Table 1. Lifetime prevalence of exposure to conversion therapy among sexual and gender minority Canadian men, by sociodemographic subgroups, 2019.
| Variable | n (%) in SN2019a (n = 9214) | Exposure to Conversion Therapyb, n (%) | % Exposed to Conversion Therapyc (95% CI) | RR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 910) | No (n = 8304) | ||||
| Sexual identityd | |||||
| Gay | 6984 (76.0) | 723 (79.7) | 6261 (75.6) | 10.4 (9.7–11.1) | 1.24 (1.06–1.45) |
| Bisexual | 2035 (22.1) | 166 (18.3) | 1869 (22.6) | 8.2 (7.0–9.5) | 0.79 (0.67–0.93) |
| Asexual | 153 (1.7) | 20 (2.2) | 133 (1.6) | 13.1 (8.4–19.7) | 1.33 (0.88–2.01) |
| Pansexual | 694 (7.5) | 96 (10.6) | 598 (7.2) | 13.8 (11.4–16.7) | 1.45 (1.19–1.77) |
| Heteroflexible | 220 (2.4) | 17 (1.9) | 203 (2.5) | 7.7 (4.7–12.3) | 0.78 (0.49–1.24) |
| Queer | 1397 (15.2) | 218 (24.0) | 1179 (14.2) | 15.6 (13.8–17.6) | 1.77 (1.53–2.03) |
| Other | 134 (1.5) | 16 (1.8) | 118 (1.4) | 11.9 (7.2–18.9) | 1.22 (0.77–1.94) |
| Gender identity | |||||
| Non-binary | 290 (3.1) | 58 (6.4) | 232 (2.8) | 20.0 (15.6–25.2) | 2.11 (1.66–2.68) |
| Other | 70 (0.8) | 12 (1.3) | 58 (0.7) | 17.1 (9.5–28.4) | 1.81 (1.08–3.04) |
| Male | 8852 (96.1) | 839 (92.3) | 8013 (96.5) | 9.5 (8.9–10.1) | Referent |
| Transgender status | |||||
| Transgender | 791 (8.7) | 151 (17.0) | 640 (7.8) | 19.1 (16.4–22.0) | 2.15 (1.83–2.52) |
| Cisgender | 8313 (91.3) | 739 (83.0) | 7574 (92.2) | 8.9 (8.3–9.5) | Referent |
| Two-Spirit status (of Indigenous participants) | |||||
| Two-Spirit | 170 (37.3) | 29 (46.8) | 141 (35.8) | 17.1 (11.9–23.7) | 1.48 (0.93–2.35) |
| Not Two-Spirit | 286 (62.7) | 33 (53.2) | 253 (64.2) | 11.5 (8.2–16.0) | Referent |
| Age (at time of survey) | |||||
| < 20 | 372 (4.0) | 49 (5.4) | 323 (3.9) | 13.2 (10.0–17.1) | 1.44 (1.03–2.03) |
| 20–29 | 2717 (29.5) | 279 (30.7) | 2438 (29.4) | 10.3 (9.2–11.5) | 1.13 (0.88–1.43) |
| 30–39 | 2362 (25.6) | 237 (26.0) | 2125 (25.6) | 10.0 (8.9–11.3) | 1.10 (0.86–1.41) |
| 40–49 | 1380 (15.0) | 138 (15.2) | 1242 (15.0) | 10.0 (8.5–11.7) | 1.10 (0.84–1.43) |
| 50–59 | 1561 (16.9) | 132 (14.5) | 1429 (17.2) | 8.5 (7.1–10.0) | 0.93 (0.71–1.21) |
| 60+ | 822 (8.9) | 75 (8.2) | 747 (9.0) | 9.1 (7.3–11.4) | Referent |
| “Out” about sexuality | |||||
| Out | 6801 (74.0) | 720 (79.5) | 6081 (73.4) | 10.6 (9.9–11.3) | 1.36 (1.16–1.59) |
| Not out | 2387 (26.0) | 186 (20.5) | 2201 (26.6) | 7.8 (6.8–9.0) | Referent |
| Race/Ethnicityd | |||||
| African | 81 (0.9) | 15 (1.7) | 66 (0.8) | 18.5 (11.1–29.0) | 1.89 (1.19–2.99) |
| Arab | 163 (1.8) | 36 (4.0) | 127 (1.5) | 22.1 (16.1–29.4) | 2.29 (1.70–3.07) |
| Asian | 290 (3.2) | 32 (3.5) | 258 (3.1) | 11.0 (7.8–15.4) | 1.12 (0.80–1.56) |
| Black | 172 (1.9) | 31 (3.4) | 141 (1.7) | 18.0 (12.7–24.8) | 1.85 (1.34–2.56) |
| Caribbean | 175 (1.9) | 37 (4.1) | 138 (1.7) | 21.1 (15.5–28.1) | 2.19 (1.63–2.93) |
| Indigenous | 495 (5.4) | 67 (7.4) | 428 (5.2) | 13.5 (10.7–16.9) | 1.40 (1.11–1.76) |
| Latin-American | 336 (3.7) | 70 (7.8) | 266 (3.2) | 20.8 (16.7–25.7) | 2.20 (1.77–2.74) |
| South Asian | 202 (2.2) | 28 (3.1) | 174 (2.1) | 13.9 (9.6–19.6) | 1.42 (1.00–2.01) |
| Southeast Asian | 181 (2.0) | 23 (2.5) | 158 (1.9) | 12.7 (8.4–18.7) | 1.29 (0.88–1.90) |
| White | 7687 (84.1) | 671 (74.3) | 7016 (85.2) | 8.7 (8.1–9.4) | 0.55 (0.48–0.63) |
| Educational attainment | |||||
| < College/university degree | 2053 (23.2) | 213 (25.1) | 1840 (23.0) | 10.4 (9.1–11.8) | 1.11 (0.96–1.28) |
| College/university degree | 6778 (76.8) | 635 (74.9) | 6143 (77.0) | 9.4 (8.7–10.1) | Referent |
| Personal income, CAD | |||||
| < $30,000 | 2743 (33.8) | 374 (47.3) | 2369 (32.3) | 13.6 (12.4–15.0) | 2.01 (1.70–2.37) |
| $30,000 to $59,999 | 2507 (30.9) | 221 (28.0) | 2286 (31.2) | 8.8 (7.7–10.0) | 1.30 (1.08–1.56) |
| ≥ $60,000 | 2874 (35.4) | 195 (24.7) | 2679 (36.5) | 6.8 (5.9–7.8) | Referent |
| Area of residence | |||||
| Rural | 423 (4.8) | 45 (5.3) | 378 (4.7) | 10.6 (7.9–14.1) | 1.15 (0.86–1.53) |
| Suburban | 2303 (26.0) | 233 (27.5) | 2070 (25.8) | 10.1 (8.9–11.4) | 1.09 (0.95–1.26) |
| Urban | 6155 (69.3) | 569 (67.2) | 5586 (69.5) | 9.2 (8.5–10.0) | Referent |
| Immigration status | |||||
| Immigrant | 1499 (16.4) | 219 (24.3) | 1280 (15.5) | 14.6 (12.9–16.5) | 1.64 (1.43–1.89) |
| Canadian-born | 7662 (83.6) | 681 (75.7) | 6981 (84.5) | 8.9 (8.3–9.6) | Referent |
| Province/Territory | |||||
| British Columbia | 1642 (17.8) | 181 (19.9) | 1461 (17.6) | 11.0 (9.6–12.7) | Referent |
| Alberta | 1383 (15.0) | 150 (16.5) | 1233 (14.8) | 10.8 (9.3–12.6) | 0.98 (0.80–1.21) |
| Saskatchewan | 241 (2.6) | 22 (2.4) | 219 (2.6) | 9.1 (5.9–13.7) | 0.83 (0.54–1.26) |
| Manitoba | 286 (3.1) | 41 (4.5) | 245 (3.0) | 14.3 (10.6–19.1) | 1.30 (0.95–1.78) |
| Ontario | 2805 (30.4) | 302 (33.2) | 2503 (30.1) | 10.8 (9.7–12.0) | 0.98 (0.82–1.16) |
| Quebec | 2031 (22.0) | 138 (15.2) | 1893 (22.8) | 6.8 (5.8–8.0) | 0.62 (0.50–0.76) |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 153 (1.7) | 18 (2.0) | 135 (1.6) | 11.8 (7.3–18.2) | 1.07 (0.68–1.68) |
| New Brunswick | 163 (1.8) | 15 (1.6) | 148 (1.8) | 9.2 (5.4–15.0) | 0.83 (0.51–1.38) |
| Nova Scotia | 422 (4.6) | 34 (3.7) | 388 (4.7) | 8.1 (5.7–11.1) | 0.73 (0.51–1.04) |
| Prince Edward Island | 45 (0.5) | 6 (0.7) | 39 (0.5) | 13.3 (5.5–27.5) | 1.21 (0.57–2.58) |
| Yukon | 24 (0.3) | 1 (0.1) | 23 (0.3) | 4.2 (0.2–23.1) | 0.38 (0.06–2.59) |
| Northwest Territories | 8 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 7 (0.1) | 12.5 (0.01–53.3) | 1.13 (0.18–7.13) |
| Nunavut | 11 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 10 (0.1) | 9.1 (0.5–42.9) | 0.82 (0.13–5.37) |
Note: N = 9,214; CI, confidence interval; RR, relative risk comparing prevalence of conversion therapy exposure to that of referent group; SN2019, Sex Now 2019.
a Missing, poor data quality, and “prefer not to answer” responses removed when applicable
b Percentage calculated using column total as denominator.
c Percentage calculated using row total as denominator.
d Responses allowed multiple-answers, overlap in responses.