The LGBTQ community in Kerala is worried about an ongoing campaign against them over the monkeypox outbreak in the state.
The community members allege that a section of society, frustrated with the increasing support to the LGBTQ, was spearheading the smear campaign.
In a latest instance, an anonymous poster alleging that the LGBTQ community was responsible for the spread of monkeypox in the state, appeared in parts of Alappuzha district. This apart, there are social media campaigns, by persons posing as scholars of a particular religion, also being carried out against the community, sources said.
The community members also alleged that the police or other law enforcement agencies were yet to take any action against such misleading campaigns.
Democratic Transgender Federation of Kerala leader Sreemayi Sree, who brought the matter to the attention of Kerala health minister Veena George through a social media post, said that as part of the Pride month, several organisations and college campuses organised events to support the LGBTQ community.
However, there were sections of society, frustrated about the increasing support to gender and sexual minorities, that begun campaigning against the LGBTQ community. That could be the reason for the misleading campaigns against the community over monkeypox, Sree said.
The poster campaigns in Alappuzha began right after an atheist organisation organised an event in support of the LGBTQ community on Sunday.
Sree said that the World Health Organisation had clearly stated that close contacts by any person with the infected could lead to monkeypox spread. Just because the initial cases were reported among LGBTQ community members in some countries, it was unfortunate to frame the entire community as carriers of monkeypox.
The Alappuzha district police and health authorities were yet to initiate any action against the campaign, citing that they did not receive any complaint.
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