On 25th June, 2024, the Kerala High Court recognised the violence and abuse that the LGBTQIA+ community faces within domestic spaces, and called for the need to legally protect them. This happened when the division bench, consisting of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice P M Manoj, were listening to a plea filed by parents of a 23-year-old woman stating that their daughter was illegally detained and living in a ‘toxic’ relationship with a person of the same gender. The daughter, who is over the age of majority, came forward to clarify that she had conscientiously chosen her partner, and that her parents had filed the plea to separate them.
It was also revealed that the parents had been trying to send her for counseling sessions and psychiatric support as they viewed her queerness as a challenge to overcome. This led to the court to order the SHO (Station House Officer) to protect the queer couple from any familial threats.
“For many LGBTIQA+ individuals, especially in India, expressing their gender identity or sexuality, is an act of defiance in a society that continues to set rigid cultural norms for gender identity and expression. From an early age, LGBTIQA+ individuals face stigma, violence, and discrimination on the basis of their identity. This stigma is often rooted in inaccurate beliefs and cultural norms that repress gender non-conforming behavior and expressions. The economic, social and political discrimination against them can have long-term impacts on their mental health, employability, access to education, housing and shelter, especially if such individuals experience familial rejection and isolation from social support systems.”
– Kerala High Court
A common and unfortunate occurrence observed across South Asian culture, we are often taught from a young age that our birth family is all that matters. We’ve all heard statements that “your family will never abandon you”. Yet time and time again we see families being the first ones to abandon their kids the second they move away from the acceptable “norm”.
The Kerala High Court recognised this and the repercussions that come with it, saying: “ Many LGBTIQA+ youth face familial rejection, often from an early age. This rejection can take a devastating toll on individuals and isolate them from physical, emotional and economic resources that are essential to their well-being. In such cases, it is important to recognise the family as a site of violence and control for many queer women, who they need protection from rather than any ‘guardianship’.”
Simultaneously, on the 26th of June, news about Amrita Hospital in Kochi has come forward revealing the unethical practices of their head psychiatrist Dr.Bindu Menon. Menon, who is leading an unscientific, and illegal conversion therapy session against a trans woman, Elida Rubielle.
Rubielle is being held against her will at the hospital that is holding her back with threats from Menon. Yes, We Exist India added details about the situation on their Instagram page, “ they threatened Elida that if she leaves the ward, she will certify her as mentally “insane”. She is forcefully being given drugs, without her informed consent. She was forced to sign the consent form under the pressure of her parents. The therapist at the hospital disclosed Elida’s private information to her parents and everyone else present in the room.”
We appreciate the Kerala High Court’s initiative to speak on behalf of this vulnerable demographic, and Elida Rubielle’s case just sheds some light on the reality of queer folx. Especially as we remember the conditions that most queer folx were forced to live in during the lockdown of COVID-19, this has been a long overdue observation by the judicial system in our country. The trauma that came with the global scale of loss to a viral pandemic was compounded for queer people, who were confined to sharing space at home with people who could harm them. We urge the court to note the lasting impact of such a situation, at least in retrospect.
