Making Liveable Lives: Rethinking Social Exclusion

Livability depends on the fulfillment of needs and desires of an individual. It is affected by multiple external and internal factors, the report states.

Feeling comfortable in one’s own body and identity is an important factor that contributed to livability for participants, especially those who identified as transgender or gender non-conforming.

Violence and non-acceptance from family, workplace discrimination, forced marriage are some of the factors which decrease the livability of queer lives.

Several participants identified mental health as a factor affecting their wellness and livability. Insecurity about same-sex relationships and lack of supportive environment impacted their mental health negatively. 

Government policies also play an important role in the livability of queer lives. In 2009, the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalized homosexuality but it was re-criminalized in 2013 in a Supreme Court judgement. Other judgements affecting LBTQ lives include the 2014 NALSA verdict that recognised transgender people as socially backward and marginalised, making them eligible for social benefits and protective measures. 

Participants also considered financial independence and economic solvency important aspects of livability. It ensures that they can satisfy their own material needs and be self-reliant. 

Blending in with masses, having intimate relationships, being part of understanding communities and finding safe spaces all contributed to making participants’ lives more livable as well. The report adds that the lack of “identifiable structure in homosexual intimacy” was a barrier for many queer individuals.

The report concluded that there is no one consensus on what livability means in LBTQ lives, only continual negotiations between the importance of social factors and legal reforms.

While legal and policy reform is important, the research found that social recognition and support holds more significance in increasing livability in the lives of LGBT individuals. Means of processing and negotiating one’s individual and collective identity was also found to be significant in creating livabilities.

Focus and factoids by Veda Menon.

PARI Library’s health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.