Psychosocial Wellbeing of the LGBTIQ+ Community in Bangladesh
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BRAC JPGSPH COVID-19 individuals who live in their own communities criminalizing same-sex activities under the Bangladesh RESEARCH REPORT structured by a well-defined guru-chela12 structure. Penal Code (BPC 377), which carries a maximum Transgender women and men in this research are not sentence of 10 years in prison. part of any guru-chela structure and hence are not part of the hijra community or the profession of hijragiri, The last decade observed several initiatives by LGBTQ and hence do not identify as hijras. 1 participant activist groups, and organizations working in sexual identified as ‘Koti’13 a localized expression for gender and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and law to variant identity which does not find a place within the further the rights of individuals with diverse universal English acronym LGBTIQ+, which shows that sexualities, genders, and sex characteristics. the acronym does not always fully represent the Particularly between the years 2014-2016, several various identities situated in specific geographies. We visible activist works such as printing of a magazine, chose to keep terms/labels that the participants used rainbow rally, a lesbian comic flashcard and queer to describe their identities without imposing other theatre production made it into the public domain. interpretation or any kind of judgement. Such visible forms of activism however came to a sudden halt in 2016, after the brutal killings of queer The Impact of COVID-19 activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy by INFORMED CONSENT AND Ansar Al-Islam militants. Having had experienced ETHICS instability, disconnections, relative hiatus, and a real sense of threat for one’s life, LGBTIQ+ activists have on the Psychosocial Wellbeing started to resume organizing in safe and discreet Participants were fully explained the purpose and manner once again. The process is ongoing and shaky, output (this report) of the research before the with a constant sense of insecurity, affecting interviews. Researchers have used their discretion and psychosocial health of activists and community of the LGBTIQ+ Community refrained from using original names of participants to members at large. ensure their safety. Names of organizations that the participants are part of have also been designated ‘Physiological as well as psychological changes, lack of letters (as opposed to stating their full names) to correct information, gender norms, sexuality related in Bangladesh ensure that various groups, especially the unregistered myths and misconceptions, lack of youth friendly Participants identify as homosexual (lesbian and gay), Bangladesh. Nonetheless, the rapid research highlights organizations and online collectives do not experience services, sexual violence and trauma etc. impact on bisexual, queer, cis-gendered9 woman and man, some of the specific ways COVID-19 has impacted any kind of backlash and that participants have better young peoples’ health and mental wellbeing. In transgender woman and man, genderqueer10, and communities and individuals. Further sampling and control over the circulation of information about the Bangladesh, there is hardly any psychosocial support intersex11. Their income backgrounds are data collection can hopefully draw a better picture of organizations. offered for young people (be it educational institutes lower-middle, middle, and upper-middle. Participants the community at large. or workplaces), and to design and deliver such services, included full-time students (diploma, undergraduate BACKGROUND we must have substantial research on these issues’ and graduate level), white-collar professionals, and Throughout the report, the term ‘LGBTIQ+’ has been (Karim 2014). ‘According to WHO, about 63 lakh students who also worked (private tuition). used to refer to the participants and the communities. people in Bangladesh suffer from depression, where Participants lived in urban cities and semi-urban towns It is relatively a new usage, as most activists and spaces ‘Bangladesh’s gender and sexual minorities (LGBT) women suffer from depression twice more than men. in 4 major divisions in the country: Dhaka, Khulna, use ‘LGBT’ or ‘LGBTQ’. In some places, ‘diverse gender often feel insecure about their gender identity and Women are most vulnerable in all social conditions’ Rangpur, and Barisal. Due to work or study, some of and sexual groups’ and ‘gender and sexual minorities’ sexual orientation for a number of reasons, including (Adhikary 2017). A needs assessment survey about them lived in a different city/town than their have also been used interchangeably. It is important to the persistent stigmatization due to religion and LGB people people (2015) by Boys of Bangladesh and hometowns but migrated and moved back with their clarify that the report does not shed light on the lives cultural norms, a societal and institutional denial about Roopbaan in Bangladesh showed that out of the 571 parents during the pandemic. All the participants are of hijras under the rubric of transgender. Even though the existence and validity of such diversity and the respondents, 44% experienced mental stress due to involved with community organizing and activism at several hijra individuals in NGO spaces or international criminalization of same-sex relations’ (GHRD 2015). their sexuality, living with a constant fear that people different capacities through unregistered and informal settings use ‘transgender woman’ for Thus, sexual orientations other than heterosexuality will find out about their sexuality. A follow-up needs networks/ groups/collectives, online social media self-identification or refer to ‘transgender’ as an are silenced, criminalized, and face institutionalized assessment survey to understand the current situation groups and registered institution. The data is not umbrella term to talk about hijras, transgender women violence in Bangladesh. Due to the immense lack of of LGB(TIQ+) people in Bangladesh has not taken representative of the entire LGBTIQ+ population in and men identities are however distinct from hijra discourse on homosexuality and a staunch place. heteronormative culture with regards to marriage and sexuality, diverse sexual identities do not hold any COVID-19 poses unique challenges for LGBTIQ+ legitimate status in the constitutional and cultural individuals in terms of physical and mental health and framework of Bangladesh. Bangladesh also remains wellbeing, livelihood, lockdown and family dynamics, one of the 70 countries which has a sodomy law passage of regressive laws, digital (in)security, and organizing and community mobilizing in many parts of Dhaka in collaboration with Uttoran Foundation, a report (2020) highlights the crucial aspects of countries: In Uganda, 19 LGBTI individuals staying at a of the leading foundations and NGO intermediary experience violence at home, leave home due to the world. local charity. ‘But aid has been relatively ad hoc and it’s belongingness and connections that play out for shelter were arrested, beaten, and questioned on their funders15 supporting global LGBTI issues and unsupportive and openly hostile parents and relatives, unclear who will receive government-promised aid and suicide prevention for LGBTIQ+ individuals. sexual behavior and were charged with disobeying produced a report (2020) which states that ‘this be homeless and/or find communities to live with In most countries in the world, LGBTIQ+ individuals how’ (Knight 2020). Bandhu Social Welfare Society ‘Loneliness is especially relevant to youth populations, COVID-19 regulations on social distancing. Some of moment demands philanthropic action to galvanize outside biological families. As a result, they either lead still experience inequalities and structural barriers in stands out as a prominent organization that has as the need for social acceptance and belongingness is the detained have HIV and had no access to the necessary resources for the particular and lives in denial, or discretely, opting for friendships and terms of legal, cultural, health and socio-economic distributed relief to 281 hijra and transgender prominent during adolescence and young adulthood medication during their 50 days of detention. Peurto significant challenges that LGBTI communities across intimate relations in secret as they know such relations rights - a reality that has only exacerbated because of individuals and plans to distribute to further 2275 […] social connection has become a crucial component Rico saw a spike in murders of transgender individuals the world will face in the coming months and years’ (2). will not be validated and may only attract backlash in the pandemic. ‘It has been documented previously that throughout the country through their network with of suicide prevention. Among LGBTQ individuals in since the lockdown. Hungary passed a transphobic law When asked if funders took action to shift or enhance private and public spheres. Living in unsafe private sexual and gender minority people receive less care local administration, including DC office, Civil particular, connection to the LGBTQ community has that removed the right of people to change their their grantmaking policies and practices in order to sphere of the family, and not having options to access during disasters as the standard operating programs of Surgeon’s office, LEA in different districts (GFAN AP been found to buffer the impact of stigma on gender and name that matches with their gender respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19, 88% support of the community during the