While The Govt Does Nothing To End Homophobia, A Queer Man In Chennai Ends His Life

Jeet

5 years ago

Trigger Warning:

Avi Patel, a 20-year-old nail artist working in Chennai, from Shahada, Maharashtra, wrote a post on Facebook on July 2, 2019, describing his struggle with his sexuality and homophobia.

Avi identified as gay. He had mentioned in his note that he had tried very hard to be “normal” but his natural behavior and feelings could not be hidden. Unable to withstand the bullying and constant homophobic slurs like “Bailya”, “Hijra”, and “Chhakka”, Avi ended his life on the same day he uploaded his note.

Bullying is very common in schools in India, where a majority do not have a reporting mechanism or a counsellor. LGBTQ students face more bullying than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. A UNESCO survey conducted in Tamil Nadu India last year showed that 60% of LGBTQ students faced physical bullying in middle/high school, while 50% faced it in higher secondary. Only 18% of those had reported the bullying to the school authorities and in only about half the cases, the authorities took corrective actions.

The result is reduced social interactions, anxiety, depression, loss of concentration in their studies and lowered academic performance. Some students even end up skipping classes or changing schools.

The main cause of this is that student peers, teachers, and parents have never received any form of education related to gender, sexuality and gender identity. Therefore they are unable to address students concerns in the right way. Often parents and teachers ask queer children to “man up” and to fight their own battles, as a way to improve their behavior. Forcing a student to become someone that they are not is extremely dangerous and has life-threatening consequences.

Also read: I See Homophobia As Just Another Form Of Terrorism

In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India passed a directive to the Government of India to publicize its verdict on Section 377 through all forms of media such as print, television, radio, and online media, as well as to implement various awareness drives to finally eliminate the stigma against the LGBTQ community. However, till date, the Government has not implemented any such program.

It is the need of the hour to sensitise the masses about gender, sexual orientation and identity so that young LGBTQ persons have the right information and do not live believing that they are “God’s mistake”, something that Avi Patel believed. A national-level awareness drive will help reduce homophobia. LGBTQ persons can live confidently and with dignity.

Also read: India Needs More LGBTQ Therapists To Fight Homophobia

Anti-bullying laws for schools in India are non existent. The Central Board of Secondary Education has guided all its affiliated schools to form Anti-Bullying Committees to ensure that incidents of bullying in schools are rightly addressed. However, most schools have failed to form such a committee. The University Grants Commission has successfully curbed ragging to a large extent in Higher Education Institutes by implementing anti-ragging regulations and extensively publicising it. Similar regulations must be implemented at School level on an urgent basis.

One of the posts Avi Patel left on Facebook on July 2. Coincidentally, the date has in the past been celebrated by many as the anniversary of the historic Delhi High Court judgement to decriminalise homosexuality. Today, it is the date a young gay man was forced to end his life on.

It is time that the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and the Ministry of Women and Child Development work together to #EducateTheBully.