June is Pride Month and amid the celebrations it is also the time to remember that the LGBTQIA++ community continues to battle discrimination everyday. In India, it is estimated that there are approximately 45.5 million people who identify as queer.
The LGBTQIA++ community, despite being accepted by the law, has had to face stigmatisation, social rejection, victimisation, homophobia and transphobia. It can lead to an individual trying to deny or conceal their sexual orientation and gender identity, which can cause long-term mental health issues and distress.
Institutionally, the queer community is one of the 12 least represented in public health equity research. In the 2018 Supreme Court verdict striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised “unnatural” sex, Justice DY Chandrachud had written about the responsibility of mental health professionals in providing support and advocacy to LGBTQI++ communities.
Yet, there remains a gap in services and access, and little or no public conversation or information about the mental health of queer folks.
A conversation
What is required is a public discourse on queer mental health. The first step is to have a public conversation within the community as well as broader society on discrimination, stigma and queer mental health.
Ensuring proper representation, dissemination of factual information and portrayal of diverse, queer…
