Editor’s Note: This article was written for the #GBVinMedia Campaign, which interrogates mainstream media’s reportage of gender-based violence from an intersectional feminist perspective. Many of these insights are based on the #GBVinMedia toolkit, released by FII as a guide for journalists and media professionals to report gender-based violence sensitively and ethically. If you wish to get in touch regarding this campaign, please email asmita@feminisminindia.com.Posted by Pranati Narayan Visweswaran
Sexual harassment and violence can take place anywhere and to anyone, irrespective of gender or sexuality. So far, though, when it comes to the queer community there is usually silence — from the media and even from survivors — on the subject. However, with homosexuality having been decriminalised in India, a space has opened up for a more open and inclusive conversation on sexual violence perpetrated against men (gay or straight) as well as queer and transgender people.
NewsTracker spoke to Pune-based queer activist Bindumadhav Khire about sexual crimes that fall outside the ambit of man-on-woman violence, as well as the media’s portrayal of such incidents. Khire, whose organisation Samapathik Trust has since 2002 has been “providing legal, medical, and social empowerment services to the LGBTHI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Hijra, Intersex) community” in Pune, also told us how the portrayal of rape and sexual violence by the media in general has impacted this community. Here are some excerpts from the interview.
Pranati: I believe the first time you understood that others shared your sexual orientation was through an incident that could be construed as harassment. Could you share more about this?
Bindumadhav Khire: I was in Chennai, sometime around 1991, and had gone to the theatre. A man sat next to me, and I realised that he was expressing sexual interest. It made me feel uncomfortable. Even though I desire men, this kind of unwarranted advance and in a public place would make anyone feel uncomfortable, whether gay or straight. I moved a couple of rows away, and luckily the man did not pursue me. I did not consider filing a case then as I had not come out, and he did not try to harass me further. But even if he had, I doubt I would have had the courage to go to the police.
Pranati: What are the challenges in working with cases concerning sexual violence in the LGBTHI community?
Bindumadhav Khire: The Samapathik Trust does receive a few cases in this area, but unfortunately we have not been able to do much. As an NGO we have limitations. We can try to help victims through contacts and filing cases, but the person has to be willing to file an FIR or approach the police. We found that in almost all of these cases, the person concerned would have liked to do something, but was not willing to due to the criminalisation that came with Section 377.
WHEN IT COMES TO GAY MEN AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE, MORE THAN SEXUAL VIOLENCE, THE PROBLEM IS THAT THEIR IDENTITY IS EXPLOITED IN ORDER TO EXTORT MONEY
Many [complainants] have faced issues where they have become targets of Section 377, and these people are usually young, and have not come out to their families yet. Despite the fact that we were willing to assist them in going to the police, the victims were unwilling. This means I do not possess a single case of rape who has approached us and gone ahead to file with the police.
Also, it is not just sexual assault that affects the community, but also harassment. But this sexual harassment—such as [verbal] abuse and unwanted touching—has become a way of life, especially for transgenders. The police, and society at large, tell them, “Tum aise ho, log tumhare saath aisa hi bartav karenge (you are like this, so you will be treated this way).”
Pranati: How prevalent would you say sexual violence is in the queer community?
Bindumadhav Khire: When it comes to gay men and transgender people, more than sexual violence, the problem is that their identity is exploited in order to extort money. There have been a number of cases where [gay] dating apps have been used to lure people and extort money from them, especially because in going to the police they run the risk of revealing their identity. There have also been cases where a gay man or transgender person has gone to someone’s house for what they think is consensual sex with one other person, but ends up being forced into having sex with a group of men.
EVEN ONE BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY TERRIFIES PEOPLE. THEY SAY, “ISKA NAAM AAYA, TOH MERA BHI AAYEGA” (THIS PERSON’S NAME CAME, THEN MINE WILL ALSO COME)
When it comes to sexual orientation, transgender people and feminine men are more visually identifiable, and therefore probably more prone to sexual violence. But a homosexual man could also molest a straight man. Whatever the sexual orientation of a person, gay or straight, sexual harassment makes people uncomfortable, and affects them. We need to make it clear that no matter the identity of the person, it is the act being committed that is wrong.
Pranati: Where do you get your news from?
Bindumadhav Khire I generally try to seek out as many platforms as possible. I read Marathi newspapers as they have better coverage at the ground level. English newspapers are more inclusive of LGBTHI issues and give a more positive and wider reporting on this fron