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Summary:

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionate and widespread social, economic, and psychological impacts on the LGBTIQ people have been reported. Within the LGBTIQ community, the negative impacts of the pandemic and measures taken to stop its spread were amplified by disability, age, ethnicity/race, sex, indigenous or minority status, caste, property ownership, health status, national origin, urban/rural location, and other socially embedded hierarchies. With the failure to respect and uphold the right to life obligations of LGBTIQ people, several grantees mentioned that lacking measures adopted by States to comply with principles of equality and non-discrimination, inclusion, and accountability made LGBTIQ people in the Asian region vulnerable during these unprecedented times.

To fill the gaps left by States, several LGBTIQ organizations across Asia reported taking up additional work to address the humanitarian needs of their community. Additionally, due to the exclusion of LGBTIQ community as an at-risk population by major donors and top recipients of COVID-19 humanitarian funds, many LGBTIQ organizations reported struggles to secure needed funding, making it extremely difficult for organizations to meet the immediate needs of the community that faced rising food and shelter insecurity, the devastation of livelihood, disruption in access to health care, elevated risk of family or domestic violence, myriad forms of social, economic and institutional exclusions, violence, scapegoating, and discrimination.

Acknowledging the needs of the community, in April 2020 ILGA Asia spearheaded a campaign with an objective to alleviate the pains felt by LGBTIQ people across the Asian region by releasing USD 43,666 in humanitarian grants. A total of eighteen member organizations in eleven (11) countries benefited from ILGA Asia’s Humanitarian Grants Assistance Program, and the amount of grant ranged from USD 2,066 to USD 2,500.