The COVID-19 global health crisis has led to inexplicit responses from the communities on the psycho-social as well as psychological domains. The imposition of various restrictions including physical distancing norms have been reported to have caused a catastrophic impact on the lives of sexual and gender minorities. With their source of employment lost at the gravity of the pandemic accompanied with dreadful instances of stigma and discrimination projected onto them, the transgender and sex worker communities have been bearing the brunt of inequality since the outbreak of the pandemic. Bridging the gap between the studies highlighting the plight of marginalized communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study would advance the knowledge into their experiences and struggles. The aim of the study is to fill the gap in literature pertaining to the understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on transgenders and sex workers in India.
TopBackground Of The Study
Covid-19, as illustrated by World Health Organisation, 2020is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Coronavirus is a class of viruses belonging to the family “Coronaviridae”. These viruses are encapsulated and consist of a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. They have characteristic “club-shaped spikes” that project from their surface. People contracting the Covid-19 virus experience mild to moderate respiratory illness increased temperature, and other bodily disturbances. Since the outburst of the disease worldwide, the panic and wrath had continued. To combat the rising number of infected cases, the Government of India enacted the strategy of containment which is an approach typically utilized when a pathogen has slow transmission capacity. This led to the implementation of various preventive measures such as quarantine of individuals coming from a high transmission area, isolation of infected individuals, contact tracing, and reducing the movement of people in areas with a high case load to stop the spread of disease. As a means for containment, “Lockdown”, came into the picture. Lockdown can be understood as “an emergency protocol that usually prevents people from leaving an area”. The authority person issues this protocol. In India, the trepidation of Covid-19 led to the initial execution of Nationwide Lockdown for 21 days, followed by another 18 days. The movement of people across the country was restricted with complete shutdown.
At the outset, for addressing the impact of Covid-19 on marginalised sections of society, certain terms and phrases need to be discussed for the clarity. The marginalised community in India comprises of sexual minorities i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgenders individuals, sex workers, ethnic minorities, etc. The pandemic disrupted the lives of every individual, but the predicaments of already stigmatised sections were aggravated. The transgenders and sex workers in India acquire a diluted position in the society. They are ridiculed and looked down because of their varied preferences. Transgender or Gender Non-conforming is an umbrella term for people whose sense of personal identity and gender expression does not correspond with the sex assigned at birth (American Psychological Association, 2018). Sexual orientation and Gender identity differs from one another as they both pose different forms of misdemeanour with regards to notions of gender in society. The underlying degrees and modes of discrimination also vary among these groups. Sex workers are defined as men, women or gender non-conforming people who engage in transactional sexual services as a means of income-generating employment (World Health Organisation, 2002).
There have been innumerable instances of discrimination, bias and hatred towards the marginalised communities; be it institutional or societal. These incidences create a grating impact on their psychological and psychosocial domain. In response to these oppressions and discriminations on grounds of gender identity, transgenders experience bullying at school; they are not advantaged with equal privileges. A major portion of them are less likely to get a favorable job and these incidences duress them to contemplate or attempt suicide. As compared to the heterosexual individuals, these groups face elevated levels of poverty. There have been incidences of hate crimes against sexual minority people ranging in forms of person or property (Herek, 2009). Revelation and expression of gender identity and sexual preferences is basically an exasperating and infuriating subject for most of the people in India as being associated with embarrassment and discomfort; which add to the ubiquitous misconception and lack of awareness for the basic norms. The experiences pertaining to these forms of stressors are closely related to depression and post-traumatic stress disorders (Burton et al., 2013; Mustanski et al., 2016).