Somy Ali: Pandemic has made domestic abuse worse for LGBTQI community

“The abuse was always there, but the pandemic just made it worse for the people from LGBTQ community,” says actor Somy Ali, who has dedicated herself to help victims of human trafficking and domestic violence within the gay community.

“We received absolutely an unprecedented call volume for my organisation, No More Tears, from people within the LGBTQ community about domestic abuse during the pandemic. Mainly because everyone was in lockdown,” Ali reveals, adding, “They were losing jobs, having trouble paying their bills and all these issues were causing one partner to become violent, hence the perpetrator while the other the victim.”

Pressed to talk about it in detail, the Anth actor shares, “I would not deem the pandemic to be the sole cause of one physically abusing their partner. But I think it definitely added fuel to the fire considering you are with the individual 24/7 and perhaps drinking or even engaging is drug usage.”

Ali recalls a shocking incident of a young boy getting raped by four men, which she came across in April of 2020 and that left her horrified.

“After the 20-year-old kid came out to his parents, his parents threw him out of their home. When he was on the streets at 2am in Miami, a trafficker approached and told him he would give him a place to stay and food. Then this young man was drugged and raped by four men. This is known as ‘breaking them in’ in the human trafficking world, as in they are now held captive by the traffickers,” she says, adding that he is now in therapy with them.

The 45-year-old feels frustrated when she comes across the stigmas that are still attached to the queer community.

“It is so sad that there are so many countries where not only members of the gay community can be killed for who they truly are, but they simply can’t love and marry who they want to spend the rest of their lives with. It is heartbreaking,” she expresses.

Now, she hopes cinema takes up the responsibility to break the stereotypes, as it is still not doing enough.

“I want to see a same sex couple film who is madly in love and expose the roadblocks they have to face simply to be able to love each other. I would love to see someone as talented as Alia Bhatt to play a role where she is madly in love with a woman. It’s time to break the ignorant/uneducated stigmas,” she signs off.