Goa plans to ‘treat’ LGBTs

Panaji, January 12

The Goa government is contemplating to set up centres on the line of Alcoholic Anonymous for LGBT youth, where they will be ‘trained’ and administered medicine in order to make them "normal", state Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said on Monday.

Tawadkar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event held in Panaji to launch the Goa State Youth Policy 2015 on the occasion of National Youth Day. The policy lists "stigmatised" LGBT youth as one of the many "target groups" which the documents says required "focused attention".

"We will make them normal. We will have a centre for them. Like Alcoholic Anonymous centres, we will have centres...," Tawadkar said.

When asked what exactly was the role of the special centres that the government was proposing to set up for lesbians, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, Tawadkar said: "We will train them and (give them) medicines too." Like in the case of other "target groups" such as juvenile offenders, drug afflicted youth, marginalised or migrant youth, geographically disadvantaged youth, a detailed survey would be carried out among state LGBT community, so that their problems could be specifically addressed, he said. (IANS)