A huge thank you to Sam (they/them), Joe (he/him), Ramya (she/her), Medha (she/her) and Rohan (he/him) for speaking to me about their experiences of growing up and living as queer and South Asian in various western countries (Australia, Austria, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, USA).
What is Bystander Intervention? Bystander Intervention can be defined as ‘a social science model that predicts the likelihood of individuals (or groups) willing to actively address a situation they deem problematic’. A bystander can be present in a situation and observe it, but to intervene is to take the next step and respond to the said situation. There is still little research done on harassment and violence in regards to queer people in India,...
Today is World Mental Health Day, a day where the overall aim is to raise awareness of mental health issues, and get everyone involved in doing so. NGOs, individuals, organisations and workplaces all get involved in the conversation, as it’s an opportunity for them to speak up about mental health, highlight the work they are doing, and show how best to support individuals. World Mental Health Day is an important day for mobilising everyone in support of mental health issues, because it’s 2019, and conversations around mental health are still taboo.
Pride and Privilege is a column on intersectionality and queerness. The column focuses on addressing queer issues and themes with an intersectional lens, as this is what activism and outreach should aim for with all of its work. It also looks at issues that are often invisible and unspoken in our community, such as biphobia, dalit feminisms, and ableism, in order to address the issue of privilege that comes with our pride.