LGBTQ+: We too are humans

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“It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.”
– Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

The word queer or LGBTQ+ is often used to refer to non-binary, non-gender-conforming, or homosexual people. Often grouped, the LGBTQ+ community in itself is a heterogeneous community consisting of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Asexual etc.It is important to acknowledge different groups to protect their individual and group identity.

According to UNHRC, there are 60 Lakh transgender in India. However, Census 2011 counted for only 4.8 lakh trans genders. This vast mismatch is due to stigma, patriarchal and social barriers. Unfortunately, only 30000 are registered with the Election Commission of India. The rest are treated as ghost citizens and are subjectively deprived of social, economic, and political rights.

A report by IPSOS, a global public research platform, on LGBTQ+ pride 2021 revealed that 2% of India’s population identified as other than male or female. The same report, in regards to sexual orientation, shows that 9% of the Indian population identified themselves as bisexual, 3% as either gay or lesbian (i.e., homosexual), 2% as Asexual and 1% as pansexual. A major part of the country’s people, i.e., 17% do not consider themselves to be binary/ heterosexual.

Trans people and Covid

The pandemic of Covid 19 has exacerbated the problems faced by vulnerable sexual minorities. During the first wave of covid- 19, the trans community faced issues in quarantine facilities and healthcare as there were no inclusive centers for trans people. Manipur was the only state that set up a distinct quarantine center for trans people. According to the cowin dashboard, only about 56,060 people out of the 4,87,803 members of the trans community have received the vaccination.

Recent Developments

In the last decade, significant social and legislative efforts have been taken for their inclusion, such as:

• In Nalsa vs Union of India (2014) case, Supreme court declared transgender people as ‘the third gender’ and upheld that their fundamental rights
• In 2018, Section 377 was scrapped by the apex court and decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships between two adults.
• In February 2021, the Allahabad court ruled that no one could be fired from work because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
• In April 2021, the Madras High court banned forced sex selection surgeries on intersex infants, making it 1st in Asia to do so.
  *In June of 2021, Madras High Court also banned “conversion therapy”
• National Council for Transgender.
• Transgender Person Act, 2019

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Challenges of LGBTQ+

1. No self-identity: Even today, a person of this vulnerable section needs a district collector’s certificate pronouncing them as transgender people.
2. As per UNESCO 2019 report, this socially rejected community faced multi-level bullying. The forms of bullying varied from physical to sexual abuse. Among those who were bullied only 18% complained and fewer were heard. Most teachers, especially in rural India, are not trained or empowered to respond to anti-LGBT bullying. In many cases, teachers participated in bullying. According to the same report, teachers would often beat and berate male students for acting feminine.
3. As per a 2019 report by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), “Educational and training opportunities are often denied to LGBTQ persons due to harassment, bullying, and violence,”. This leaves a lasting impact on the students, often leading them to skip classes or dropping out of school and education altogether.
4. Triple Jeopardy: Due to subjective realization of objective reality, this community is deprived of mainstream education, access to resources, job opportunities and eventually forced to live in rampant poverty.
5. The Constitution of India Prohibits discrimination against any person, but there is no anti-discriminatory law for the LGBTQ population.
6. Corrupt data: In absence of solid reliable data, policy makers fail to justify their demands.
7. majority of laws in India are drafted in a manner that only recognizes ‘male’ or ‘female’ and hence LGBTQ+ population are left out from the ambit of legal protection.
8. According to a 2014 research by the world bank named “The Economic Cost of Stigma and the Exclusion of LGBT People: A Case Study of India”, homophobia cost India approximately 0.1 to 1.7 % of its GDP. This includes the cost of employment and health discrimination. It costs India close to $31 billion a year in loss of labor productivity, educational achievement and healthcare cost to LGBT people
9. No Representation in national legislative houses They are excluded from the political domain (restricted rights of collectivism, restricted rights and political participation.
10. Fractured legal provisions: Our legal provisions only cater to the needs of the male and female community. It doesn’t undertake the LGBTQ+ community as a party. In addition, acts that are specially framed for the transgender community have several limitations.

The way forward

The main challenge faced by the LGBTQ+ community in India is societal barriers like non-acceptance and discrimination. To create an inclusive and accepting environment for the LGBT+ community, the following area should be focused on to solve this is through education and awareness.

1. Education and Public Awareness Programs.
2. Social, Economic and Political Representation
3. Making appropriate changes in legal language
4. Efficient data management
5. Attitudinal change in society
6. Effective and Efficient implementation of beneficial services.

LGBTQ+ has already suffered a lot, now this needs to change. It can’t be denied that legislatures, executives and judiciary have taken numerous efforts to bring this ignored community into the mainstream. However, still multiple essentials steps need to be undertaken. After governmental intervention and judicial activism, now civic societies and education institutions have a greater role in removing the patriarchal stigma and redefining the trans people as god’s creatures, not a disease. Gender equality measures need a strategically broad vision because the essence and meaning of gender equality remain incomplete when it fails to take into account the sufferings and problems of the LGBTQ community.