Doing the work of Wholeness and Justice

The LGBTQ community is no stranger to worldwide pandemics. It is not lost on me, in the middle of this Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that I have also lived through the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) medication has meant that persons are now living longer with HIV, but as these two pandemics collide, and persons were asked to self-quarantine in their homes, HIV positive persons found themselves caught between venturing out at the risk of contracting COVID-19, so as to able to get their life saving ARV medication. With nationwide lockdowns, the closure of none essential businesses, massive job and income loss and the disruption in the food supply chain, so many of the country’s most vulnerable found themselves ill equipped to weather the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Lockdowns, curfews, economic restrictions and social isolation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic are having a disproportionate negative effect on vulnerable populations” (UNAIDS 202

There is discrimination in violence. On the surface this appears to be an untrue statement. However, when we examine how violence is perceived by the public, and treated within the legal framework, the statement is justified.  For far too long there has been silence about the ways in which violence is experienced by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) community. There is no insistence for justice, cries of indignation, or galvanized marches from the nation when a transgendered or gay person is murdered. There is no deep concern, or queries regarding “what about the children?!” when an LGBT+ youth is abused at home, shunned and/or abandoned by family. Finally, there certainly is no national conversation about intimate partner violence occurring between same sex couples. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is related to any behavior between a couple that involves acts of physical and sexual violence, emotional and psychological abuse, and controlling behavior (World Health Or