LGBT Community's Can in India Research Paper




BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

Introduction

In ancient period, the people of our country were not familiar with the terms like lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgenders and if even anyone were familiar with such terms, society was of the view that they don’t deserve to live with us and they are not as normal like us.

From the very starting they have been neglected from the society and are considered to be the marginalized sections of our Indian society.

Before explaining further, it should be understood what exactly these terms mean:

Lesbian – It means a female homosexual. When a women is sexually attracted to other women.

Gay – It means a male homosexual. When a men is sexually attracted to other men.

So basically these two terms i.e. Lesbian & Gay are homosexuals who are sexually attracted to members of same sex.

Bisexual – It means when people are sexually attracted to the members of both the sexes.

Transgender – It is defined as those people who are not exclusively masculine or feminine and these people may term as cross – dressers also.

Problems faced by LGBT Community

Besides being neglected from the society on the basis of that they are different from normal people, they also face many problems in the society, which are as follows:

Ø  They experience a lot of crimes in their day to day life because of their sexuality and gender identity. Some of the crimes which they experience are Rape, Sexual Assault, and Harassment.

Ø  The people who are outside of their community are not accepting them. They face many problems related to violence, unemployment, poverty, lack of healthcare and many more.

Ø  Discrimination among LGBT community is highly prevalent. People think they are odd and very different.

Ø  They face inequality at every place around the world. They also suffer social and economic inequalities.

Ø  They face tortures from the people who mock at them.

Ø  Very few people can open up themselves in front of others, but most of them are still hiding their identity and that too even in front of their parents and school friends.

Ø  Their parents and friends get embarrassed when they are around them.

Ø  They develop low self esteem and low self confidence and they get isolated from their friends and family.

Ø  Telling about their gender choices in public is still a struggle for LGBT people.

Due to all the above issues, they have to live with dual lives so that they don’t feel neglected from others and always wait for the right moment to talk about this issue to others. They have always been saying in their families that they are not the person, which their family expected to be. 

Because of the exclusion from the society and discrimination, it has impacted their lives due to which:

·       They drop the school earlier or leave their homes and family because of the embarrassment.

·       They commit suicides.

Even after the courts have given them equal status as of others, fundamental rights have been granted to them, legal recognition has been given to them but still there are some problems which they face in their daily lives which have been listed above.

Measures to implement/ Objectives of the Program

So after facing the problems, it is felt that some measures should definitely be implemented or some objectives should be set up for the program which will be beneficial for LGBT community so that they don’t feel neglected and they should be treated equally.

 

 

·       Drafting of Special Laws

It can be very well seen that even after their gender have been covered under the ambit of Constitution still some sections of the society are not accepting them as part of their country and due to this discrimination they experience different types of crime. It will be beneficial for them if special and most importantly stringent laws be made for them where the provisions be contained only for their community relating to equality, crimes, rigorous punishment needs to be imposed on whosoever sexually abuses or harasses them.

·       Opening up of opportunities

For such members of the community various opportunities should be opened up for them where they will be involved in social and economic activities and this may increase their morale and due to this they may feel motivated.

·       Prevention related to family & domestic violence issues

The LGBT Community faces a lot of neglect from their family and due to this they cut themselves from their relatives and some of them even commit suicides. So it is necessary to take preventive measures or steps so that they don’t face such kind of issues and should be treated equally.

·       Change of Social Attitude

It is most important that social attitude towards them should be changed. Society should understand that they are also human beings and they also deserve to live with dignity as of others. It doesn’t mean that if they are not straight so they deserve to treat indifferent or fun can be made of them.

·       Organization of Seminars and Workshops

Various seminars and workshops should be organized for their community so it could reach to the mass population of the country. They should be made aware of their rights and obligations to which they are entitled to, as some of them might not aware of what laws have been made for their welfare.

·       Creation of employment or startups opportunities

Government should take the initiatives of creating employment opportunities or startups should be opened for them so that they could experience the working environment where people from diverse regions or background come together. Due to this they will feel supportive.

·       Proper Education

It needs to be ensured that they get proper education and institutions also don’t neglect them in admissions and they should also be treated equally as of normal students, so that no discrimination prevail and unity can be maintained. Normal students must also learn that they don’t tease them and behave nicely with them as they are also creatures of god.

Need to implement

It is very well clear that all are equal and everyone should be treated equal whether it be men, women, lesbian, gay, transgender or any other. The need for implementing this project is to make the people aware of such community especially old people who think that they don’t deserve to live along with them. It should be understood that they also have freedom to live with whom they want. If the courts can treat them as part of normal people, then why can’t society? When laws can be amended to grant them recognition, then why can’t the society accept them?  The law strictly abolish discrimination of people on any of the grounds, then we, the people of the country are not above law that we can discriminate them or make fun of their identity. They also have right to live with dignity as of ours.

                                             LEGAL BACKGROUND

In last few years, the government has passed many new laws and has also made amendments in the existing laws related to the LGBT Community so as to give them status as of normal people in country.

Various laws which have been enacted or amended by the court since introduction of these terms are as follows:

Article 14 of the Constitution

It states that “state shall not deny to any person equality before law or equal protection of law.” By this it means that every person of our country should be treated equally whether it includes heterosexuals, homosexuals, transgenders or of any other category. This article guarantees equality to “any person” which includes man, woman and transgender and they are also guaranteed equal protection of law as well.

Article 15 & 16 of the Constitution

It states that “citizens will be secured from every sort of discrimination by the state and it also assures equality of opportunity in matters of public employment on the grounds of race, caste, sex, religion or place of birth.” From these articles it means that discrimination will not be tolerated by the state on basis of any grounds. So it implies that lesbian, gay or transgenders whatever sex they belong to should not be discriminated as they are also human beings.

Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution

It states that “all citizens have right to freedom of speech and expression.” It means that every individual of a country is entitled to express themselves as they want and according to their wishes. It applies for other sections of society as well that they can talk, dress, act and behave in a manner they like. People of the country are not at all restricted by the state to express their opinions and it is a fundamental right which has been granted to the citizens of the country.

 

Article 21 of the Constitution

It states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except the procedure established by the law.” So, it means that whosoever an individual is whether being male, female, transgender, lesbian, gay everyone is entitled to live freely and with liberty. Every citizen of country is entitled to live with dignity and courts have also interpreted that LGBT community is also being covered under the ambit of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

A landmark judgment of NALSA vs. Union of India was passed on 15th April, 2014. For the first time the Supreme Court has declared that non binary gender identities will be legally recognized and fundamental rights of transgender persons will also uphold. Various directions were being given by the court that the central and state governments to take the required steps for the transgenders like social welfare schemes should be framed for them, public awareness should be created so that they don’t be treated as untouchables, they should be categorized in the third gender and equal status should be given to them in case of admissions and employment.

On 6th September, 2018, a landmark judgment of Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India was passed where the Supreme Court declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. The court decriminalized adult consensual same sex relationships. The decriminalization of Section 377 marked an end of this law where it will no longer be able to violate human right of a certain kind and to foster and facilitate an atmosphere in which millions of people have faced discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

These judgments are considered a landmark both in terms of their expansive reading of constitutional rights and in empowering LGBT persons. This was a welcome victory for those who have long suffered in silence in the face of large scale discrimination and social injustice, but it does not necessarily mean that LGBT people in India are fully free or perceived as equal among their fellow citizens. These judgments have made an impact not only in India but throughout the world.

STATISTICS

The survey has been and it is found that lesbian, gay, bisexual people experience sexual violence at higher rates than straight people. The study shows that:

·     44 percent of lesbians and 61 percent of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, compared to 35 percent of straight women.

·     26 percent of gay men and 37 percent of bisexual men experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, compared to 19 percent of straight men.

·     46 percent of bisexual women have been raped, compared to 17 percent of straight women and 13 percent of lesbians.

·       22 percent of bisexual women have been raped by an intimate partner, compared to 9 percent of straight women.

·       40 percent of gay men and 47 percent of bisexual men have experienced sexual violence other than rape, compared to 21 percent of straight men.

·       Within the LGBT community, transgender people and bisexual women face the most alarming rates of sexual violence.

                                                        CONCLUSION

The LGBT Community has always been considered as a taboo in the society. The idea of human rights rests on the central premise that all humans are equal. It follows that all humans have dignity and all humans should be treated as equal. Anything that undermines that dignity is a violation, for it violates the principle of equality and paves the way for discrimination. The preamble to the Indian Constitution mandates justice, social, economic, and political equality of status for all. So, the same applies to the LGBT Community as well. These people are as normal as any other human being and we should treat them with love and respect.

Everyone is a creature of god and all deserves to live happily. Someone who is not normal like other people should not be discriminated on any ground.

 By -Palak Gupta

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