Tamil Nadu govt likely to release draft policy for LGBTQIA+ community in three months

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is likely to release a draft policy in the next three months, formulated for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans gender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and others (LGBTQIA+) community members in the State.

The draft policy will be made public, calling in suggestions and recommendations from the members of LGBTQIA+ community and other stakeholders in the State.

The policy, along with the Tamil Nadu Social Welfare department, had been formulated by a11-member committee, composed of different people in the community. Also, the policy has already been brought to the notice of judges of the Madras High Court in January this year. After this, a discussion was held in April, but, subsequent work had to be stopped due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) imposed during the Lok Sabha elections.

For formulating the draft policy, the committee and the government department held meetings along with the members of the community in Tiruchy, Madurai, Chennai, Coimbatore and Villupuram. “During consultations, trans persons and intersex people pointed out that they had requested the State and the HC for a separate policy and not to be mingled with the members of the rest of the community,” said a member of the drafting committee.

The member also highlighted that the court had directed all the NGOs working on LGBTQIA+ rights to register with the Social Welfare department. The NGOs can register with the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) via http://www.nisd.gov.in/.

“All the non-profits working on LGBTQIA+ rights and issues must register with the government within 3 months. Only those registered will be allowed to work with the community and if violated, the department has warned of strict action,” added the member.

Further, the member added that the department had been sending Google forms to all the non-profits to fill their details. “So far, 89  NGOs in the State have registered,” the member said.