By Shilpa Elizabeth

Copyright thehindu

The Karnataka government on Monday set the ball rolling for what it claimed to be India’s first survey of sexuality minorities. Some teething issues were observed on day one of the survey, which officials said would be sorted out.

The survey, which will be held at ART centres of government hospitals across Karnataka, aims to collect data, including housing, employment and education, among others, of the over 40,000-strong transgender community members of the State to form inclusive and targeted policies for them.

Community members as enumerators

“The survey started at the taluk to district-level government hospitals of all 31 districts. All survey enumerators are from the transgender community, so that the participants feel no difficulty in expressing themselves. The enumerators have been trained and provided tablets with SIM cards,” said N. Mahesh Babu, managing director, Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation.

The survey will be held over 45 working days. District representatives have been deployed to monitor and evaluate the progress.

Sana Suman, member of the State committee executing the survey, explained that the survey questions are listed on an app installed in the tablets which the enumerators have been trained to operate.

“Some questions are objective types. Others go into more detail. The app has been designed to collect details regarding different aspects such as personal details, community details, education, employment, health, family background and so on. Around 125 questions have been listed,” she said.

Teething issues

The first day of the survey, however, saw some teething issues. Network issues were reported at centres such as Bowring Hospital, as a result of which people who turned up could not participate. Some of the enumerators also struggled with operating the tablets.

Mr. Babu, who acknowledged the issues, however, promised that they have been solved.

“The network issue has been solved. Some of the enumerators required some time getting acquainted with the devices and the app. But that has also been resolved now,” he said.

‘Much awaited’

Transgender rights organisations and activists welcomed the survey, but expressed reservations regarding the duration and location of the survey.

“Most of the community members make a day-to-day living. Going to hospitals to participate in the survey will mean loss of a whole day’s income which many cannot afford. Instead, the details could have been collected by approaching the community members or by meeting them at places where they gather,” said Monica T.G, a community member and activist.

She also remarked that 45 days might be inadequate to collect all details of the members belonging to various sub-communities. “However, we are urging all the community members to take part in the survey. We are also requesting the officials to utilise this opportunity to identify the gaps and provide necessary documentation and formulate schemes for the community members,” she said.

Rakshita from Ondede noted that ‘coalition for convergence for sexual minorities’, an independent initiative, has been initiated by Okkoota to track the progress of the survey and to evaluate the challenges.

“We are happy that this survey is happening finally after 25 years of our struggle and that the government is taking note of us. However, there should be more representation of community members within the state committee,” she said.