MUMBAI: What changed when the Delhi high court declared Section 377 unconstitutional in 2009 ? What were the consequences when the Supreme Court overturned that judgment three years after? What are the diversities and commonalities of the LGBT struggle across the country? And how does the movement for equal rights play out in the healthcare and corporate sectors today? These were some of the issues discussed at the ‘National LGBT Human Rights Advocacy Meeting’ on Tuesday, organized by the Humsafar Trust. Attended by over 100 activists working for the LGBT community across the country, it was part of a three-day conference to chalk out a plan to mobilise support for the removal of Section 377. Tuesday’s panel discussion brought the threads together, taking participants through challenges faced while rallying parliamentary support, with medical service providers as well as corporate HR departments, and the steps that could be taken to overcome them. Former MP Priya Dutt, former project director, Mumbai District Aids Control Society, Dr Alka Gogate, Tripti Tandon of Lawyers’ Collective, Maharashtra State Aids Control Society’s Avsharan Kaur, and Anna Cherynshova, project manager at UNDP, Bangkok, shared experiences and helped formulate a way ahead for the community. Dutt spoke about the need to gather support for overturning Section 377, which had become an uphill struggle since 2013. “When the High Court had made its landmark judgment in 2009, the process had included the majority of Parliament then working with them,” she said. “That is not the case currently, so we need to find ways to reach out and change those mindsets. Ideally, the decision-makers wouldn’t be influenced by personal prejudice but unfortunately, that does tend to happen.” Barriers between doctors and patients who identify as LGBT persist, said Dr Gogate, recalling how she had come across instances where transgender patients weren’t admitted to female wards. “There is hostility on the part of some doctors towards them, and this prevents patients from sharing relevant information. It leads to a breakdown in proper treatment,” she said. Also discussed was the ripple effect Section 377 had had on government programmes like State Aids Prevention and Control Societies. NGO workers find it difficult to get funding for health programmes as many are hesitant to come out of the closet or back out at the last minute. “There is a discrepancy in numbers,” explained Kaur. “For example, an NGO will approach a government agency and say, there are 10,000 people who need this particular programme to happen. When the government officials go on field, they might find only 2,000 or so because the others have backed out.” Government agencies need concrete statistics, Kaur said, and people must come out of the closet for a policy to be put into action. “It is the numbers that are the deciding factor,” Kaur saidThe corporate side of the struggle was also highlighted, with Vinod Phillip speaking on the need to have more inclusive workplace policies. “It can be something as small as a moving allowance,” he said. “Even if I have a partner, I might get an ‘x’ amount, while a married couple will get ‘x’ plus fifty percent. We have the same amount of furniture, the same distance to travel but it doesn’t matter.” He also mentioned the significance of the LGBT and allies-of-the-LGBT-community groups created at workplaces after the high court judgment. “But after the Supreme Court reinstated Section 377, it has become a kind of grey area,” said Phillip. Companies are unsure about how to deal with the situation, and vague policies such as “creating a gender-neutral space” haven’t prevented harassment. Phillip mentioned local, consulate-affiliated cultural organizations that asked employees about their sexual orientation, purely for statistical purposes. “The information is confidential, of course. The purpose is to show that they are inclusive workplaces, with numbers to back it up.” Concrete data, participants and panelists agreed, was crucial to creating a structured plan of action. As the talk wrapped up, participants formed groups, poring over detailed charts and incorporating pointers from the discussion into their project. Also shared were local anecdotes from visiting activists. “Several film stars in Tamil Nadu love to say they support the transgender community,” said Lotus Sangam NGO’s Muthu Kumar, with a wry smile. “But it’s always patronising. ‘Oh, these poor people. How can they live like this?’” What’s lacking is recognising the community as equals, he said, explaining how even basic facilities like an ID card involved a huge hassle. “How we can use the local findings to create a solid plan for a nationwide movement –that’s been the most interesting part.”