Humsafar Trust Interview

Questions asked and their Answers

Name: Shruta Rawat

Age: 32
Job: Research Manager, Humsafar trust

1. Mumbai is the city of open minds and aspiring hearts, even so there is need
for major progress to be made in the mindsets of the society here. What are
the difficulties faced by the LGBT+ community due to such a mindset?

Response: Mumbai being urban and cosmopolitan has a lot of advantages;

however, the socio-cultural attitudes toward LGBTQ issues are not very favorable.
While individuals may be “okay” with other people being LGBTQ, they may not be
accepting of their own children being LGBTQ. The issues faced are often different by
each community within LGBTQ spectrum too. For instance, challenges faced by
transgender individuals are not the same as those faced by gay men. While LGB
individuals might have challenges with coming out, transgender individuals may
have to battle coming out as well as other issues such as gender re-affirmation
processes, changes in documentation, which are not a direct result of the mindset
but are often complicated by one’s own perceptions toward transgender individuals.
LGBTQ individuals, particularly transgender communities, may face issues seeking
employment, housing or even education. Further, the stigma around same-sex
relationships as well as non-heteronormative gender expressions may subject
individuals to blackmail, harassment and coercion that lead to aggravated assaults.
These conditions may lead to poor mental health outcomes among individuals.

2. What are the methods adopted by you and the others around you to prevent
such problems? What support is being given to the affected people?

Response: The Humsafar trust has an advocacy unit that actively helps individuals
who have experienced assault, blackmail or harassment toward legal recourse. HST
connects individuals to lawyers who may offer pro-bono advise and assist in
accompanying individuals to police stations to file appropriate cases. The advocacy
unit also engages in sensitization of police stations, hospitals, employment places,
and educational institutes to create more enabling environments for LGBTQ
individuals. HST has a counseling unit with a qualified counselor who offers mental
health advice and refers clients to further mental health services if need be. We have
healthcare workers stationed at LTMG hospital and have linkages with other
government hospitals to assist individuals with accessing services. The research unit
 at HST helps document facts and generate evidence to highlight issues faced by
LGBTQ communities. Researched evidence helps build a stronger case for health
and rights. As a part of our safety initiatives, we have material available for
individuals to know what to do should they face crises situations. While we cannot
prevent all instances of stigma and discrimination as well as health challenges, we
try our best to offer recourse as well as create enabling environments by
sensitization and advocacy sessions.

3. Very recently the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code has been
decriminalized. Has this created a positive environment for the LGBT
community in India? How?

Response: IPC Sec 377 was used as a tool for blackmail and harassment against
the LGBTQ community. Studies conducted by us revealed that not only have
individuals faced violence and blackmail because of Sec 377, but that this law also
had an impact on mental health and social well being of individuals. While it is too
early to attribute the effect of this change to social well-being, its feels great to be
legal. When the Delhi High Court read down Sec 377 in 2009, a lot of individuals felt
free to express themselves. People came out to their families, at work places and
they experienced more confidence in being themselves. They also were more likely
to take legal recourses against blackmail and extortion. Further, there was greater
acceptance in mainstream spaces – establishments were willing to let us use
venues for our events, doctors were eager to learn more about what could be done
for the community. The present verdict is a ray of hope after our disappointment in
2013. It’s a strong verdict that not only decriminalizes us but also paved way for
other rights – it acknowledges our existence and believes in equality for our
communities. It was a much needed step toward achieving our larger goals.
4. Many stories have emerged where homosexuals have been disowned after
‘coming out’ to their families. The emotional trauma that they must have been
facing in such cases would be very serious. Are there any activities that help
them to get over such emotional trauma?

Response: As shared earlier, HST offers counseling services to individuals for

issues impacting their lives. We further have an online support group for LGBTQ
youth that routinely addresses issues such as coming out – especially the do’s and
don’t’s We also offer the option of family counseling to individuals provided they are
able to convince their family to attend the sessions. Our research has allowed HST
to create a counseling manual for parents of LGBTQ individuals. It is important to
understand that just as LGBTQ individuals go through a journey of self-realization,
so do one’s parents after their child’s coming out. It is important to support parents
too and answer their fears and worries. HST supports a support group for parents of
LGBTQ individuals – the group is diverse and has parents who are already
supportive of their children’s sexuality/gender expression as well as parents whose
children have recently come out to them. While stories of being disowned are not
untrue, most do not result in disowning but end up with a lot of pressure on the
children to conform to heterosexual and heteronormative lives. Often children
emotionally succumb to this pressure. The support groups that we have as well as
the counseling service help in these scenarios.

5. India is a country of countless religions and cultures. Do you think religion

plays a pivotal role in determining a person’s choice of gender identity? How?

Response: No one chooses their sexual or gender identity. What they could chose
is their behavior and expression. Religion could play an important role in this regard
if a person comes from backgrounds that associate taboo with non-heteronormative
expressions. A person may then choose to conform and end up leading a dual life
along with distress of having to hide their sexual and gender identities. However,
sometimes people can be religious and at the same time very accepting of
themselves as LGBTQ.
6. India is a rather conservative country. Topics such as sexual intercourse and
sexually transmitted diseases are not discussed openly and this results in
very little awareness. Often certain infections and diseases are associated
with the LGBT community.
a. Could you please throw some light on the authenticity of these beliefs.
b. How true are these associations?
c. Do you think such beliefs at times prevents people to ‘come out’ (due to
these beliefs)?

Response: Not everyone in the LGBTQ communities are equally impacted by STIs.
While HIV/STIs prevalence is higher among Gay/Bisexual men and transgender
women as compared to the mainstream, lesbian women and transgender men have
a much lower prevalence of HIV/STIs. It is true that Gay/Bisexual men and
transgender women are at a higher risk and are more vulnerable to HIV/STIs due to
factors associated with the nature of sexual acts practiced as well as lack of
awareness and education around sexual health issues. While these beliefs do not
prevent people from coming out to my best understanding, they do prevent people
from accessing healthcare services due to associated stigma particularly in case of
rectal infections and STIs. Stigma around same-sex relationships may result in
individuals denying their sexual and gender identity, it may also prevent them for
seeking appropriate health measures. But the fear of HIV/STIs or being labelled as
“HIV/STI positive” because one is LGBTQ doesn’t actively stop people from coming
out. Often people themselves are not aware of risks associated with their sexual
behaviors and often contract infections due to lack of awareness.

7. What inspired / motivated you to join this trust and help the LGBT people in
India? What were the challenges you had to face before joining THE HUMSAR
TRUST?

Response: I hold a masters degree in HIV AIDS and STI medicine. Ive always felt a
strong bond to the community, and felt that there was much to be done in the field
for Indian gay/bisexual and transgender women communities. Humsafar always felt
like home, even before I started working here and I wasn’t looking for any other
place to work but here. Ive worked here for almost nine years and volunteered with
HIV/ST training for staff prior to initiating work full-time. I don’t think I joined the
organization to “help the community” as much as to use my education for making a
problematic situation a little better with the work I could do. I feel that the
organization has helped/helps me achieve my goal and objectives rather than the
other way around. I have a very supportive family and I did not face any particular
 challenges with my sexual identity. My family has been largely supportive and very
understanding. But my situation is an exception, and not the norm.

8. What difficulties have you faced in helping the LGBT community of Mumbai?

Response: Since my work mostly involves HIV/STI research, I come across a lot of
ignorance about LGBTQ communities not just in healthcare but among other
professions too such as the police force. These attitudes often become barriers in
work and result in communities not accessing healthcare or approaching the police
for help. While attitudes of people in Mumbai are changed relatively easily on
providing information, it is a little more difficult to create awareness among these
professionals in non-urban settings. Further, HST is a not-for-profit and our funding
is constrained. We often cannot reach everyone in need or provide medical help for
severe health complications that our community may face due to HIV, STIs or
gender reaffirmation processes. We further cannot provide housing to individuals
who may face threat from their partners or families, and are compelled to rely on our
connections with other non-LGBTQ groups who may have the funding for these
services. Age of consent laws prevent us from reaching out to LGBTQ children and
providing them with any support unless in presence of a guardian or parent. While
we understand the importance of these laws, they can be a barrier if we have minor
LGBTQ youth approach us for family counseling, HIV/STI health information, or
bullying.

9. A lot of famous fashion experts and designers are gay or bisexual. This fuels
the cliché that the people part of the LGBT community only work in fields such
as fashion , hairstyling etc. is it true?
a. Does the society push them into these creative fields or is it their
choice?
b. If it is a choice then why do they go for creative fields? Is it due to the
freedom of expression ?

Response: Creative fields require a LOT of talent and they are not everyone’s
cup of tea. I doubt the society’s push would do much as these fields are very
competitive and require one to be extremely skilled and talented to be able to
sustain. I would like to believe that LGBTQ individuals who are in these fields are
by their choice, and of course their talent. I would also disagree to the stereotype
that a lot of fashion experts are LGBTQ – a good number are not. And some of
us are really really bad at being good at fashion or even creativity so the
stereotype does put a lot of pressure on the community too to be “good at
fashion and creativity”. A possible reason for this cliché is that these fields may
be more accepting of individuals with non-heteronormative expressions – either
with their sexual or gender identity, while the others are not. There are a good
number of LGBTQ individuals in the IT sector, in education, in film making, in
politics, in police, in sports in hospitality and culinary arts, in research, in media,
in business and any other profession you could think out. They may just not be
as “out” as those in the creative fields, or as famous. We did a fun, informal
survey on our online youth LGBTQ support group some years ago and asked
individuals to name their profession – most cited IT followed by hospitality and
then working for banking MNCs. Very there few were in creative fields.

10. LGBT community in India is a minority but it has no reservations as

such in schools, workplaces and government positions. Do you think there
is a need for reservations for the LGBT community?

Response: Not all minorities have reservation in India. Some don’t. More than
reservations, I feel that institutes need to have strong anti-bullying, anti-
harassment and inclusion policies to ensure that LGBTQ children are not bullied.
Teachers need to be sensitized and schools need to focus more on having a
trained counsellor on board not just for LGBTQ kids but everyone. However,
there could be scholarships and reservations for transgender individuals as they
do face a greater number of challenges due to their gender expression resulting
in them dropping out of education. The reservations could particularly be
implemented for professional courses or higher education.