Awareness About Victimization of Lgbtq Community- a Study of Youth in Twin City of Odisha, India
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR LEGAL RESEARCH & ANALYSIS (ISSN 2582 – 6433) VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 (June 2021) Email – [email protected] Website – www.ijlra.com 56565656565651 www.ijlra.com Volume 2 Issue 2 | June 2021 ISSN: 2582-6433 DISCLAIMER No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form by any means without prior written permission of Managing Editor of IJLRA. The views expressed in this publication are purely personal opinions of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Editorial Team of IJLRA. Though every effort has been made to ensure that the information in Volume I Issue X is accurate and appropriately cited/referenced, neither the Editorial Board nor IJLRA shall be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsever for any consequences for any action taken by anyone on the basis of information in the Journal. Copyright © International Journal for Legal Research & Analysis 1 www.ijlra.com Volume 2 Issue 2 | June 2021 ISSN: 2582-6433 EDITORIAL TEAM EDITORS Ms. Ezhiloviya S.P. Nalsar Passout Ms. Priya Singh West Bengal National University of Juridical Science Mr. Ritesh Kumar Nalsar Passout Mrs. Pooja Kothari Practicing Advocate Dr. Shweta Dhand Assistant Professor 2 www.ijlra.com Volume 2 Issue 2 | June 2021 ISSN: 2582-6433 ABOUT US INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR LEGAL RESEARCH & ANLAYSIS ISSN 2582-6433 is an Online Journal is Quarterly, Peer Review, Academic Journal, Published online, that seeks to provide an interactive platform for the publication of Short Articles, Long Articles, Book Review, Case Comments, Research Papers, Essay in the field of Law & Multidisciplinary issue. Our aim is to upgrade the level of interaction and discourse about contemporary issues of law. We are eager to become a highly cited academic publication, through quality contributions from students, academics, professionals from the industry, the bar and the bench. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR LEGAL RESEARCH & ANALYSIS ISSN 2582-6433 welcomes contributions from all legal branches, as long as the work is original, unpublished and is in consonance with the submission guidelines. 4 www.ijlra.com Volume 2 Issue 2 | June 2021 ISSN: 2582-6433 AWARENESS ABOUT VICTIMIZATION OF LGBTQ COMMUNITY- A STUDY OF YOUTH IN TWIN CITY OF ODISHA, INDIA By : Shrabani Acharya & Gaurav Ranna Abstract This paper deals about the violation of human rights against LGBT community in India. The sexual minorities are the persons belonging to LGBT community who fight for their freedom and for equal citizenship the first step taken by the Judiciary to give rights to the LGBT people made through the judgement in Naz foundation case which reversed its order so soon. In this article the researcher has tried to discuss about concept of LGBT right the nature of LGBT People and their discrimination on the ground of sex in the society it results in violation of their rights including fundamental rights and human rights. This research paper analysis the homosexual marriages in the Indian context as an invisible conflict which is successfully kept under cover. This paper mainly attempts to explain various aspects of Homosexuality including the evolution, the reasons, the societal attitude and reactions towards such relations. This study spreads the lights on legal framework on rights of LGBT community. The introduction of progressive laws will. Homosexuality will remain a taboo as long as people are willing to shove it under the carpet of oblivion and 10% of Indian population consists of LGBT people in than transgender people are only the hormonal problem not the others and the suggestion is that government should pass a legislation for marriage of LGBT people and the government has to take remedial actions for them otherwise those people will suffer a lot of exploitation from the people. Keywords: Human rights, Homosexuality,LGBT community, government and exploitation. Introduction(type of victimization) 6th of September 2018 was not an ordinary day. Something momentous happened on the day that “blew a life of “constitutionality” in the dead members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who have been subjected to centuries of mind-numbing toil. What marked the day special for the LGBT+ community was that the Supreme Court of India delivered a historical verdict decriminalising homosexuality by partially striking down Section 377 of IPC. The LGBT community all across the country erupted in the jubilant celebration enjoying their victory against the 200-year-old British-era law, that criminalised same-sex relationship. The significance of this whole judgement can be surmised in the light of the statement made by Justice Indu Malhotra while reading her 50-page verdict that “History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries”.1 However, this landmark event should not be construed as the culmination of more than two decades of a legal fight against the draconian law but rather should be understood as a beginning of a new era in the fight for LGBT Rights. It would not be wrong to say that the repealing of the colonial law was merely a tip of the iceberg and the LGBT community in India has a much larger and bigger struggle ahead of them. Despite homosexuality been decriminalised, the laws in India still remain hostile and prejudicial towards the LGBT community in several ways.The reason behind this is that there exists an enormous gap between the legislative and the judicial development of LGBT laws in India. So, though the Supreme Court of India through the landmark judgements of National Legal Services 1 Kaminsky, Arnold P. & Long, Roger D., India Today-An Encyclopedia Of Life In The Republic, available at: https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=B4629C (Last visited on 10th March, 2020). 5 www.ijlra.com Volume 2 Issue 2 | June 2021 ISSN: 2582-6433 Authority v. Union of India, Navtej Singh johar v. UOI, and Justice K.S.Puttaswamy v. Union of India (Puttaswamy)2 has laid the groundwork to confer upon the queer and non-binary community a bundle of basic human rights, but the legislature has failed to keep up with the recent developments. So essentially speaking, the same-sex couples now have the legal right to cohabit and conduct their personal affairs without any fear of persecution but are still denied equality of treatment in various aspects. Thus, it is imperative to take the conversation forward and talk about the various laws that continue to discriminate against the LGBT+ persons. It includes anti-discriminatory laws such as no recognition of same-sex marriages, no rights for adoption, surrogacy etc. So, the fight for equality continues as there is a long battle waiting ahead, swarmed with numerous difficulties given that the LGBTQ+ community remains closed off to civil rights. Review of relevant literature Evolution of LGBTQ Rights in India: Section 377 of IPC criminalised all kinds of non-procreative sexual intercourse was enacted in the pre-independence era by the British colonial Government.The despotic law was not only directed against the homosexuals but also covered all other forms of non-traditional sexual intercourse even in the course of heterosexual union. It took more than 70 years and almost 2 decades of the long legal battle to scrape down this old age law. The law was a weapon to harass and exploit all those who didn't conform with the traditional binary of sexuality and gender. Though the beginning of the LGBT rights movement can be traced back to the early 1990s but all the major developments that happened since then can be discussed in the reference of the following key judgements and their aftermath. In 2009 in the case of Naz Foundation Govt. v. NCT of Delhi, the High Court of Delhi held that Section 377 of IPC imposed an unreasonable restriction over two adults engaging in consensual intercourse in private. Thus, it was in direct violation of their basic fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14,15,19 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.. Suresh Kumar Koushal vs Naz Foundation3 Background: Various Individuals and faith-based groups vehemently rejected the idea of decriminalizing homosexual relationships, in light of India’s rich history bathed in ethics and tradition. They further appealed before the Supreme Court of India to reconsider the constitutionality of Section 377. Judgment: When the community, after eight years of a long battle, was just letting out a sigh of relief, the Supreme Court on 11th December 2013, overturned the judgment of the Delhi High Court and re-criminalised homosexuality. A bench of Justice GS Singhvi and Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya Court held that LGBT+ persons constituted a ‘minuscule minority’ and therefore 2 Acharya Y., Raghavendra MV, Acharya B, Priyanka RNK and Raj BV, Understanding Homosexuality: Challenges and Limitations, available at: https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/understanding- homosexualitychallenges-and-limitations.php?aid=91276 (Last visited on 10th March, 2020). 3 Sherry Joseph, Gay and Lesbian Movement in India, available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4404520 (Last visited 10th March, 2020). 6 www.ijlra.com Volume 2 Issue 2 | June 2021 ISSN: 2582-6433 did not deserve constitutional protection and further observed that Section 377 of IPC did not suffer from the vice of unconstitutionality. Aftermath: But the silver lining was that the Suresh Kumar Koushal V. Naz Foundation judgement, instead of putting a halt on the LGBT movement has rather rekindled a new wave of activism in India. The Supreme Court’s iconoclastic judgement faced immense criticism from every nook and corner for erasing basic human rights of homosexuals. The result was that public discourse about LGBT rights witnessed an upsurge in India.