Caitlyn Jenner speaks about transition, learning curve in advance of Regina appearance

Caitlyn Jenner says she hopes people who hear her speech at the Inspiring Leadership Forum in Regina will gain some understanding of what it is to be transgender.

Jenner, a former Olympic gold medallist, transitioned in 2015 after a lifetime of gender dysphoria and came out as a transgender woman.

"It wasn't until actually after I came out that I started to meet [trans] people in this community and learn about it — and boy, I had a lot to learn," Jenner said on Wednesday.

"Especially, I think at the beginning, I probably made some mistakes because I just didn't understand." 

Jenner is one of three keynote speakers at this year's Inspiring Leadership Forum in Regina. The others are Samra Zafar, a former child bride, and Dawn Smith, a former Evangelical cultist and field producer for Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign.

Jenner said she feels like the trans community is 30 years behind gay and lesbian people in the fight for equal rights.

"We need to fight all the time for equality," Jenner said.

Studies have found the suicide rate for trans people is nine times higher than the general public and that one trans woman is murdered every two weeks in the U.S.

Jenner hopes her keynote address will help the audience understand that being trans is just who she is. It's her identity, and the identity of trans people are all over the world.

"Every trans person out there deserves a break, deserves a great opportunity and deserves a great life," Jenner said.

Jenner spoke with reporters Wednesday in Regina before her keynote, saying the number one barrier to her transitioning was worry about how her family would react. She said they ended up being "extraordinarily supportive."

"I wanted to live my life authentically but I wanted to do that in a way that I didn't hurt anybody and I didn't want to hurt any of my children," she said.  

"If, I think, one of them would have said 'no, don't do it,' I probably wouldn't have done it."