Campaign against "Gay Cure" announced in India for IDAHOT

The Humsafar Trust, Mumbai’s oldest registered LGBTQ organization, has launched a campaign called Queers Against Quacks, which focuses on combating the stigmatization of sexual and gender differences as mental illnesses and diseases. The campaign is supported by the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), which affirmed in a recent letter for dissemination that gender and sexual differences are not mental health issues and thus cannot be “cured”. In conjunction with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), our Queers Against Quacks campaign is in solidarity with other events happening around the world this month speaking out against homophobia and transphobia, particularly where mental health is concerned. Our campaign will include photos, stories, and voices from Indian LGBTQ community members who have faced discrimination in mental health counseling and psychiatric settings. We will also use our digital campaign to call attention to “doctors” around the country promising to cure homosexuality and transgenderism. Our campaign will culminate in a May 17^th event that will bring psychiatrists and LGBTQ community together to speak out against homophobia, transphobia, and quack cures. You can find out more about our IDAHOT campaign Queers Against Quacks at our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/queersagainstquacks). Stay tuned to the Humsafar website (www.humsafar.org);  Instagram (@thehumsafartrustofficial);  Twitter (@humsafartrust), and facebook(facebook.com/humsafartrust) handles for more information.