News and Opinions

Are You LBTQ? Experienced Violence or Discrimination?

on . Posted in Announcements.


Have you been teased, bullied or physically locked up or harassed – because you are lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer in some other way? Have you had trouble in school, finding a job or flat, or getting the healthcare services you needed?

Some of us shrug off these daily discriminations as everyday happenings. Others have never spoken about the pain we have suffered. Authority figures can be cold and lack understanding of LBTQ people. Our family members may have turned our backs on us.

Do you have a story of your own to share?

Sayoni is conducting a study on LBTQ experiences of violence and discrimination in Singapore. We are looking for people who identify as women across the LBTQ spectrum who are willing to sit down with us to answer some questions. You should also be 18 and above and have lived in Singapore for more than a year.

Your participation is important to help people understand the real situation on the ground. It will drive Sayoni's advocacy work and shed light on the community's needs.

We will keep your data anonymous and do our utmost to protect the privacy of interviewees. To find out more about our study, please email us at hrd[at]sayoni.com.



Comments   

# Rebecca Ling 2014-08-25 21:58
I have experienced discrimination in Secondary School where teachers came up with this "Blacklist" of potential lesbian (was in an all-girls' school) students. A Canadian teacher spoke up to me about this. This blacklist meant that I was to be scrutinised more closely and detention marks were to be given out more freely to me.
In my working life, I've sat through subtle religious sermon-types of pep talks at work where the phrase "gays need to repent/God can only save them" were uttered by a prominent real estate mogul in Singapore. I have a few other stories too, but these were the most memorable.
Reply
# alina 2014-08-26 01:47
Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing. I have emailed you with further details.
Reply
# t 2015-03-08 05:40
Hi. Some examples:
-neighbours would gossip and spread rumours.
-passengers on the bus change seat just to criticize loudly, "only god can give him an offspring".
-take pictures.
Reply
# Len 2015-06-23 23:13
Hi, I resigned from my last job because the company seems like force me to wear or have a hair style or behave like a feminime woman. The CEO will try to match making single woman. I heard from my ex-colleague, the whole company started to mocking me because of my tomboy look right after I got the job. They started to teased my manager, saying she hired me because she is interested with me. Whenever I chit chat with my manager, I can hear some colleague will tease her lesbian. I know it was for me. I tried to stay because I like the job. But it's getting more uncomfortable, so I decided to resign. People there judge me by my look not my work. I was jobless for quite some times. What I hate the most during interview was the question why am I still single at 35 years old. Finally I got job now, but not stable yet. I don't know what happen if I need to find a new job again. Singapore is getting more conservative. I really don't think who I date or who I sleep will effect my work. Why this question must be ask during interview?
Reply

Add comment


Security code
Refresh

Sign up to receive announcements and updates