Today, Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) released ” The Impact of COVID-19 on Black LGBTQI People,” GBGMC’s inaugural report on the drastic impact COVID-19 is having on Black LGBTQI people globally.
Between April and May of this year, GBGMC, in partnership with UHIA ESHIRI, launched a global survey targeting Black LGBT organizations and individuals across the globe. This report documents the results of the survey that shows the drastic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBTIQ people globally. As reported by the recently published report by Outright Action International, on their latest report titled ” Vulnerability Amplified,” LGBTQ people across the globe are being impacted by the virus; In this report, GBGMC sought to gather specific data on how Black LGBTQ people across the world are affected and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world has now moved into the second wave of COVID-19, GBGMC’s hope is that this report offers some urgent lessons and recommendations for us to combat the impact of the imminent lock down due to COVID-19.
This report indicates a looming exacerbation of discrimination, devastating economic impact, risk of losing access to life-saving health care, and the marginalization of Black LGBTQ people. There is an urgent need for government, international donors, UN agencies, the public sector, and the general public to come together and make sure that Black LGBTQ people, all LGBTQ people, are included and provided specific relief funds to mitigate the economic and health impacts the pandemic has and will worsen if not addressed.
In this report, GBGMC offered some specific recommendations on actions that local/national government, the UN, WHO, international donor agencies and the private sector can take to address the drastic impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Black LGBTQI people.
2020 has demonstrated the importance of investing in community structures and longtime support for community organizations. We hope you join us in calling on leaders, private sectors, governments from local to international to take actions to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in our communities. Download the report here.
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Executive Summary
Between April and May 2020, Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC), in collaboration with UHAI EASHRI, launched a snapshot survey to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQ) people around the world. This inquiry was based on the premise that Black LGBTQ people are often disproportionately affected during crises. Specifically, the assumption underlying this study was that Black LGBTQ people are especially likely to face challenges related to healthcare service provision, access to food, access to employment, and the protection of their rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was open for six weeks. A total of 175 respondents accessed the questionnaire, and 171 respondents from 16 countries in four regions of the world fully completed the survey. There were two categories of respondents: organizational respondents and individual respondents. This report is especially relevant now, as the global community is gradually entering the second wave of the spread of COVID-19 and lockdown directives have already been implemented in several countries in Europe, such as Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Survey results:
-Both organizations and individuals have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The triangulation of the information received from both organizational and individual respondents indicated that Black LGBTQ people are suffering increased discrimination. The root causes of this discrimination include the criminalization of same-sex relationships in certain countries, racial prejudice in white-dominated countries, and social prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.
-Black LGBTQ people have suffered an interruption of essential services, such as HIV prevention and treatment services, psychosocial services, paralegal services, and hormonal therapy. The lack of recognition suffered by community-based organizations that provide services to Black LGBTQ people has resulted in the non-consideration of these organizations as essential service providers.
-Access to food, shelter, healthcare, employment, and other means of livelihood has been negatively impacted. According to the survey results, the impact of discrimination on Black LGBTQ people has been compounded by the loss of basic means of livelihood.
-Black LGBTQ community-based organizations have received little or no support from donors, foundations, or their respective governments to help them adjust to COVID-19-related restrictions.
Conclusion:
The survey results indicate a looming exacerbation of discrimination, devastating economic impact, risk of losing access to live-saving healthcare, and marginalization of Black LGBTQ people, including government-sanctioned brutality. There is an urgent need for governments, international donors, United Nations (UN) agencies, the public sector, and the general public to come together and make sure that Black LGBTQ people and all other LGBTQ people are included and provided with specific relief funds to mitigate the economic and health-related impacts of the pandemic, which will worsen if not addressed. The following recommendations highlight the specific areas that governments, donors, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, and others must address.
Recommendation:
Governments, donors, Black LGBTQ organizations, and inter-governmental agencies should put measures in place now to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not worsen the general life situation of Black LGBTQ people across the world. The following are highlights of recommendations presented in this report.