Abuse

Did you see?
A dark path lit subtly by street lights

They’ punch him
with the pejorative
‘sissy’
and blame him for his smooth skin
and pink lips
for all ‘their’
disoriented gazes.

By Prithvijeet Sinha
March 1, 2023
Did you see?
Sex Question Mark
s-o-c-i-a-l-c-u-t-FluPNkHfCTs-unsplash

Looking back, it seems strange, almost sad that he couldn’t contain his anxiety, couldn’t bear the shame of what he did wrong. He must have skimmed over so much turmoil, that he couldn’t accept the reality of harming someone.

By Megha
March 1, 2023
Sex Question Mark
Who would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? A Conversation on the Survival Myth
A photograph of a bench on a rocky-slightly bushy terrain. The bench is facing the other direction, which stretches out into wilderness. The sky in tinged with purple, blue, yellow, and pink.

What does it mean to hold space and extend compassion to ourselves and our  communities? Rachel Cargle reminds us to ask ourselves: who  would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? Similarly, what would care and vulnerability look like if we weren’t trying to survive? The anarchy of queerness constantly and necessarily resists the capitalist engineering of the Survival Myth: one that wants us to endure an isolated life instead of embracing it with the radically transformative joy of togetherness. Caring for yourself precedes, succeeds, and exists alongside caring for the collective.

By Rukmini and Soumya
July 19, 2021
Who would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? A Conversation on the Survival Myth
Interview – Indu Harikumar

I was watching something recently that said it was a bad thing to be vulnerable, but I don’t think it is a bad thing. I do see that there is a certain amount of power in vulnerability, it also needs courage, in my experience.

By Shikha Aleya
April 5, 2021
Interview – Indu Harikumar
Claiming One’s Space After False Sexual Harassment Allegations
Image of a bronze coloured ‘Lady Justice’ statue. The statue depicts a woman standing with blindfolds and a set of scales

Those who are rendered vulnerable due to their gender or sexuality, particularly those who are economically and socially disadvantaged (or less powerful) and lack the agency to speak up for themselves, are more prone to allegations, social ostracism and marginalization.

By Andy Stephen Silveira
April 5, 2021
Claiming One’s Space After False Sexual Harassment Allegations
Shame, shame!
A still from the film What Will People Say?

I discovered the movie What Will People Say? while browsing Netflix. Growing up in a society in which people are…

By Nidhi Chaudhary
July 1, 2020
Shame, shame!
Yellow Light
Abuse in Marriage, women waiting

Invitation cards had been printed. Her parents wanted to get the best of everything for her. She knew that all this generosity came more out of them trying to put up appearances than out of their love for her. Instead of trying to make sense of it all, or to reason with them, she was told to just enjoy this special life event. Once the whole family had arrived, all of her father’s financial worries and her mother’s emotional ones got drowned in the festivities that took place each night. The bright strings of lights flickered all around the house, announcing the upcoming marriage to the world.

By Surbhi Dewan
March 15, 2017
Yellow Light
INTERVIEW: SEXUALITY AND ADOLESCENTS
Youngsters wearing red shirts with "Enough is enough" written in black march on a road, carrying placards reading "Child sexual abuse - what are you doing about it?"; "The most public secret needs to be told"; and "it takes a community to protect a child."

Our interview section this month features excerpts from three of our past interviews on issues in dealing with adolescent sexuality:…

By TARSHI Team
August 1, 2015
INTERVIEW: SEXUALITY AND ADOLESCENTS