What happens when a family does not accept a homosexual child?
Victoria Misito article published on the Fundación Reflejos de Venezuela (Venezuela) website on 23 May 2020, freely translated by Giulia Garofani
When Andrés (31 years old) told his parents that he was gay, he did not get the reaction that he hoped so much. Even though he knew it wouldn't be an easy discussion, A part of him clung to the illusion which, perhaps, would have received some understanding from both. Instead, the result was the exact opposite: "No Andrés, in reality you are only confused, and we will behave as if this discussion had never happened", said his dad. His mom, on the other hand, broke out to cry desperately.
Two years have passed since that day, and still remembers it with a lot of pain: “My family is very conservative, and no relative of ours has ever come out out. For them, homosexuals are a mistake, so I took a lot to accept what I was. As a boy I felt attracted to men, however I always felt the others (and sometimes I did it too) to make fun of them daily. For this reason I knew what I went to meet him, even if there was a naive part inside me that did not expect that reaction ".
But time heals wounds, and even if Andrés has not resumed the topic with them, he knows he had made an effort to stay united with his family: "I know that their reaction is not dictated by cruelty or fear. And even if they ask me nothing about my love life, they have always been interested in me. Obviously I moved away a lot, and I was almost six months without talking to them, but I'm sorry that they are not part of my life, Even if I don't know how much they can be part of it if they do not accept one of the characteristics that define me as a person".
Cases like Andrés's are very far from being an exception. Homophobia is something that remains latent in our society. According to the data of the annual report on human rights and sexual and gender diversity presented by the homosexual integration and liberation movement (Movilh), 2019 was the most violent year for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people, And he recorded the highest number of complaints for discrimination against sexual orientation. And the complaints have extended, for the first time, in all the reasons of the country.
The problem, they explain, is that these discrimination could explain the reasons for the suicide of those who do not feel accepted. According to the studySuicide in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans populationconducted by academics of the Department of Psychology of the Diego Portales University, The intention of taking their lives, among young LGBTs, is seven times higher than young heterosexuals.
The report indicates that this segment of the population is influenced by a hostile environment, characterized by prejudice, refusal and exclusion, which leads to depression, to the abuse of substances, to social insulation, to conflicts with parents and ad Psychological and physical abuses.
“These signs are important, because they worsen with the refusal or negation by parents. According to other statistics, drawn up by the report made by the Todo Mejora Foundation (everything improves), One in four homosexuals tried to commit suicide at least once in a lifetime, and this figure increases eight times when there is a refusal by some family member" It ensures clinical psychologist Juan Cristóbal Concha, who takes care of only LGBT+people.
Original text: Qué hater cuando you familia no acepta tu homosexualidad
