Humsafar Trust Case Study

The Humsafar Trust, started in 1994 is a community based organisation of self identified Gay men, MSM, Transgender, Hijras and LBT persons. The organisation works on issues of sexuality, gender, health and human rights through four thematic ideas: health, advocacy, research and capacity building of sexual minority groups.

A brochure we got from the organisation very rightly says 'come home to Humsafar where your identity is a reason for pride and not a reason to hide'. At a time when America has made same sex marriage legal, where there is a wider wave of revolution going through, I hardly feel that the acceptance level LGBT community has increased drastically. We stereotype them, avoid them, treat them as unacceptable and what not. The other

This is also the reason why HIV AIDS is so prevelant in this community. If their partner is not comfortable with condom or they don't have a condom, they don't really stress on using one because of it may lead to dissapointing their partner and may result in no sexual activity at all. For them it is not very easy to find a partner as is it for people who are straight. What HST does is it provides free services such as counselling, HIV tests among others to cater to the needs of this community. It provides them a platform to address their concerns, meet other people from the same community and most importantly supports rallies and protests by the members of this community. HST brought into my knowledge a lot of issues faced by the queer community. In India this concept in just unaccepted but also labeled as a western concept. Gay men living in India face in turn more pressure in terms of marrying. In fact around 70% of men identified as gays are married to women in metro. Like west, in India families don't ask them to leave but instead cage them in home and try to cure them. It is even difficult to imagine the trauma and injustice they go throw. I clearly remember when my mother asked me to drink milk when I didn't like it.