The results are in. Resilience isn’t enough. The barriers must be broken.
Why We Created This Survey
Voices Unheard is the first national health survey focused on Black women, girls, and gender-diverse people in Canada. It exists because our stories, our pain, and our realities have been ignored or erased in Canadian data.
This survey centres the social determinants of health, the conditions that shape our well-being, like income, housing, education, safety, mental health, and access to care. For Black communities, these are deeply impacted by anti-Black racism and systemic injustice.
Nearly 2,000 Black women shared their experiences of being silenced, dismissed, and harmed by the very systems meant to care for them. This survey changes that. It makes our voices visible. This work is grounded in our RISE pillars and serves three key purposes:
Reveal Truths Through Data
Reveal Truths Through Data
Inform Systems and Drive Change
Inform Systems and Drive Change
Centre and Elevate Black Voices
Centre and Elevate Black Voices
collective act of refusal to be ignored.
Exploring the Data: The Social Determinants of Our Health
Health is not only shaped in hospitals or doctors’ offices. For Black women and girls in Canada, it is shaped in classrooms, workplaces, housing systems, and relationships. It is shaped by access to care and the denial of it. It is shaped by whether we are believed when we say we are in pain.
The Voices Unheard survey was built on the foundation of the social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions are not random. They are shaped by policy, by power, and by the legacy of anti-Black racism.
Each section of this report explores one of these determinants, offering both qualitative and quantitative data on how Black women and girls are impacted.
Tap a title to navigate The Voices UnHeard Survey:
Demographics
Access to Healthcare
Chronic Illnesses
Mental Health
Gender-Based Violence
Family Life
Work Experience
Healthcare Professionals
Education
Take Action. Here’s How You Can Help:
Share Your Story with Us
Share Your Story with Us
Your voice is a catalyst for change. When Black women speak their truth, systems must shift. Join our growing community by submitting your story or experience to help inform our advocacy and build the future we deserve.
Share the Findings
Share the Findings
Use your voice and platform to raise awareness. Share the Voices Unheard report and data with your networks. Bring the conversation to your workplace, school, faith spaces, and community. Let others know what we heard and why it matters.
Donate to Support the Work
Donate to Support the Work
Your support helps us continue this work. Donations help fund community outreach, advocacy efforts, and continued research centred on Black women and girls. Every contribution counts.
