Voices Unheard: A Historic Report Reveals The Urgent State Of Black Women’s Health In Canada
For the first time in Canadian history, nearly 2,000 Black women, girls, and gender-diverse people have come together to share their lived experiences navigating the health system — and what they expose is a national crisis that can no longer be ignored.
Released by the Black Women’s Institute for Health (BWIH), Voices Unheard: Healthcare Barriers and the Lived Experiences of Black Women in Canada is the country’s first national health survey centring Black women’s realities across the full spectrum of the social determinants of health — from medical treatment and reproductive care to employment, mental health, violence, and childhood experiences.
The report is not just a collection of data. It is a collective testimony.
A Healthcare System That Sees Black Women — But Does Not Hear Them
While most participants had access to a doctor, 66.7% reported that their health concerns were dismissed or not taken seriously by a healthcare provider, and 42.4% delayed or avoided care because they feared anti-Black racism.
The impact of this dismissal is deadly: Black women in the study reported higher rates of chronic illness, medical neglect, and late-stage diagnosis across conditions like hypertension, fibroids, and lupus — conditions long documented as disproportionately affecting Black women, yet rarely tracked in Canadian health data.
One participant described fighting for over a decade before finally being diagnosed with lupus after being repeatedly told to “lose weight and come back.” Others recounted hemorrhaging during childbirth, being denied pain relief, or being labelled “too functional” to receive mental-health support.
A Maternal Health Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight
The report confirms what many Black mothers already know: the risk of trauma — and death — during pregnancy and childbirth is significantly higher for Black women in Canada. Over 28% of respondents were dissatisfied with their prenatal or postpartum care, with stories of being ignored in medical emergencies or blamed for complications.
One mother recalled bleeding alone in a hospital bathroom as staff dismissed her condition. Another was reported to child welfare services after being unable to walk post-C-section.
Canada has no national race-based maternal health data — a fact that the report states is not an oversight, but a policy failure with fatal consequences.
Mental Health: The Cost of Being "Strong"
Perhaps the most staggering finding: 27.4% of Black women surveyed have experienced thoughts of self-harm, compared to just 4% of women nationally.
The report names one of the causes: the “Strong Black Woman” stereotype — a cultural expectation that demands resilience while denying vulnerability, care, and rest.
Participants shared being denied treatment, misdiagnosed, or told their symptoms were “just stress.” Many only sought help after reaching a breaking point.
When the Workplace Becomes a Health Risk
The harms extend beyond hospitals. 68.5% of respondents faced workplace discrimination, and nearly half were pushed out of a job due to bias or lack of support.
For Black women working in healthcare — one of the largest sectors employing them — the irony is sharp: they are asked to care for others while receiving little care or safety in return.
Black Girls Are Not Starting from Zero — They Are Starting from Harm
The report also traces how health inequities begin early. Black girls face racism in schools, isolation in classrooms, punitive discipline, and body-based stereotypes before adulthood — experiences shown to shape lifelong outcomes in confidence, identity, and health.
A Call for Data, Accountability, and Transformation
What makes this report historic is not just its findings — but its demands.
It calls for mandatory race-based and gender-based health data collection, a national Black health equity strategy, and a shift from reform to transformation of the systems that harm Black women.
“No one can say they didn’t know anymore,” writes Executive Director Kearie Daniel in the opening letter. “Neutrality is no longer an option.”
A Blueprint for Change — and a Warning
The report closes with a statement that is both truth and threat:
The absence of data is not neutral. It is a choice that continues to cost lives.
Until Canada counts Black women, it will continue to discount them.
Read the full report and explore the data portal: bwhealthinstitute.com/voices-unheard
Cover Art: “Voices Unheard”
Original artwork by Nicole Alexander, commissioned by the Black Women’s Institute for Health (2025).
Report Writing & Graphic Design:
DAYO Media & Communications Inc. – Dayo Kefentse, Natassia Morris, Shellene Drakes-Tull, Sanjana Jones, Sabrina Ramroop, Khalia Badawi, Curtis Hannam
Voices Unheard Data Portal Design:
Noya Designs – Christina Gwira
By combining research, storytelling, visual art, and data sovereignty, the report becomes more than a document — it is a cultural and political record of Black women naming their truth, on their own terms.
