Tuesday, October 30, 2007

October 2007 : Liberté, égalité, fraternité

Sex is red. Sex is pink. Sex is gaudy and bright. Sex is an act, an attribute, or just a field in a form. Sex is a contradiction – there is both too much of it (in the movies) and too little of it (in education). And for every definition and variation of this word is an associated definition of sexual abuse.

The classic definition of sexual abuse is in itself a topic worthy of an issue. There are vast amounts of research and literature on the topic but very little discussion. But we define sexual abuse as any form of physical, psychological, moral and social abuse against an individual in the name of sex. It ranges from physically exploiting women and children to denying sexual minorities and hijras their rightful place in the society. While we have put together these varied issues under a common umbrella of sexual abuse, it is important to understand that each of these issues is unique and addresses different existential challenges. While child sexual abuse deals with issues of victimization and exploitation, hijras and sexual minorities are demanding acceptance in the society that is rightfully theirs. As Vinay, the executive director of Swabhava, mentioned, talking about homosexuals and hijras in an issue titled sexual abuse, we run the risk of treating them as a social anomaly, which is the exact opposite of what we want to accomplish.
However, despite the obvious differences, there’s a unifying sense of human empathy and compassion that drives all the initiatives we have covered in this edition of Sattva. Sangama’s work with sexual minorities and hijras, Jagruthi’s efforts in rehabilitation of child sex workers, and Swabhava as a support group for sexual minorities, are cases in point.

We also showcase Revathi, a hijra and a social activist, who is today fighting for the rights of all disadvantaged sections of the society. We are grateful to Anita Ratnam who took time off her hectic schedule to share her views on child sexual abuse. For weeks, we looked for someone with an alternate sexual preference who could write to us about his / her experience. Today, we have a story from a nameless, faceless stranger who has written to us not an article, but a story – a poignant reflection of how they have to resort to an anonymous metaphor to share what they truly feel. We are also thankful to Alternative Law forum for sharing with us information on Article 377 which we have compiled into an FAQ in the refractive index section.

18th century French revolutionaries coined a slogan to voice what they thought are the fundamental needs of a human society - Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. We dedicate our edition of Sattva to this vision of a society where “Exercising natural rights has no bounds other than those that guarantee other members of society the enjoyment of these very same rights”, where “law is equal in its eyes and equally eligible to all rights” and where you “do not do unto others what you would have not done to you.

Click here to view the October issue

Also read - On what is sexual Abuse, A Journey

On what is Sexual Abuse

In the course of every edition of Sattva comes a point when the theme redefines itself and we truly understand the varied perspectives of the issue under discussion. It happened, for instance, during the edition on Health. The story about the terminally ill patient (Ayesha) preparing for her IAS exams extended our definition of Health from being a social issue to a very personal and subjective topic.

There was a similar moment during our current issue on Sexual Abuse.

We had defined Sexual Abuse as 'as any form of physical, psychological, moral and social abuse against an individual in the name of sex. This included physically exploiting women and children to denying sexual minorities and hijras their rightful place in the society'. And we made a list of support groups for sexual minorities, organizations working with hijras, CSWs and experts based on this broad definition.

It was when we met Vinay, the executive director of Swabhava, that we saw our spread in an entirely different light. He has strong opinions against addressing Sexual minorities and issues like child sexual abuse in the same issue. While we saw them fitting under the common umbrella of sexual abuse, he saw the obvious differences between the two.

Child sexual abuse is about victimization. And as much as we believe it is terrible, we can rationalize it in some way and can define a cause and effect. And when we discuss the issue, we talk of therapy, corrective measures and ways of 'bringing the victims back to normal' life. However, with homosexuals, the issues that usually are raised, as Vinay mentioned, are "normal, moral, natural and cultural". In other words, alternate sexual preference is unnatural, against our culture and is far from normal. We cannot rationalize it but see it as an aberration to the natural and normal order.

And one of the issues that support groups are fighting is the social view that homosexuals need therapy, corrective measures and ways of 'bringing them back to normal' life.

What they are fighting for is their rightful place in the society, and to be able to live without being judged purely on their sexual preference. That is a much more existential struggle.

We had two choices - We could have either revamped the issue and removed any references to the Child sexual Abuse. Or rather than resolving the issue, we could highlight the different perspectives - Which is what we have tried to do. One of these days, I hope to convince Vinay to share his thoughts on this subject with a broader audience through Sattva, with the same conviction and clarity as I heard it over the phone - thoughts I can only paraphrase but never reciprocate with the same honesty.

A journey…

The blog helps members of the Sattva team share their personal experiences and views on the issue. Savitha Suresh shares her, ever so common, experience with the 'third sex' in the train.

It was a long journey back home- 36 hours to be precise. After a rather unappetising meal served in the train, it was time for the afternoon nap-that little pleasure of long journeys. I settled into my upper berth with a novel that was putting me to sleep…as my eyes were about to shut, I heard some noises to the left of the berth. Unwilling to let my sleep pass away, I turned to the other side…hoping to shut out the noise.

It was around this point that I felt someone tap my feet. I opened my eyes to see a big group of hijras staring at me. I was seized with fear…not knowing quite why. I looked down from my berth, hoping to catch the reassuring sight of friends I was travelling with. But everyone looked just as panic stricken. While we were trying to grapple with how we should react to the situation, the leader of the gang began to open our bags. Someone opened my red bag-the one with all the goodies I had bought for friends and family. Someone else pulled out a perfume, sprayed herself (herself is perhaps the better word, since these were people who perceived themselves as women), and replaced the perfume back in the bag. By this time, I was trembling with fear. Someone was screaming….”who has change? Someone give some money.” I had my backpack nearby. Frantically, I pulled out my wallet and handed a Rs. 50 note to one of them. They showered a set of blessings at us (I can’t recollect a single word of what was said), and moved ahead. At the next berth, a man refused to pay at first. He was threatened with the possible sight of the women (again, I chose the gender, based on how I think these people perceived themselves), stripping. He quietly handed them a note after that. The gang moved ahead.

For several minutes after that, none of us spoke. And then, for hours….we discussed how we felt, and why. We spoke of why many of the “third sex” chose to lead the lives they led…. argued passionately about there being other means to make a living. The incident has stayed at the back of my mind….I still do not completely understand the fear we felt at that moment. Of course, there were the theoretical amongst us, who philosophized about whether the third sex, by their very existence, challenged our convenient notions of gender, and if this challenge was the real reason for the fear. The more pragmatic said it was the sudden intrusion of our space that caused the fear….and it would happen, no matter who invaded that space. It was perhaps both.

But one thing we all seemed to agree about- there were better ways to earn a living than threatening people. Of course there are. But we naively assumed that securing employment was just as simple for the third sex, as it was for us…men and women. It was much later, watching a movie made by some classmates, that I realised the naivety of that assumption.

As a friend who made the movie said, this is a sex which does not find a place anywhere. Let alone company pay rolls, they do not find a place on electoral rolls, ration cards, college application forms, or for that matter, even in the minds of people.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

October Issue - Tell us your experiences!

Dear readers

Greetings from Sattva! We hope you enjoyed our special anniversary edition – it was special moment for us. We hope we could translate our enthusiasm into useful and relevant information for you.

Our forthcoming issue is on sexual abuse and we are trying to cover all forms of abuse that happens in the name of sex. While there are issues like equal rights to sexual minorities that affect a certain subsection of the society, there are also issues such as street sexual abuse that all of us face everyday.

We want to know your stories – Have you been in such a situation and if so, how do you deal with it? What do you think can be done to avoid this problem? Would, for instance, better education help?

We promise to honor your anonymity, for we are sure that, it’s not the names but the stories that speak. Please leave a comment on this blog narrating your experience. We understand and honor the courage that you need to do so in such a public forum.

We would love to hear from you.

P.S: The blog, as you would notice, is now more an idea right now :) We are hoping to make it look more presentable and rich in the coming months