The Chair's Mission

The Canada Research Chair in Partnership Research and the Empowerment of Vulnerable Youth (CRC-ReParE) is a Tier 1 Research Chair funded by the Canada Research Chairs Program - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2023-2030). Its aim is to produce empirical and intersectional knowledge on the social exclusion and inclusion of vulnerable young people.

For the purposes of the Chair, vulnerable groups of young people are those facing systemic barriers and multiple oppressive conditions that prevent them from achieving their full potential in society.

The Chair is particularly interested in research and methodologies to be deployed with young people under the age of 25, consistent with the CRC's work on transgender children and their families (level 2), which Prof. Pullen Sansfaçon held between 2018 and 2023.

The Chair's work therefore focuses specifically on gender-diverse youth living at the intersection of other social dimensions, since difficulties are amplified when young people experience multiple oppressions (e.g. race, disability, gender and age).

Projects aim to understand the experiences of trans and non-binary youth, sexual diversity youth, detransitioning youth, and Two Spirit youth. As the successor to the Canada Research Chair on Transgender Children and Their Families (CRC-ETF), CRC-ReParE pays particular attention to gender-diverse youth living at the intersection of other social dimensions, since difficulties are amplified when youth experience multiple oppressions (e.g. race, disability, gender and age). The Chair has also extended its work to issues affecting aboriginal youth, particularly trans and indigenous.

CRC-ReParE's activities are based on a transaffirmative approach that recognizes a fluid, non-binary vision of gender, going beyond the categories of "masculine" and "feminine". This approach emphasizes support, respect for self-determination and valuing individuals' expertise over their own lives (Pullen Sansfacon 2015; Médico and Pullen Sansfacon 2018; KeoMeyer and Ehrensaft 2018). The transaffirmative approach aims to enable individuals to freely live and express the gender that suits them, without limitation, rejection or restriction (Hidalgo et al., 2013).

Chair Holder

Annie Pullen Sansfaçon

Annie Pullen Sansfaçon, a professor in the School of Social Work at the Université de Montréal, holds the CRC-ReParE and formerly the CRC on transgender children and their families. Since 2023, she has also been Associate Vice-Rector for Relations with First Peoples, and in 2020 co-founded the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la justice intersectionnelle, la décolonisation et l'équité (CRI-JaDE). Annie Pullen Sansfaçon is a committed researcher whose work lies at the crossroads of social work and ethics. Her experience as a Wendat woman and parent of a gender-diverse child has led her to focus her work on issues affecting trans youth and their families, as well as aboriginal issues. Through methodologies and interventions rooted in trans-affirmative and anti-oppressive perspectives, her work aims not only to understand the realities of these vulnerable groups, but also to develop their autonomy and power to act and confront oppressions.

Prof. Pullen Sansfacon has already established herself as an international leader on the subject of transgender children and young people, and on the methodologies she uses to generate empirical data. A strong indicator of the impact of its work is that it is cited in the World Association of Trans Health Professionals' most recent Standards of Care (2022), a document reflecting the most robust knowledge of intervention with trans people, and based on expert consensus (Delphi method). The document 'Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving Trans Communities', which she co-authored as part of the work of the Research Committee of the Canadian Association of Trans Health Professionals, is also cited as an important resource internationally, as it is in France.

In 2023, she was elected a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Researchers and Creators, and received the Conseil Interprofessionel du Québec's Prix Mérite(social work) that same year.

Prof. Pullen Sansfaçon's research work has also been recognized by several organizations as having made a significant contribution to the development of knowledge on the subject, as well as to the social change that has occurred in Quebec, Canada and internationally. She won the Femme de mérite pour la Recherche et l'innovation award in 2017, the Droits et liberté award from the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse in 2016 and a Médaille de l'Assemblée nationale in 2015. His work has also earned him invitations to offer customized training internationally in the United States and South Africa. Prof. Pullen Sansfaçon is also a Research Associate at Stellenbosh University in South Africa, a mandate that has been renewed until 2025. Together with colleagues Singh, Todorovic, Gotovak and Bauer, the team won the Canadian Pediatric Society - Mental Health Section Research Award 2022 for their poster "Self-Care and Coping Behaviours Among Trans and Gender-Diverse Adolescents in Clinical Care: A mixed methods study".

Researchers

Denise Medico (She)

Professor, Department of Sexology, UQAM
Psychologist OPQ and sexologist OPSQ

Denise Medico is a professor in the Department of Sexology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, where she teaches existential humanist psychotherapy, supervision and clinical and diagnostic practices relating to issues of gender and erotic diversity. She has been practising as a psychologist and sexologist-psychotherapist for twenty years, as well as a clinical supervisor. Her research focuses on the development of inclusive clinical approaches and the teaching of psychotherapy in sexology. She is the author of the book Repenser le genre: une clinique avec les personnes trans (Georg 2016) and has edited the books La sexologie clinique, une psychothérapie inclusive et intégrative (PUQ, 2021) and co-edited Jeunes trans et non binaires, de l'accompagnement à l'affirmation (Éditions Remue-Ménage, 2021). She is a member of the scientific advisory board and the think tank on sexology training for the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS). Les Presses de l'Université du Québec invited her to edit and co-edit the new collection Sexualités et Sexologies. She co-founded Centre3 to provide a platform in Lausanne for psychotherapeutic and sexological training and care from an inclusive feminist perspective.

Djemila Carron (They)

Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM

Djemila Carron is a professor in the Department of Legal Sciences at UQAM. Before joining UQAM, they conducted research on the rights of LGBTIQIA+ individuals under Swiss and international law. They also created the Network for Law, Gender, and Sexualities in Romandy, Switzerland. Their work focuses on clinical legal education from critical pedagogies, community-based legal practice, as well as issues of gender and sexuality in law. Since 2023, they have been leading cliniX at UQAM, a university legal clinic specializing in gender and sexuality issues in connection with the Quebec community.

Johanne G.-Clouet (She)

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, UdeM

Professor Clouet teaches at the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Law and is an associate professor at the Institut des sciences, des technologies et des études avancées d'Haïti. She is also director of the master's programme in notarial law at the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Law. Her teaching and research activities focus on family and youth law, and have been the subject of national and international publications and conferences. She is also involved in various research groups in family and children's law and is a member of the executive committee of the International Society of Family Law, an independent international association dedicated to the study, research and discussion of family law and related disciplines.

Julie-Christine Cotton (she, no courtesy title)

Psychoeducator and an associate professor, Addiction Services at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UdeS

Julie-Christine Cotton is a psychoeducator and an associate professor in the Addiction Services at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Université de Sherbrooke. She founded the Labo Inclusif to study minority stress and the psychosocial issues faced by marginalized groups, such as 2SLGBTQIA+ populations and neurodivergent individuals. She is interested in trans-affirmative and neuro-affirmative approaches, as well as adapting practices to better consider and value these groups.

Kévin Lavoie (He/Him)

Associate Professor, School of Social Work and Criminology, ULaval

Kévin Lavoie is a professor at Laval University's School of Social Work and Criminology and Scientific Director of the Centre de recherche Jeunes, familles et réponses sociales (JEFAR). His research focuses on access to care and social services for LGBTQ+ populations, as well as the experiences of families on the margins of family, gender and sexuality norms.

Nicholas Chadi (He/Him)

Associate clinical professor, UdeM

Nicholas Chadi (il) is an associate clinical professor at the Université de Montréal, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent medicine at CHU Sainte-Justine and a clinical research fellow (Junior 1) at the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé. He completed a journalism fellowship at the University of Toronto, as well as a master's degree in public health and a fellowship in paediatric addiction at Harvard University. He is co-director of the gender diversity clinic at CHU Sainte-Justine. His research focuses on substance use and mental health among adolescents, as well as the characteristics, needs and care trajectories of transgender and non-binary youth.

Madame Claude Amiot (She)

Researcher-Citizen, UdeM

Ms. Claude Amiot is co-recipient of a research grant from the Engagement program of the 3 Fonds de recherche du Québec. She joined the research team in 2021 as a Citizen Researcher. She is president of Entraide Trans Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, a witness for the Pour que vieillir soit Gai program and a governor of Fondation Émergence. Her life experience and involvement with the trans and non-binary community make her a perfect collaborator for various research projects.

Marie-Joëlle Robichaud (She)

Professor, Department of Psychoeducation and Social Work, UQTR

Marie-Joëlle Robichaud is a professor in the psycho-education and social work department at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Her research focuses on youth protection services for people who are often on the margins of society, particularly young trans* people.

Marjorie Rabiau (She)

Associate professor, School of Social Work, McGill University

Marjorie Rabiau is an associate professor at McGill University's School of Social Work. She is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist. As a cis-queer white person, Marjorie is constantly trying to reflect on her positionality, on -isms in society and how they manifest themselves in academic spheres and in the delivery of services.

Mélanie Millette (She)

Professor, Department of Social and Public Communication, UQAM

Mélanie Millette, PhD, is a full professor in the Department of Social and Public Communication at UQAM and a member of the Laboratoire sur la communication et le numérique (LabCMO), where she is responsible for the methodological axis. She is also a member of the Institut de recherches féministes (IREF) and the Réseau québécois en études féministes (ReQEF). Her research focuses on the political uses of social media and the Internet for people in a minority or marginalised position.

Philippe-Benoit Côté (He/Him)

Full Professor, Department of Sexology, Uqam

Philippe-Benoit Côté, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sexology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. His research focuses on access and structural barriers (sexism, cisgenderism, systemic violence) to sexual health services among young people experiencing homelessness, and on the life trajectories that explain why people (young people, LGBTQ+ people, women, men) experience and remain homeless. He is currently leading a SSHRC-Savoir project (2020-2025) on the life trajectories of trans and non-binary young people experiencing homelessness (in collaboration with Annie Pullen Sansfaçon, Sue-Ann MacDonald, Edward Lee, and Alexandre Baril).

Robert-Paul Juster (He)

Professor, psychiatry and addictology, UdeM

I am a neuroscience researcher. My research focuses on the study of chronic stress, taking into account the effects of gender, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. My research interests include the study of allostatic load, a measure of the long-term consequences of the effects of chronic stress on individuals. In my studies, I take gender and sex variables into account to identify possible differences and explanations. I'm interested in both the biological and social determinants of chronic stress. As well as being a researcher, I am director and founder of the Centre d'études sur le sexe*genre, l'allostasie, et la résilience (CESAR).

Sue-Ann MacDonald (She)

Associate Professor, School of Social Work, UdeM

I have been a professor at the Université de Montréal's School of Social Work since 2011. I have worked for decades in the field of homelessness, initially as a psychiatric social worker (Outreach) and then as a researcher. My research examines the various tensions embedded in the discourses and practices (social, health and judicial) that produce oppression, exclusion and discrimination against people experiencing homelessness. I carry out projects on hidden homelessness and insecure housing, on the emergence of the encampment phenomenon across Canada, as well as action research projects in partnership with people affected by homelessness through community organisations. The aim is to capitalise on experiential knowledge and practices in order to strengthen preventive, comprehensive and community-based approaches to reducing marginalisation and exclusion. Before discovering social work at master's level, I studied and worked in the field of international development (mainly in East Africa) and community development. More recently, I am interested in the ecological transition and the development of practices, knowledge and pedagogy centred on climate justice and decolonial perspectives in social work.

Yann Zoldan (He)

Psychologist and Professor of Psychology, Department of Health Sciences, UQAC

Yann Zoldan, PhD, is a psychologist and professor of psychology in the Department of Health Sciences at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). His research interests include access to care and clinical practice with marginalised and culturally diverse populations, as well as the prevention of violence and discrimination. He has expertise in qualitative, critical and community partnership research. His clinical experience includes adults and adolescents, trauma survivors and, more broadly, marginalised and discriminated populations (racialised and LGBTQ+). He is currently a psychologist, psychotherapist and researcher at the Clinique Mauve (a clinic for LGBTQ+ migrants and/or racialized people).

Employees

Morgane Gelly (She/They)

Senior Research Advisor

After completing a double degree in anthropology and sociology in France, Morgane flew to Montreal to further her interest in gender studies. They validated a master's degree in sociology at UQAM in 2018, presenting a dissertation on access to gynecological care for trans men. Since 2019, Morgane has worked with Annie Pullen Sansfaçon as a research coordinator at the Canada Research Chair on transgender children and their families, notably on the Discours (De)trans project. In 2023, they took up the position of Senior Research Advisor for the new ReParE Chair.

Sei Laroche-Tanguay(He/They)

Partnership Coordinator

Sei Laroche-Tanguay is a sexology student at UQAM. Interested in deepening his knowledge of gender studies and responding to the needs of trans and non-binary populations, he completed a BAC in sexology and carried out an internship with Action santé travesti(e)s et transsexuel(le)s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q). His master's thesis focused on the practice of cosplay in Quebec and gender exploration among trans and non-binary people. Sei is currently in charge of coordinating partnerships for the Research Team.

Tommly Planchat (He/Him)

Research professional

Tommly Planchat has been a research assistant for the Chair since 2021. During his Master's degree, he specialized in the social psychology of health, with a particular interest in gender studies. He has subsequently worked as a project manager and facilitator with LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities and, more recently, teenagers. He was a clinical coordinator at a youth center, where he began providing training in inclusive and anti-oppressive professional practices. He is currently working on the project Discours (De)trans.

Samuel Champagne (He/Him)

Research professional

Samuel Champagne holds a doctorate in literature and a postdoctorate in social work. He specialises in LGBT studies and the sociology of literature. He created and conceptualised the coming-in process. He is also an author: he has published some fifteen works, many of which deal with sexual and gender diversity. He was named guest of honour at the Salon du Livre de Montréal (2018), and was the recipient of the Dorais-Ryan grant (2015), the AQPF-ANEL prize (2015 and 2023), the Prix Relève du CMCC (2016), the Prix Espiègle (2018) and the Best Thesis award (2019). He is currently working as a research professional on the Grandir Trans project.

Students

Félix Bélanger (They, fluid gender agreements)

PhD candidate in psychoeducation and research assistant

Félix Bélanger is a doctoral student in psychoeducation at the Université de Montréal. They are passionate about research involving vulnerable populations, including 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and youth facing adaptation challenges in school settings. Their thesis project focuses on the school climate experience for transgender and non-binary high school students. This project is supported by their clinical experience as a psychoeducator in schools, as well as an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that includes gender as a social construct, minority stress theory, and person-environment fit theory. Currently, they are collaborating with Madame Claude Amiot and the rest of the research team on the civic engagement project.

Mathieu Boivin (he/him)

Doctoral candidate in applied human sciences

Mathieu Boivin is pursuing a PhD in applied human sciences under the joint supervision of Nicole Gombay and Annie Pullen-Sansfaçon. His thesis focuses on the decolonization of research ethics. In it, he proposes systemic, structural and positional changes to be adopted by researchers and research institutions to bring more humility and balance to research relationships. With nearly ten years' experience working with numerous Aboriginal communities in Quebec and elsewhere, he is also Native Studies Program Coordinator and Lecturer at the Université de Montréal, where he teaches colonial history in Quebec, the workings and vices of the socio-economic-political system, and work and research ethics in Aboriginal contexts.

Charles-Antoine Thibeault (he/him)

Doctoral candidate in social work and research coordinator

Charles-Antoine Thibeault is a music therapist and doctoral student in social work at Université de Montréal under the supervision of Annie Pullen Sansfaçon. He completed a Master's degree in music therapy at Concordia University in 2017, where he was involved as a research assistant and then as a lecturer. Since graduating, he has been involved on the board of directors of the Association Québécoise de Musicothérapie, where he serves as President. He has many years' experience as a music therapist in social pediatrics and with Jeunes Identités Créatives, formerly known as Transgender Children Canada. Charles-Antoine coordinates the Grandir Trans project.

Naomie-Jade Ladry (she)

PhD candidate in applied human sciences and research assistant

Naomie-Jade Ladry, a doctoral candidate in applied human sciences, is a graduate of Université Laval's Maîtrise en sciences de l'administration - gestion du développement international et de l'action humanitaire and the Microprogramme de deuxième cycle en études du genre. Her interests lie in gender equality issues, in particular intersectional feminist perspectives and issues surrounding gender diversity. Naomie-Jade Ladry works as a research assistant on the Grandir Trans project.

Élio Gravel (he/him)

PhD candidate in psychology

A graduate of the Université de Montréal with a bachelor's degree in music, Élio is currently a doctoral candidate in psychology under the supervision of Annie Pullen Sansfaçon. He has been teaching guitar to children and teenagers for several years, and is particularly concerned with young people's sense of inclusion. His main areas of interest are resilience, authenticity, emotional experience and social support, particularly in contexts of intersectionality. Élio's involvement in this field of research aims to contribute to the destigmatization of diversity and collective emancipation from systems of oppression. His ideal: to contribute to the construction of a world where everyone has the opportunity to flourish through the precious experience of acceptance and validation.

Partners

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CRC ReParE

Canada Research Chair in Partnership Research and the Empowerment of Vulnerable Youth

Social Work School

C.P. 6128 succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal

Contact:

(514) 343-7528

a.pullen.sansfacon@umontreal.ca

The Canada Research Chair in Partnership Research and the Empowerment of Vulnerable Youth is located in Tiohtiá:ke / Montréal on indigenous territory, which has never been ceded.

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