Gender minorities seek nutritional support, housing
BENGALURU: People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and members of the LGBTQIA+ community have demanded nutritional support from the government with free antiretroviral therapy (ART) as well as rights for housing and sex reassignment surgeries.
The community celebrated Rainbow Habba in Bengaluru on Wednesday to commemorate the Stonewall Riots when a police raid at a gay bar in New York triggered days of protest which changed the face of the gay rights movement in the USA and the world.
NGO Sangama executive director Rajesh Srinivas noted that the Rainbow Habba was a step towards cultivating the constitutional morality of ensuring every citizens’ right to freedom of speech and expression. PLHIV need proper nutritious diet to be able to withstand the effects of ART. HIV makes a person’s immunity weak and strong medicines require proper food intake to balance the effect, he said.
“Though several schemes have been launched by the government, they continue to lack proper implementation. People are treated poorly in hospitals, they do not have proper housing facilities or sufficient employment opportunities as well,” Srinivas added.
A trans woman, who did not wish to be identified, said people from the community continue to be harassed and are devoid of basic rights to healthcare, education and employment. “Trans people are forced to avail expensive treatment related to sex reassignment as doctors in government hospitals do not have the knowledge or skill to perform such surgeries,” she said.
She also urged the government to increase the one per cent reservation provided to transgenders in government organisations, stating that the people seeking benefits were much higher in number.