which white privilege was experienced among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women of color in Toronto, Canada. We conducted two focus groups with LBQ women of color, one with participants who self-identified as masculine of center (n = 8) and the second with participants who identified as feminine of center (n = 8). Findings indicate that LBQ women of color experience intersectional stigma (e.g., homophobia, racism, sexism) on a daily basis. Participant narratives revealed that white privilege shaped the representations of women of color in a particular way that promoted their exclusion from white LBQ spaces and broader society. By representing queerness as white, LBQ women of color were rendered invisible in both queer and racialized communities. LBQ women of color were further marginalized by constructions of "real" women as passive, feminine and white, and conversely perceptions of women of color as aggressive, emotional, and hypersexualized. These representations inform spatialized practices and social interactions through constructing racialized communities as discriminatory and "backwards" while maintaining the invisibility of white privilege and racism in LBQ spaces.

Stigma, discrimination and violence contribute to health disparities among sexual minorities. Lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women experience sexual violence at similar or higher rates than heterosexual women. Most research with LBQ women, however, has focused on measuring prevalence of sexual violence rather than its association with health outcomes, individual, social and structural factors. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with LBQ women in Toronto, Canada. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess correlates of lifetime sexual assault (LSA). Almost half (42%) of participants (n = 415) reported experiences of LSA. Participants identifying as queer were more likely to have experienced LSA than those identifying as lesbian. When controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, experiencing LSA was associated with higher rates of depression, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), receiving an STI test, belief that healthcare providers were not comfortable with their LBQ sexual orientation, and sexual stigma (overall, perceived and enacted). A history of sexual violence was associated with lower: self-rated health, overall social support, family social support and self-esteem. This research highlights the salience of a social ecological framework to inform interventions for health promotion among LBQ women and to challenge sexual stigma and sexual violence.

The bullying of sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) is pervasive, with documented negative impacts on health. We explored the social ecology of bullying of SGMY, with a focus on religion as a source or context of bullying. Semistructured interviews with service providers, educators, and administrators in Toronto, Canada, who work with SGMY explored perspectives on the bullying of SGMY, focusing on religiously based bullying and strategies for intervention. Interviews (45-60 minutes) were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. The data revealed religiously based homophobic discourse that permeates religious (places of worship, faith-based schools) and secular microsystems (public schools, families) across SGMY's social ecology. The language and ideology of "sin"

IntroductionThe limited research that exists suggests that lesbian, bisexual queer (LBQ) and other women who have sex with women are at similar risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI) as heterosexual women. However, scant research has evaluated HIV and STI prevention strategies for LBQ women. The authors present the rationale and study protocol for developing and pilot testing a psychoeducational group-based HIV and STI prevention intervention with LBQ women in Calgary and Toronto, Canada.Methods and analysisThis is a multicentre non-randomised cohort pilot study. The target population is LBQ women in Calgary and Toronto, Canada. The authors aim to recruit 40 participants using purposive peer-driven recruitment methods. Participants will conduct a pretest followed by a 2-day group programme of six 2 h sessions addressing stigma, STI and HIV prevention, healthy relationships, safer sex self-efficacy, self-worth, social support and LBQ community engagement. Participants will conduct a post-test directly following the intervention and 6 weeks after the intervention. The primary outcome is safer sex practices; our prespecified index of clinically significant change is an effect size of 0.50. Secondary outcomes include: safer sex self-efficacy, STI testing frequency, STI knowledge, resilient coping, social support, sexual stigma, access to care, depression and self-esteem. We will conduct mixed-effects regression to calculate mean outcome pre–post test score change.Ethics and disseminationResearch ethics approval was attained from the Office of Research Ethics (REB: 29291), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Trial results will be published according to the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Non-randomised Designs (TREND) statement, regardless of the outcomes.Trial registration numberThis study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov, registration number NCT02067845.