Queer children face maximum discrimination at homes, schools: Survey
Most bullying happens between the ages of 12 and 15 years
Today, Indian society knows a lot more about LGBTQIA+ than it did a few years ago, and some progress has been made but it still seems that the journey is long and arduous. A recent survey found that LGBTQIA+ children and adolescents face the highest levels of discrimination and bullying in their own homes, schools and neighbourhoods, with activists and stakeholders urging for concerted efforts to address these issues to help them get equal opportunities.
The survey conducted among 900 LGBTQ+ individuals by a Kolkata-based organisation, ‘Bridge’, which works for the rights of the community across Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, reported that most bullying happens between the ages of 12 and 15 years.
Many young people are forced to drop out of school, losing out on education, future employment, and income security, Bridge’s founder director Prithviraj Nath said. “Even after the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2018, the NALSA judgment in 2014, and Transgender Protection Act of 2019, LGBTQ+ people continue to face systematic exclusion in education, health care, workplaces, and public life,” he said.
Basic human rights still remain out of reach for many and it is extremely important that we bring to light the lived realities and challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community, and have dialogues with the larger society towards equal rights and inclusion of the community, Nath added.
With inputs from agencies
