Homes And Schools Key Sites Of Discrimination Against LGBTQIA Children: Survey

A recent survey has found that LGBTQIA+ children and adolescents face the highest levels of discrimination and bullying within their own homes, schools and neighbourhoods, prompting activists and stakeholders to call for coordinated action to ensure equal opportunities.

The survey, conducted among more than 900 LGBTQ+ individuals by Kolkata-based organisation Bridge, which works across Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, revealed that bullying is most prevalent between the ages of 12 and 15. Many young people are forced to drop out of school as a result, losing access to education, future employment and income security, Bridge founder-director Prithviraj Nath told PTI.

“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,” Nath said. He added that basic human rights remain out of reach for many and stressed the need to highlight lived realities, engage wider society and push for equal rights and inclusion.

Rudrani Rajkumari, founder of LGBTQIA+ rights organisation and support group Xomonnoy, said the government and all stakeholders must work together to create a roadmap to reduce discrimination and promote equality. “We cannot talk about human rights in India and leave out LGBTQIA+ citizens. Every child deserves safety in their home, respect in their school, and dignity in their workplace. Equality is not a favour, it is a constitutional promise,” she said.

Sunita Agarwalla, former vice principal of Guwahati’s Dispur College, said the institution has been among the pioneers in Assam in supporting education for students from the community. She said the college has a gender-neutral toilet, reserved seats for LGBTQIA+ students in higher secondary and degree courses, and provides free education where required, along with sensitisation programmes for all students. “I, as an educator, feel that it is very important to understand that people from the LGBTQIA+ community are also human beings and citizens of our country, so they have to be treated equally by everyone in every aspect,” Agarwalla said.

Kunjalata Brahma Bhatiri, a professor at Lalit Chandra Bharali College, said that while more people are speaking up in support of equal treatment and judgement-free spaces, sustained and collective efforts across all sections of society are essential. She emphasised the need for sensitisation and orientation at every level to reinforce the fundamental right to live freely and with dignity. “More people should talk, discuss, opine and work in attaining dignified living spaces for the queer community,” she said.

Sammy, a faculty member at Tezpur University’s Department of Social Work, said several stakeholders are doing “incredible work” to promote queer-inclusive education at secondary, college and university levels in the Northeast, but each new initiative encounters deep-rooted structural resistance shaped by binary social thinking. She said gender-inclusive approaches are required across families, schools, neighbourhoods, state authorities, community institutions, health care services and workplaces. “We cannot lose our queer students, children, adults and elders to public scorn, confined spaces, hopelessness and suicides,” she said.

Sammy added that higher education institutions should ensure safe spaces and access to queer-affirmative support, including gender-neutral toilets, transport, hostels and common rooms, livelihood opportunities, fast-track grievance redressal mechanisms and quality health care.

Former Cotton University professor and Assamese writer Najma Mukherjee highlighted the role of art in shaping public understanding of queer experiences. “As an educator and litterateur, I believe in the power of art -- be it literature or the visual arts. Books and movies have definitely contributed to the shaping of public consciousness in understanding queer experiences all around the world,” she said.

Nath said discussions with stakeholders have underscored the need for capacity building among school teachers and B.Ed trainees so they can better support LGBTQIA+ students. He also called for greater engagement with parents to foster supportive home environments, and for the introduction of comics, storybooks and visual learning tools on gender and sexuality in school libraries, particularly in Assamese and other regional languages.

Rajkumari added that stakeholders have urged the government to mandate training for teachers and staff across all educational institutions, in line with Supreme Court guidelines on student mental health, as well as biannual sensitisation programmes for judicial, police and administrative officials on laws and rights related to LGBTQIA+ people.

(with PTI inputs)