“Some of the people most likely to need help are the least likely to get it,” said the collaborative’s Lydia Luk, who co-led the study titled “Believe Me.”
“The number one barrier to care was a lack of health-care providers knowledgeable in the diverse intersections of our issues.”
The findings echo the “widespread and insidious” health-care racism found by an independent investigation into anti-Indigenous racism in B.C. health care.
And the report said the situation is more dire for people also dealing with discrimination based on other factors, from gender to poverty to colonialism.
“The negative impact of this stigma is further amplified for many 2SQTIBMPOC as a result of broader socioeconomic concerns such as historic and ongoing colonialism, racism; intergenerational and multigenerational experiences of trauma and genocide; poverty and classism; and, sexism and misogyny, amongst many others,” the report says.