BENGALURU: Even after Section 377 has been struck down by the Supreme Court, the queer community continues to remain vulnerable to mental health issues and faces barriers when in need of help. In a bid to tackle the issue, White Swan Foundation has released a free e-book titled ‘Mental Health 101: LGBTQIA+’ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) on its website.
“The e-book was researched with members of the community, not just for them but also for allies to give empathy to the challenges they face. It mentions obstacles they face, from personal struggles such as identity formation and gender dysphoria, to societal issues such as bullying during childhood, discrimination at workplace or while looking for house, and stigma against HIV,” said Manoj Chandran, CEO of the city-based non-profit organisation.
“A queer person who reads the book will know that help is at hand and how they can access it. This is to cut short the time taken for anyone to reach out for help,” he added. While the book has been released in English now, the organisation is getting it translated to Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi as well.
According to Mahesh Natarajan, one of the experts who contributed to the publishing of the e-book, identity formation starts at the age of two or three, when children begin to understand that they are male, female or something else altogether.
“If a person’s perceived gender is a boy, the world expects them to behave in one way while they feel another way. This leads to gender dysphoria. Their body parts develop to be different than how they want them to be, especially during puberty. It triggers conflict within them when they cannot reconcile with their own body,” said Natarajan, counsellor, InnerSight Counselling and Training Services, adding that basic activities that the rest of us take for granted, such as taking a bath or choosing what to wear, becomes a difficult process.
“A transboy who cannot see his male body parts will feel distress every day, and does not feel at home in his own body. These issues are hard to communicate with others. If it gets noticed, it may lead to them getting bullied. This makes them feel anxious, depressed and suicidal,” he explained.
The e-book also has a section on relationship abuse that members of the community may go through.
Natarajan added, “A heterosexual transman who is attracted to women and meets them, needs to disclose his identity and find a potential partner, which is not easy. Even if the partner accepts them, the person’s family may not.”
The e-books aims to reach out to members of the community in order to make them understand that their feelings or experiences are shared by others.