Denying rights can hit mental health: Indian Psychiatric Society comes out in support of same-sex marriage, adoption rights

New Delhi: The Indian Psychiatric Society, one of the oldest professional body of psychiatrists in the country, have come out in support of legalizing same-sex marriage in India amidst an ongoing plea filed in the Supreme Court seeking legal validation of the same.  

The association issued a statement dated 3rd April 2023, reflecting on the rights of people from the LGBTQIA+ community to be treated as citizens of the country and pointing out that homosexuality is not an illness. They stated that there is no scientific evidence to show that these individuals could not have access to their civil rights like health care, property rights, marriage, adoption, etc. 

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The statement comes days after the apex court fixed a date to hear the batch of petitions seeking the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The centre had already opposed the petitions alleging that same-sex marriage is not part of the 'Indian Family Structure', arguing that it would cause havoc in the personal laws and accepted social values. 

In 2018, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court decriminalized section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)  which had categorized any forms of sexual activity 'against the order of nature' as criminal in nature. The SC, at that time, had observed that criminalizing consensual homosexual sex goes against the rights guaranteed under the constitution. 

The association, in their statement, said, "In 2018, the Indian Psychiatric Society had supported the decriminalization of homosexuality and LGBTQA spectrum from sec. 377 of the Indian Penal Code, as well had stated that these are variants of normal sexuality, not deviant, and certainly not an illness." The association's stand in 2018 had played a significant part in the SC reading down section 377. 

Reiterating the rights of the individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community to be treated as citizens of the country, the 7000-member association said, "The Indian Psychiatric Society would like to reiterate that these individuals be treated like all citizens of the country, and once a citizen can enjoy all civil rights like education, employment, housing, income, government or military service, access to health care, property rights, marriage, adoption, survivorship benefits to name a few." 

They pointed out that there is no evidence to show that people from queer communities could not partake in any of the above activities. Further, they observed that the discrimination imparted towards them might lead to mental health issues. 

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr Arabinda Brahma, General Secretary of the Indian Psychiatric Society, said, "Indian Psychiatric Society in 2018 had also come out with a statement that homosexuality is not a disease and it should not be treated as such. That influenced the decision of the Supreme Court also. In continuation with that, this time also we thought we should come out with a statement." 

Stating that they have completely relied on the scientific database, Dr Brahma said, "We had gone through many studies in other countries like USA, Netherland, Thailand where we found that same-sex marriage couples are living happily and they can adopt children. We are lacking studies in our country, but IPS is planning to conduct such studies here as well. We have come out with this statement that there is no issue in same-sex marriage and they have every right as other citizens of India. They can marry and they should have the right to adopt children because no studies have shown that they cannot adopt children. We feel that there should not be any discrimination or any kind of stigma because the Indian Psychiatric Society is always fighting against any kind of stigma." 

Emphasizing the importance of an unbiased environment for children adopted by queer couples, the body, in its statement, observed, "The Indian Psychiatric Society is very cognizant that a child adopted into a same-gendered family may face challenges, stigma and/or discrimination along the way. It is imperative that once legalized, such parents of the LGBTQA spectrum bring up their child in a gender-neutral, unbiased environment. It is also of utmost importance that the family, community, school and society, in general, are sensitized to protect and promote the development of such a child and prevent stigma and discrimination at any cost." 

Countering the Indian government's stand, the body, as per a media report in the Hindu, said, "A study looking at 23 empirical studies on children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers were reviewed [one Belgian/Dutch, one Danish, three British, and 18 North American] that took into consideration their emotional functioning, sexual preference, stigmatisation, gender-role behaviour, behavioural adjustment, gender identity, and cognitive functioning. It concluded children raised by same-sex couples did not systematically differ from other children on any of the outcomes. Another study done in the U.S. showed that differences that exist in child well-being are largely due to socioeconomic circumstances and family stability, and not due to being raised by queer couples."  

The batch of petitions filed in the SC are challenging the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act, with the argument that they do not recognize same-sex marriage. The SC bench held a brief hearing of the petitions in March and listed the matter for hearing on 18th April 2023 before a five-judge bench. 

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