Guidelines: What Can We Do When There’s A Pandemic Out There (And When It’s Gone)?
By: IUSY Queer Working Group Worldwide/Vienna 2021
WHAT HAPPENED? The COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world with its exponential spread in just a short period of time. Everything happened so fast that it disrupted our lives professionally, academically, mentally, and physically. These chaotic changes led to different types of problems unique to different communities and groups from different identities (i.e., women, children, LGBTQIA+, youth, indigenous peoples). One of the most pressing issues that the pandemic caused, besides the virus itself, is the mental toll it caused to various individuals and groups especially with queer people.
SOCIAL DISTANCING AND LOCKDOWNS
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Social distancing and social isolation as a prevention of the spread of the disease has caused difficulties in LGBTQIA+ members’ everyday lives. Lockdowns made them stay at home, which has led to the increase of the feeling of negative emotions. It has disrupted their routines. Day in and day out they are being bombed by the media with infection and death rates caused by the virus. Furthermore, many young and LGBTQIA+ people have experienced job loss or are forced to live in an abusive environment with family, partner, etc. Domestic violence has risen in the last 1 ½ years and the psychological pressure of being trapped in a homo-, bi-, and transphobic environment or with a family you’re not outed to is immense.
CONSEQUENCES The pandemic has increased the social inequalities present throughout the world, thereby highlighting the prevalence of LGBTQIA+ members among those with lower socioeconomic status. According to the Centre for Disease Control “Sexual minority persons in the United States have higher self-reported prevalences of several underlying health conditions associated with severe outcomes from COVID-19 than do heterosexual persons, both in the overall population and among racial/ethnic minority groups.” (Heslin, 2021). This pandemic has created a situation in which queer people struggle to access basic medical treatment. From the delaying of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and gender reaffirming surgeries that affect transgender individuals, to the impact of period poverty on people who need period products; it is clear to see the devaluation of ‘non-essential’ doctors’ appointments has caused havoc. The UN reports;
“A global survey found that 23% of participants living with HIV had lost access to HIV care providers as a result of COVID-19 social isolation measures. People living with HIV, including LGBT people, struggle to access their medication as governments designated their typical points of medication distribution and medical attention as COVID-19 centers, meaning immuno-compromised people would be taking extra risks to go there to retrieve medication, or deprioritise the respective services.” (Madrigal-borloz and United Nations, 2020).
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HATE SPEECH RUNNING RAMPANT ONLINE Finally, in these difficult times, many have turned to social media as a form of staying in touch with their loved ones, as well as staying in touch with the world. However, this can oftentimes lead to an increase of hate speech online, which can be toxic for mental health in general, and especially towards LGBTQIA+ people in the forms of cyberbullying and online harassment due to stigmatization, prejudice and fake news. These factors combined with over reliance on social media for access to the LGBTQIA+ community increases overall risk factors on physical and mental well-being.
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Each of these topics; the impact of social isolation, the heightened levels of social inequalities and the devaluation of LGBTQIA+ healthcare, as well as the problems of hate speech on social media platforms will be addressed in the form of evidence-based solutions for individual and collective mental health measures in the following guidelines.
SOURCES Heslin, K.C. (2021). Sexual Orientation Disparities in Risk Factors for Adverse COVID-19–Related Outcomes, by Race/Ethnicity — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2017–2019. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, [online] 70(5). Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7005a1. htm?s_cid=mm7005a1_w [Accessed . 2021]. Madrigal-borloz, V. and United Nations (2020). Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. [online] undocs.org. Available at: https://undocs.org/A/75/258 [Accessed 20 May 2021].
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Being involved in the community is an essential part of remaining mentally healthy. The pandemic has created a sense of personal, family and social isolation which increases: stress anxiety anguish depression and other problems.
So, it is important to: keep engaged and find help through counselling and social assistance reach out to friends, family, clubs or social activities in which you might be involved
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seek professional help if needed and available or possible take part in or organize support groups share your feelings don’t forget about yourself (It’s OK to take a break) We are not meant to care of ourselves alone regulate screen time
It is essential for LGBTQIA+ to strengthen support networks and reach out for counselling through any means. Among those activities which need to be promoted would be therapy (individual or group therapy) whichever makes you more comfortable. Also, it would require finding out whether this therapy could come from your own school, workplace or other emergency lines by talking to those within your circles. As we are forced to always produce in a capitalist society, many of the challenges we face are brought upon us from outside pressures such as work and studies, not to diminish the role of family of course. Thus, the concept of self-help becomes rather blatant as it rarely works as easily as the concept implies. We may not be the source of our own mental health issues and rarely it is our own fault that we are struggling. Hence, the role of collective care or collective self-help may be more relevant for most of us. We are not meant to always take care of ourselves alone. In a society where survival of the fittest applies, not only does it become important to look after ourselves, but also to look after each other. The COVID-19 pandemic has especially highlighted the need for connection and empathy for our individual but also collective mental wellbeing.
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Speaking about the way you feel is key to acknowledging you are not alone and recognising that you don’t have to go through needless suffering. Interacting and going out when possible, just to breathe fresh air or talk to your friends, do physical exercise or find support in a break of your routine by even visiting friends, when possible in your country.
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Remember to not endanger yourself or anyone else in these times - if you think it necessary for your mental health to see people in person, take security measures, get tested before you visit friends and keep to the sanitary rules. What we should always keep in mind is that we need good things in our life. When everything is difficult and there is no perspective that is going to change soon, the least we can do to make ourselves feel better is to do something we like. We do not have to be super productive during this pandemic, we only need to take good care of ourselves. You could dig deeper in a hobby of yours or find new ones, learn new skills. You can volunteer in campaigns or projects from your organisation or work on some projects you are passionate about, maybe with some friends. Find something that motivates you again and keeps you going.
However, don’t get too addicted to the screen. Since activities in this pandemic are usually online, it is very important to remember that spending too much time on the screen can cause harm to your psychological well-being. So, remember to be rational with the screen time! Distract yourself, keep yourself busy by:
Reading and learning new skills Volunteering in campaigns and projects of the mother organisation or mother party Learning new things from social media Work on side projects, something that motivates you again Working on projects you are passionate about with friends
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A crucial thing during stressful times is to listen to your own body closely. Prioritising your health is not a weakness but a strength. Figure out a daily routine, get enough sleep and always take a break when needed. Functioning 100% can never be expected long-term and certainly not during a worldwide pandemic that threw all our social bonds and habits overboard. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
HEALTH PRIORITIES
Trying to keep a daily routine, but also listen to one’s body and mind
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Get enough sleep
Take a break if needed
Don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s ok not to be 100% functioning
SOCIAL MEDIA
Take time off of social media if you feel overwhelmed
It is okay not to be political on social media, you can use it just for fun and as an escape from your daily struggles
Try to find a group of Allies on social media that you can reach out to if you are being attacked or don’t feel comfortable
Diversify your sources, get out of your bubble
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It’s okay to deactivate or delete comments, you are not responsible for discussing everything with everyone
What you can do as a leftist youth organisation is:
put mental health on your agenda
fight for inclusion and against stigmatisation
act for better healthcare and social welfare
advocate and fight for essential workers’ rights
create safe spaces
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To implement the importance of mental health into our organisations internal and external policies are to be enacted. As there is still a huge stigma surrounding the topic of mental health and therapy a fundamental shift in the mindset towards mental health must be promoted. Democratic Socialist and Social Democratic organisations should be at the forefront to advocate for a destigmatisation of mental health issues, as it is an intersectional struggle. An improvement of health care and social welfare systems in regards to mental health will not only help queer people, but all of society. Therefore, we must work together with our mother parties, feminist movements, unions etc.
Change the mindset regarding mental health: Advocate for the improvement of health care and social welfare systems
Check in with your members
Promoting a fundamental shift in mindset where mental health is taken to have a serious impact on wellbeing and therefore should be treated as such (destigmatisation)
Flexible volunteering and working hours in campaigns and projects with frequent check-ins
Online campaigns to lobby for SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics) based anti-discrimination law (national) and ordinances (local)
Work for allyship with other movements, i.e. feminists, workers, etc.
Mental health as an intersectional and intergenerational issue
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Besides improving the status of mental health services and destigmatisation of the topic, we can also improve our own work process to create a more inclusive and attentive environment in our organisations. As every form of activism can have effects on our mental health, especially with (self-)imposed pressures to always be heavily involved and active, we must take time in our activism to check in on each other. Remember that as important as it is to speak freely about anything that troubles you in your organisation, you should also be able to and allowed to separate your activism, work and private issues.
It is important that people have the opportunity to take clear breaks and time to themselves in this time that everything happens in the same place – in front of the laptop.
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Keeping in touch with your social network
Have regular online or outdoor meetings
Organise online social events on a regular basis
Create an online library and book clubs
Keep in touch (even if only online) to not only work on current issues but also to stay connected on a personal level
Creation of a virtual safe space community for LGBTQIA+ members.
Wellness sessions and solidarity nights
Twitter Spaces as a new platform to talk with networks/ connections
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Setting up virtual safe spaces (or physical, in accordance with COVID-19 safety measures in your country/community) to connect queer youth in the country Advocate for housing programs for young people, homeless, migrants, queer, victims of domestic violence, etc. Continue online advocacy/campaigns on how important queer rights and all human rights are Keep online advocacy going against discrimination and violence Mandating governments to recognise the mental health epidemic
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Campaigning a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and looking at deradicalization policies for vulnerable youth, i.e. anti-fascism Work for increased resources towards health care and mental health services to support the communities affected by COVID-19 Be reliable on Social Media – be there for people, stream online events, stay in touch and never be silent on discrimination and online hate crimes. Post scientific data about the pandemic and fight against misinformation.
Remember, even though apart, we are all in this TOGETHER!
Live, Laugh, Love Karl Marx
Participants and author of the toolkit Catherine Arnold (Labour Youth Ireland) Mariana Genta (JSU Uruguay) Hind Ksiouar (JI Morocco) Laura Loew (JUSOS Germany) Jonas Persson (SSU Sweden) Joel Pagulayal (AKBAYAN Philippines) Ivan Puh (CSDY Croatia) Ignacio Villar (JSU Uruguay) Fabian Weinert (JUSOS Germany) Nicolas Wirgmar (JSU Uruguay)
Team Julius Jandl Gohar Ghandilyan Diana Ghafour
Impressum
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International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) Amtshausgasse 4, 1050 Vienna, Austria iusy@iusy.org www.iusy.org Facebook: @IUSY.global Instagram: @iusyglobal Twitter: @IUSY_Global
Illustrator and graphic designer Coline Robin http://coline.graphics