Impacts of Homophobia on a Developing Nation - Essay Example

IMPACT OF HOMOPHOBIA ON HEALTH IN A DEVELOPING NATION By Introduction Internationally, it can be said that significantprogress has been made in terms of the treatment and acceptance of the LGBT, that is, lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. The progress is evident, especially after the legalisation of same sex marriages in the United States and the United Kingdom amongst other dominant world economies. Such moves have been made after laws are implemented to protect the LGBT people from any form of prejudice or oppression emanating from their sexual orientation. In as much as progress seems to have been made, there is still an opposing force that limits further improvement, making homophobia remain a problem in today’s world. The homophobia problem exists not only in nations such as Iran or Russia, where being gay or transgender is not only unacceptable, but is further termed as a criminal offence. In nations such as the US and UK where being gay is accepted, homophobia still haunts the LGBT people. To worsen matters, homophobia in turn has detrimental effects that go beyond stigmatization or legal such as economic, social, and most importantly health issues. In this study, homophobia in developing nations will be discussed with regards to the negative impacts that it has in terms of their health context. Impacts of Homophobia on a Developing Nation According to Houdart (2104, n.p.), exclusion, prejudice, and discrimination of LGBT persons cost economies billions of dollars owing to loss of labour. Loss of labour in turn lowers output and productivity, and in the end, the affected nations end up with lowered GDPs. In such cases, funding for crucial matters such as health care is affected. In India, for instance, where there exist no legislations to protect LGBT people and where being gay is a criminal offence, research shows that annually, 1.7% loss of GDP occurs due to the same. This is an equivalent of 31 billion USD (Houdart 2014, n.p.). The GDP of a nation is what determines the allocation of funds to the provisions required for sustaining them. As such, if part of a developing nation’s labour force is locked out of employment, the GDP is lowered, and sectors such as healthcare cannot be fully supported. The result ends up affecting both gay and straight persons in that quality health care cannot be guaranteed. Concisely; a poor healthcare sector results due to shortage of labour caused by homophobia. Externally, a developing nation is likely to suffer cuts in financial aid aimed at supporting its healthcare sector. As was the case in Uganda in 2014, an average 115 million USD funding was diverted from the nation after the president, Yoweri Museveni signed into law an Anti-Homosexuality Act. Amongst the withdrawing international aid providers included Sweden, Norway, the Dutch, and the Danish administration. The World Bank, too, announced a delay of the release of a 90 million USD loan meant to cater for health in Uganda (Brydum 2014, n.p.). Collectively, these actions meant that the support that Uganda had been receiving for its healthcare sector was weakening. In turn, this predicted tough times for the country’s health sector. The results would be unaffordable medicine, lagging in medical technology, lack of emergency aid, and generally a poor and ineffective health sector. Homophobia has in the recent past been linked to increasing cases of HIV infections all over the world. For instance, in Cuba, where HIV rates are always low, it was discovered that new HIV infections are increasing and mostly in men who have sex with men (MSM). Homosexuality is restricted in Cuba, and it is this restriction that has been fostering the spread of HIV in multiple ways. First of all, the stigmatization of homosexuality means that the LGBT persons remain hidden. In this way, bodies such as NGOs targeting them in reducing HIV infections cannot provide educational or any form of assistance (Halkitis 2012, n.p). Therefore, HIV continues to be spread from one person to the other due to lack of education or other relevant aid. The other way is that Cuba is a highly homophobic nation, and as such, gay persons cannot come out as they fear rejection, low self-esteem, and isolation. As such, HIV is spread mainly in bisexuals as they shift from same sex to opposite-sex partners. Finally, the idea of homosexuality being a taboo in Cuba means that sexual education or sensitization in the media is restricted (Krull & Stubbs 2012, p. 200). As a result, gay people can neither learn to protect themselves, nor know where to turn for assistance. In this way, HIV continues to spread, thanks to stigmatization and taboos. One of the recent and very disturbing findings is that compared to straight people, LGBT persons live shorter. Previously, it was said that gay men lead unhealthy lifestyle and that explains why they die earlier. However, this claim has been refuted in that gay people from both sexes evidently die sooner. As Hogg et. al (2001, p.1499) state, life expectancy in straight men is between 18 to 21 years longer than that of bisexual or gay men. Additionally, it is revealed that for any bisexual or gay man aged 20, their chances of attaining 65 years are overly slim. Further [related] research shows that gay people who live in open-minded societies where homosexuality is acceptable outlive those living in societies that offer anti-gay sentiments. In a study reported by Hodgekiss (2014, n.p.), “… 92 percent of LGB respondents living in low-prejudice communities were still alive. But only 78 percent of the LGB respondents living in high-prejudice communities were still alive.” In these findings, it is clear that the communities that gay people live in determining their life expectancy, and when homophobia is high, it results in a reduced life expectancy for them. As such, it is sufficient to state that life expectancy, as an integral of health, is negatively affected by highly-homophobic environments in that it is significantly reduced. LGBT people will in most cases lack support to deal with the stigmatisation that comes to their sexual orientation. Therefore, the only option that they are left with is to internalize their suffering. It has now been confirmed that internalized stigma is a risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases (Meyer & Northridge 2007, p. 33). This occurrence is more likely in older adults who in addition to internalizing the stigma are overburdened by other factors such as financial strains, rejection by family in old age, lack of foster care, and social breakdowns. Collectively, these factors add up as risks that may result in the development of heart-related disorders. According to Burbank (2006, p. 178), older LGBT persons are exposed to several risk factors for cardiovascular disease. They include; internalized homophobia, fear of sexual identity, and institutionalized prejudice such as from medical practitioners or legal authorities. The NHS (2014, n.p.) reports that LGBT people display higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal feelings than their heterosexual counterparts. These observations can be explained in several ways; first, some LGBT people find it hard to accept their sexual orientation and this leads to isolation, substance abuse, conflicts with others, and self-denial. Second, most of them have a hard time trying to keep their sexuality discreet by either pretending or lying. Others are forced to lead double lives as they fear the stigmatisation. Third-class of teenagers who are bullied for being LGBT accounts for most cases of post-traumatic stress disorders. Collectively, these factors pose as high-risk factors for development of cardiovascular disorders, again caused by prejudice and discrimination against gay persons. Violence, which causes both physical and psychological injuries, is a common experience by LGBT persons. Violence can take various forms such as physical assault, bullying, harassment, and teasing. In the United States, although being a first world nation, 12 to 28 percent of LGBT students has been threatened for using weapons while at school. In addition, 18 to 28 percent of bisexual students experience dating violence, and 17 to 32 percent of bisexual students have been forced into sexual intercourse (CDC 2014, n.p.). Further studies show that a gay student is twice as much likely to be bullied than straight students. Again, twice as many gay students are likely to commit suicide, take up substance abuse, or develop depression as compared to the other students. Physical bullying causes bodily harm, isolation, or school absenteeism. Depression is dangerous in that in its advanced stages, it leads to suicidal thoughts, feelings of worthlessness, and higher chances of developing cardiovascular diseases. Concisely, the physical and mental health of LGBT students is affected due to homophobia. Mental problems such as stress and depression seem to be one of the most common problems faced by LGBT people, especially when coming to terms about their different sexual orientation. They also face such problems when stigma from society hits them. Depression is dangerous in that apart from leading to other health complications, it contributes to suicidal or self-harm thoughts. Scott, Pringle, &Lumsdaine (2004, p.14) provide findings from several studies conducted to examine the connection between sexual orientation and suicide. Some findings showed that there were increased suicidal ideations in homosexuals as compared to straight people. The statistics claimed that compared to heterosexuals, LGBT people were about 13.9 percent likelier to attempt suicide, and particularly in the category with advanced depression. In yet another study, it was concluded that other than suicide, young LGBT persons can also injure themselves without suicidal intent, and that they are likely to commit suicide as compared to older LGBT people. Finally, there is a significant connection between homophobic bullying in school in that where it does not happen; the suicide rates for both straight and gay students can be compared (Scott, Pringle, &Lumsdaine 2004, p.15). As the LGBT people struggle with the harshness that comes with being identified as “different”, they seek ways of escaping the reality. Substance abuse is one of the ways through which they seek reprieve. According to SAMHSA (2012, p.2), lesbians and gay men have greater substance abuse problems as compared to straight persons. Additionally, it is estimated that of the total lesbian population, 30 percent have problems with alcohol abuse. When it comes to the rate of alcohol consumption, the LGBT people are evidently heavier abusers than heterosexual people. People who engage in same sex relationships are identified as being likelier to use substances (Mignon 2014, p.133). In developing countries, substance abuse related to sexual orientation is explained in that the LGBT people use drugs to; escape the stigma, reduce minority stress, deal with family rejection, deal with lack of social support, and finally deal with abuse and harassment. In addition, the LGBT persons between ages 21 to 25 years are 3.4 times more likely to be on illegal drugs, 3.4 times more to engage in unprotected sex, 5.9 times more to go into depression, and are 8.4 times more likely to attempt or complete suicide (Stevens 2012, p. 28-29). All of these are in comparison to heterosexual individuals aged the same. Drug abuse leads to death, addiction, HIV spread, accidents, and crime amongst other things. As evidence shows, homophobia is the causal factor of substance abuse in LGBT people. Conclusion As the world strives to further acceptance of LGBT persons in modern society, resistance is still being offered in most, if not all the parts of the world. Even in places where homosexuality is allowed, homophobia still exists. As this study shows, homophobia has detrimental effects on the health of LGBT people and societies in developing countries. First, sanctions and aid cuts cripple their health sectors. Second, prejudice and discrimination lead to low GDPs, thus poor financing of the health sectors of affected nations. Again, the fear of rejection and prejudice leads to isolation, making the LGBT people to shy off from assistance and education. In this way, HIV is spread. Research also shows a connection between gay sexual orientation and increased suicide ideation, substance abuse, and social disconnection. Depression leads to suicide and cardiovascular diseases as well. Generally, homophobic is the causal factor of the suffering that LGBT persons experience in that society seems to judge rather than support them. This study shows health as one of the many contexts of suffering that LGBT people endure daily in developing nations; and there are many more. Bibliography Brydum, S 2014, “As Aid cuts Continue, Uganda Officials not Concerned.”The Advocate.http://www.advocate.com/world/2014/03/07/aid-cuts-continue-ugandan-officials-not-concerned [28 March, 2015]. Burbank, P 2006, Vulnerable Older Adults: Health Care Needs and Interventions. Springer Publishing Company. CDC 2014, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health.”Cdcgov.http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/ [28 March, 2015]. Halkitis, P 2012, “Discrimination and Homophobia Fuel the HIV Epidemic in Gay and Bisexual Men.” American Psychological Association.http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/exchange/2012/04/discrimination-homophobia.aspx [28 March, 2015]. 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